THE ACUTE EFFECT OF TRADITIONAL THAI MASSAGE ON RECOVERY FROM FATIGUE IN BASKETBALL PLAYERS

Massage has been used as an alternative treatment for professional athletes for decades. However, it has hardly been used for rapid recovery on the sport field that always needs rapid recovery during half-time brake of competition such as basketball. This study aims to investigate the acute effects of Traditional Thai Massage on recovery in basketball players as indicated by heart rate variability (HRV) and physical fitness. A cross-over design was administered. Sixteen basketball players were randomly allocated into two groups: intervened with Traditional Thai Massage (TTM) and Control (C). Each period, the participants underwent 20 minutes of basketball-playing simulation after which they were assessed on HRV and physical fitness. Then they received either 10-minute TTM intervention or 10-minute rest, and were assessed again immediately after the interventions with 3 days washout period. The results showed that HRV and physical fitness were significantly increased (p< 0.05) in both groups after the interventions. HR, was significantly decreased (p< 0.05) in two group. There was no significant difference of LF/HF ratio (LF/HF ratio) in the control group. Compare outcome between group found that RMSSD, HF values were significantly different (p< 0.05) and no significant differences in the comparison of results between groups. However, the results from this study do indicate that TTM can improve recovery in basketball players by increasing HRV.