Recovery strategies for cycling and mountain biking athletes after a fatigue protocol: A randomized crossover controlled trial

Abstract

Muscle recovery in athletes has been a progressively investigated topic and there has been growing concern about it. Due to more and more dense race calendars, using the best recovery method between training and events is crucial to the athlete's performance. The massage gun is an instrument that is becoming increasingly popular. Research has followed this growth trend, however the available information is still scarce with the need to explore the topic for different protocols and populations, namely in the cycling community. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the effects of a massage gun protocol and a static stretching protocol on fatigue parameters in experienced road cycling and mountain biking athletes. Sixteen cyclists performed two fatigue in-session protocols in which two random experimental recovery protocols (massage guns and static stretching), were applied between the fatigue protocols. Data relating to Heart rate, Power, Lactate concentration, VO₂max, and Rate of perceived exertion were collected in four moments (M1 - baseline; M2 - after fatigue protocol; M3 - after the recovery protocol; M4 - after a second fatigue protocol). The athletes repeated the tests two weeks apart performing the other recovery protocol. From the collected data, it was found that the use of the massage gun and static stretching protocols causes positive effects in fatigue-related outcomes (Lactate concentration and Rate of perceived exertion). However, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups (p > 0.05). Therefore, although massage guns could be an effective instrument in decreasing fatigue related outcomes, they are not superior to others more commonly used and established recovery methods, such as static stretching.