| The purpose of this study was to determine if three minutes of
petrissage and tapotement forms of massage would influence plantar
flexors' flexibility, and muscle power. Nineteen participants were
randomly subjected to three conditions (control and two massages)
before performing two power tests. Prior to the intervention, subjects
completed ankle joint flexibility assessments. The conditions were;
(1) control, where subjects lay prone and had a therapist's hands
resting, (2) vigorous petrissage, and (3) tapotement applied at a
rate of 4Hz; all on the triceps surae. Following completion of the
intervention, subjects immediately completed a post- ankle joint flexibility
test, followed by a drop-jump and concentric calf raise. The power
measures were; concentric peak force, rate of force development, and
drop-jump height / contact time. The data showed a significant increase
(p < 0.05) in ankle joint angle on the right leg and a corresponding
tendency on the left. No significant change was seen with the power
measures. Results suggest that massage can increase plantar flexors'
flexibility without a change in power and thus may be an alternative
to static stretching during an athletic warm-up.
KEY
WORDS: petrissage,
tapotement, warm-up, range of motion, jumps.
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