COMBINED EFFECT OF EFFLEURAGE AND ANKLE–TOE MOVEMENT EXERCISES VERSUS EFFLEURAGE ALONE ON ACUTE MUSCLE SORENESS: A RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE FIELD STUDY

Background: Acute muscle soreness after exercise or competitive play is a common issue among athletes and physically active people, often causing a temporary drop in performance and delaying their return to sport. Non-pharmacological, field-ready interventions like manual massage and active movement are appealing since they need no equipment and can be given immediately at the site of exertion. Objective: To compare effleurage massage alone against effleurage combined with ankle–toe movement exercises for acute post-exercise soreness in physically active young adults, assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Methods: This randomized comparative study enrolled 52 physically active participants (18–30 years) with acute calf soreness following exertion, divided equally into two groups of 26. Group A received effleurage alone for 3 minutes; Group B received the same duration of effleurage combined with ankle–toe movement exercises. VAS scores (0–10) were recorded at baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and one minute later (T2). Group differences were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U test, independent-samples t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and repeated-measures ANOVA. Results: Baseline soreness was similar across groups (Group A 7.23 ± 0.95 vs Group B 7.58 ± 0.95; p=0.198). Group B showed markedly greater soreness reduction at T1 (3.62 ± 0.98 vs 5.92 ± 1.02; p<0.001) and T2 (0.54 ± 0.71 vs 3.92 ± 0.93; p<0.001), with a significant time × group interaction (p<0.001). Conclusion: Adding ankle–toe exercises to effleurage massage relieves acute calf soreness faster and more substantially than effleurage alone, making it a simple, field-deployable recovery approach for athletes and active individuals. Keywords: Effleurage; Ankle-toe exercises; Acute muscle soreness; Visual Analog Scale; Massage therapy; Field-based recovery