The Effect of Timing of Sports Massage on 60-m Sprint Performance in Competitive Athletes

Background: Sports massage is considered to improve muscle tone and flexibility and thus, overall, contribute to the improvement of athletes’ performance. It is not yet clear whether pre- or post-warm-up sports massage can enhance athletes’ performance. Additionally, while essential oils are believed to enhance the effects of massage, empirical evidence remains limited. Purpose: The present study aimed to evaluate the timing effect of pre-competition sports massage, using two different massage oils, on sprint performance. Methods: A total of 40 competitive male young sprint and multiple-sprint sport athletes were randomly divided into two groups—group 1: sports massage applied after the warm-up followed by a max 60-m sprint trial, group 2: sports massage before the warm-up followed by a max 60-m sprint trial. All participants were assessed in three different massage conditions: (i) control: usual warm-up, no massage; (ii) AEO: sports massage using activation essential oil; (iii) BO: sports massage using baby oil. Results: The results demonstrated a statistically significant main effect of massage on sprint performance, by reducing 60-m sprint time (F(2,78) = 5.304, p ≤ 0.005). Specifically, sprint performance improved (3.91%, p = 0.008) when the sport massage session took place after the athletes’ warm-up (group 1) and when the AEO was applied (p = 0.004). Conclusion: A brief pre-competition sports massage, especially after the warmup session and when AEO is applied, could be used as a complementary approach to help improve sprint performance.