The Effect of Active Recovery, Passive Recovery and Sports Massage on Cortisol and Lactate Levels in Semi-professional Male Runners

The role of recovery can be effective in reducing post-exercise fatigue. This study aimed to compare the effects of active recovery and sports massage on cortisol hormone activity and blood lactate levels in semi-professional male runners. In this semi-experimental study, 20 semi-professional runners were randomly selected and divided into two groups: the active recovery group and the massage recovery group. Initially, blood samples were taken from the participants after a 12-hour fasting period to examine the variables in the pre-test. Then, both groups participated in a 1500-meter race, after which the recovery methods were applied. After blood collection, the participants underwent a post-test. The obtained data were analyzed using paired t-test and independent t-test with a significance level of less than 0.05. The results showed that cortisol levels after massage recovery did not significantly differ from the pre-test levels (P=0.67). However, lactate levels in the post-test following massage recovery were significantly higher than the pre-test levels (P=0.001). The cortisol levels in the active recovery group were significantly higher than the pre-test levels (P=0.04), and the cortisol levels in the post-test were significantly higher than the pre-test levels in the active recovery group (P=0.001). There was no significant difference in cortisol (P=0.48) and lactate (P=0.45) levels between the massage recovery and active recovery methods in semi-professional runners. The results indicated that at this level of exercise intensity, there was no significant difference in the changes of lactate and cortisol hormones between the two recovery methods (active and massage).