Comparison of the effectiveness of manual massage, long-wave diathermy, and sham long-wave diathermy for the management of delayed-onset muscle soreness: a randomized controlled trial.
Lorenzo Visconti, Corrado Forni, Rudi Coser and 3 others
PMID 31956433WHAT IT FOUND
Manual massage, real diathermy, and sham diathermy all reduced pain by similar amounts in athletes with muscle soreness.
The pain relief was likely due to general treatment effects rather than the specific technique, as sham diathermy worked just as well as the active devices.
Key findings
01There was no statistically significant difference in post-treatment pain scores between the manual massage, real diathermy, and sham diathermy groups.
02A similar proportion of participants in all three groups achieved a clinically relevant reduction of at least 2 points on the pain scale.
03The pain reduction reported by athletes may not be attributable to the specific mechanisms of massage or diathermy, given the comparable results with sham treatment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study did not set a minimum NPRS score for inclusion, which may have introduced heterogeneity in baseline pain levels. Outcomes were assessed only immediately after treatment at rest, with no follow-up to determine if the pain relief persisted or if the treatments affected functional recovery during movement. The study population was limited to male athletes during a specific multi-day race, so results may not generalize to other populations or settings.
Declared interests
The device manufacturer (Tecnosix) provided instructions for the technique, but the text does not explicitly state that the company funded the study or wrote the manuscript.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that manual massage is ineffective for DOMS. The study shows it is comparable to sham diathermy, but both were effective in reducing pain. The null result between groups means neither specific technique was superior to the other or to the sham condition, not that the interventions failed to produce relief.