Massage and Cold Water Immersion on Movement Variability an Muscle Tone of Swimmers

Effects of Post Exercise Massage and Cold-water Immersion on Movement Variability and Muscle Stiffness in Swimmers: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Training prescription is planned considering recovery periods to enhance performance. To assess recovery, a complexity model can be used, in which the main variable would correspond to a fractal of performance. To assess the effectiveness of post-exercise massage and cold-water immersion under a new prism of recovery by means of muscle stiffness and movement variability analysis regarding the sport-specific gesture and an experimental task of shoulder elevation in swimmers.

Fifty swimmers from São Paulo state swimming teams will be initially assessed to investigate movement patterns at rest and after a fatigue protocol by means of inertial sensors. The participants will be assessed regarding their perceptions by the Swimmer's Perception of Effort Questionnaire (SPEQ), muscle stiffness by a myotonometer, skin temperature by a thermographic infrared camera and coordination by the Coordination Index and Continuous Relative Phase (CRP). Then, the athletes will perform the fatigue protocol again followed by five interventions in a crossover design separated by 24hr: i) superficial massage, ii) deep massage iii) cold-water immersion iv) immersion in thermoneutral water and v) control (no intervention). All procedures will be performed for an experimental task of shoulder elevation and the sport-specific gesture (front crawl simulation in swim bench). The statistical analysis will be conducted in SPSS software. To analyze fractal properties of time series the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) will be used where (α) varies from 0,5 to 1,5, interpreted as random series and Brownian noise, respectively. To compared pre and post assessments from initial testing the paired t test will be used. To compare perceptions, muscle stiffness and temperature between groups after fatigue protocol and intervention a Mixed ANOVA will be used with Greenhouse-Geisser corrections and Bonferroni post-hoc if necessary. Descriptive data will be presented as mean and standard deviations. All analysis will assume level of significance of P< 0,05.

12 minutes of effleurage and petrissage on the upper limbs administered after fatiguing exercise in the swimming pool

12 minutes of rest. The athletes are free to sit or walk around the place but are advised to refrain from exercise in and out of the pool.

Eleven inertial sensors (XSens) will be positioned on the upper limbs, head and trunk. Data from the sensors will be extracted and processed with non linear analysis to determine the variability of the coordination pattern after fatigue and after interventions

Measured by a numerical rating scale ranging from 0 (nothing) to 10 (extreme) before and after the fatiguing protocol and interventions

Measured by the modified Borg scale (CR10) ranging from 0 (nothing) to 10 (extremely strong) after the fatiguing protocol and interventions

Measured by a numerical rating scale ranging from 0 (nothing) to 10 (extreme) after the fatiguing protocol and interventions

The MyotonPRO probe will be placed perpendicular to the skin surface on the muscle belly previously marked with a pen by the evaluator at 1: Deltoid; 2: Pectoralis Major; 3: Biceps brachii; 4: Upper Trapezius; 5: Latissimus dorsi; 7: Triceps. Measured before and after the fatiguing protocol and interventions

The temperature will be measured using an infrared thermographic camera, at the same points of myotonometry. Measured before and after the interventions

Participants will be asked if they believe that massage, cold-water immersion and resting contribute to their recovery before and after the study

After the study the participants will be asked which of the interventions they preferred to received to recover from the fatiguing exercise

Participants will be asked to position their dominant upper limb at 90° which will be indicated by a target fixed on the wall 1 meter ahead of them. They will have 3 chances to point at the target and memorize the position. Afterwards, participants will have 3 chances to point at the target without vision (by blindfold). Measured before and after the fatiguing exercise and interventions

Participantes should rate physical and mental readiness for the exercise, fatigue, vigor and sleepness from 0 (nothing) to 10 (extreme)

Inclusion Criteria: male and female athletes between 12 and 20 years old train regularly at swimming teams no injury over the last month (any complaint that prevented the athlete from training or compete at least once) Exclusion Criteria: use of pain killers at least 24h before study participation

The individual participant data will not be shared because they belong to a competitive team and most of the participants have less than 18 years old