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Updated: Sep 10, 2025

Application of Consistent Massage-Like Perturbations on Mouse Calves and Monitoring the Resulting Intramuscular Pressure Changes
Published on: September 20, 2019
Therapeutic Role of Functional Massage in Attenuating Exercise-Induced Neuromuscular Fatigue
Zahraa Darwich1,2, Alaa Issa1,2, Emma Parkin1,2
1Physical Therapy Program, Department of Health Care Sciences, Wayne State University, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
Background:
Functional massage is a soft tissue intervention that combines tissue compression with specific joint movements to enhance muscle function, improve joint mobility and reduce pain. The physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWCFT) uses surface electromyography to determine the highest exercise intensity that can be sustained indefinitely. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the influence of FM on a multi-joint exercise such as cycle ergometry.
Methods:
Twelve healthy college-aged men volunteered for the current study. On two occasions, separated by seven days and in randomized order, subjects either completed a 14 min FM on both legs prior to an incremental cycle ergometer test to determine PWCFT, or rested for 14 min before performing the same cycling test.
Results:
The paired samples t-tests revealed a significant (p < 0.05) difference for the absolute and relative PWCFT values between the no-FM and FM conditions.
Conclusions:
These results indicate that FM may delay the onset of neuromuscular fatigue for whole-body exercise.
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