Comparison Of Four Methods Of Recovery Due To Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

PURPOSE: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is the pain sensation that begins approximately 8 hours after preforming an unaccustomed exercise of which eccentric muscle contractions are mostly responsible for this pain. This study analyzed four treatments for DOMS recovery. METHODOLOGY: The DOMS was induced in 56 women ages 18 to 26 by performing “Drop-Set” plus forced bicep curl repetitions then being divided into four treatment groups: rest, massage, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation stretching (PNF) and passive stretching. The volunteers answered two pain scales: a numerical scale (NS) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at five different time periods: 0h, 24h, 48h, 72h, 96h, 120h, before each treatment session. The comparison within the group, at the same time slots, was made using the paired ANOVA (analysis of variance for repeated measures) followed with Tukey-Kramer method. The comparison between groups, at the same time slots, was made by not paired ANOVA (one-way analysis of variance) method. To compare the same times, in the same group between the scales used the (ANOVA, one-way analysis of variance) Tukey-Kramer method. RESULTS: The comparison between the scales did not achieve statistical significance. (P Value - Rest: 0.146 passive: 0.8748, massage: 0.8275 FNP: 0.8476). The comparison between groups was significantly different between massage and passive stretching as well as passive stretching and the resting at 24h and 48h in VAS, and between passive and massage at 24h, 48h and 96h in NS. See Figure 1. CONCLUSION: Massage is a better method for the treatment of DOMS. The pain scales were equivalent.