Sports Massage and Recovery: A Plain-Language Look at the Evidence

Sports massage is popular among both elite and amateur athletes, but its actual effects on performance and recovery have often been assumed rather than proven. To test the assumptions, researchers at the University of Sheffield conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, published in the open-access journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. They searched major medical databases for randomized studies of manual massage and then grouped the results by specific outcomes.

Rather than lumping everything together, the team ran separate analyses for strength, jumping, sprinting, endurance, flexibility, fatigue, and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). This approach makes the findings easier to interpret because it shows exactly where massage did and did not make a difference. On the performance side, the results were clear: massage showed no measurable benefit for strength, jump height, sprint speed, endurance, or fatigue.

The outcomes where massage did help were flexibility and DOMS, the muscle soreness that typically peaks a day or two after unaccustomed exercise. In both cases the improvements were small but statistically significant, meaning they were unlikely to be due to chance even though they were modest in size.

The authors were transparent about the limitations of the underlying research, noting that many of the included trials were small, which reduces confidence in any single conclusion. Their overall message aligns with other reviews in this area: sports massage should not be sold as a way to make athletes stronger or faster, but it may have a genuine, if limited, role in easing soreness and improving flexibility. For most people, that positions massage as a comfort and mobility aid rather than a competitive edge.

Key findings

• Researchers searched PubMed, MEDLINE, and Cochrane for randomized studies of manual massage and ran separate analyses for each outcome.
• Massage showed no measurable benefit for strength, jump height, sprint speed, endurance, or fatigue.
• Massage was linked to small but statistically significant improvements in flexibility and in delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
• The included studies were generally small, which limits how firmly the conclusions can be drawn.
• The findings echo other reviews suggesting massage is not a performance enhancer but may aid comfort and mobility.

Clinical relevance

This open-access review helps a rehabilitation clinic recommend sports massage honestly, emphasizing its realistic role in easing soreness and supporting flexibility rather than promising performance gains.

Prepared by the Volt Health team as an educational summary of the cited publication. It is not medical advice; assessment and treatment decisions should always be made with a qualified health professional.