The effect of manual sports massage and massage gun on flexibility in male national athletes in different branches

This study aimed to compare the effects of manual sports massage and massage gun on flexibility in national athletes in different sports branches. Thirty male athletes from the Turkish Olympic Preparatory Center (TOHM) in Ankara with an average age of 19.0±2.64 years, a height of 176.3±8.00 cm, a body weight of 72.8±15.7 kilograms, an average fat percentage of 12.6±5.69, a body mass index (BMI) of 23.3±3.59, no injuries or any other discomfort, and training at least 12 hours a week participated voluntarily in the study. The necessary permissions were obtained from the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the participation of the athletes in the study, and a voluntary consent form was obtained from all participants and the parents of the athletes under the age of 18. Before the athletes were massaged, the room temperature was kept constant at 27° and the sit-lie test and joint range of motion were measured with a goniometer. The athletes were randomly divided into two equal groups. On the day when they did not train, 10 minutes of manual sports massage was applied to the hamstring and lumbar muscles at rest. The second group was massaged with a massage gun whose speed can be increased gradually for 5 minutes at 1st stage and 5 minutes at 2nd stage speed. After the massage application, flexibility tests were applied to both groups once again and the difference between the two methods was tried to be determined. It was seen that both applications had a positive effect on flexibility, and it was seen that manual sports massage was more beneficial in terms of % and was more effective than the other type of massage. Keywords: sports massage, flexibility, massage gun, sit-lie test, goniometer