Abstract

Aim. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a single hamstring massage on the performance of the sit and reach test in adolescent soccer players. Methods. Ten male adolescent soccer players with a mean age 15.3±0.5 years , height 172±3.5 cm, body mass 67.5±4.3 kg and 5.0±0.7 years of training participated in this study. Before treatment, each of 10 subjects performed the sit and reach test. Performance of the sit and reach test was repeated after treatment. Mean percentage changes in sit and reach score after treatment were calculated for the massage and no massage treatments, and analyzed using student's t test. Results. No significant differences were observed for subjects with relatively high and low values before treatment. Conclusion. These findings suggest that a single massage of the hamstring muscle group was not associated with any significant increase in sit and reach performance immediately after treatment in adolescent soccer players.