This time, I would like to talk about lactic acid removal and massage after exercise.
After exercising, do you get a massage for recovery purposes? Or do you just take it easy and rest?
It seems that there are different personal preferences regarding recovery after exercise.
The author prefers to rest slowly after exercise.
There is a "fatigue substance" called lactic acid, which is sometimes described as the waste produced when the body produces energy during exercise.
In other words, there is an easy way of thinking that if lactic acid is reduced, fatigue will be reduced, but here is some research on massage that shows promise for lactic acid removal.
The study
This study examined the effects of four different interventions on blood lactate dynamics after high-intensity exercise. A randomized controlled trial and crossover were used, and the study was conducted on 18 cyclists. The number of years of cycling experience of the athletes is around 5 years.
The four intervention methods are
・Dynamic recovery
・Static recovery
・Recovery by massage
・Dynamic recovery combined with massage.
The interventions were measuring maximal oxygen uptake, doing one of these four, and doing two 5km cycling exercises.
As evaluation items, blood lactate level, heart rate, and trial time of cycling exercise were assessed.As a result, among the four methods, the rate of increase of 5km cycling exercise was significantly increased in dynamic recovery, static recovery, and recovery by massage.However, the lowest value was found when dynamic recovery was performed among these methods.
And there was no significant difference when dynamic recovery was combined with massage.
With regard to lactate levels, it has been confirmed that interventions with dynamic recovery and dynamic recovery and massage have an effect on the dynamics of blood lactate.
Reviewer's comments
This study uses the kinetics of blood lactate due to exercise stress in cyclists as an indicator to examine the impact of each intervention. The results showed that dynamic recovery (active recovery) and a combination of dynamic recovery and massage reduced the rate of increase in blood lactate. Since there is no certainty as to which interventions are best to use between exercises, we believe that this study can serve as a basic resource for use in sports settings.
Summary
These interventions suggest that dynamic recovery or a combination of dynamic recovery and massage is the best way to deal with the effects of lactate levels.
And for exercise efficiency, the study showed good results with dynamic recovery, static recovery, and massage interventions.
Monedero J, Donne B. Effect of recovery interventions on lactate removal and subsequent performance. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 2000; International Journal of Sports Medicine. 2000; 21: 593-597. MEDLINE ID: 11156281
