Effect of Pneumatic Compression and Manual Massage on Fatigue Recovery and Performance in Under-20 Soccer Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Crossover Study

Introduction: Acute neuromuscular fatigue impairs athletic performance and increases the risk of musculoskeletal injury. Recovery strategies such as manual massage (MM) and intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) have been proposed to mitigate these effects, although their efficacy remains controversial. Objective: To compare the MM and IPC effects on muscle damage recovery, lower limb strength, and power in Under-20 soccer athletes. Methods: A cross-sectional crossover studyn was conducted with twenty male youth athletes (n = 20) from the under-20 category (18.65 ± 0.67 years) of Paysandu Sport Club – Brazil, who underwent a fatigue protocol followed by either MM or IPC, with a seven-day washout between sessions. The following variables were assessed: serum creatine kinase (CK), quadriceps and hamstrings isometric voluntary contraction (IVC), and vertical jump (VJ). Results: CK decreased following the MM (pre: 382.50 ± 163.02 U/L; post: 305.40 ± 239.98 U/L; p=0.042) but not for IPC (pre: 337 ± 114.50 U/L; post: 199 ± 89.50 U/L); p=0.16). After the crossover, IPC elicited a significant reduction in CK (pre: 307 ± 198 U/L; post: 256 ± 84.75 U/L; p=0.028), whereas MM did not reach statistical significance (pre: 316.70 ± 116.66 U/L; post: 252.50 ± 91.77 U/L; p=0.094). Neither intervention (MM or IPC) resulted in significant improvements in Quadriceps or Hamstring (p>0.05) IVC or VJ height (p>0.05). Conclusion: MM and IPC are viable recovery tools to mitigate biochemical markers of muscle stress without compromising performance, a crucial consideration for high-performance environments where recovery windows are narrow.