EFFECTS OF SLIDING CUPPING THERAPY ON PAIN INTENSITY, PERCEPTION OF FATIGUE AND MUSCLE PERFORMANCE AFTER 10KM RUN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL
Athletes. Recovery of physiological function. Athletic performance.
Introduction: It’s known that in addition to the numerous benefits, running induces adaptive responses, such as muscle fatigue that alters muscle strength and power. As an auxiliary resource for muscle recovery after physical activity, sliding cupping therapy has been applied in clinical practice, under the theories that its application influences the microcirculation and the nervous system, however, there is a scarcity of studies that investigate its effects on athletes. Objective: The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of cupping therapy on pain, perception of fatigue and muscle performance after a 10km run, with the hypothesis that cupping not produces significant changer when compared to the other group. Methodology: This is a blind randomized clinical trial, in which 36 volunteers will be randomly allocated into two groups of 18 participants: cupping group (sliding cup with gentle suction on the quadriceps for 10 minutes) and sham group (sliding cup without vacuum on the quadriceps for 10 minutes). Participants will be evaluated before the race, after the intervention, 24h and 48h after the intervention, using isokinetic dynamometry, vertical jump test, algometry, and pain and fatigue perception and recovery perception scales. Data normality will be assessed by the Shapiro-Wilk and Levene test. To determine the difference between the two groups, the mixed ANOVA model will be used. The post-hoc Bonferroni test will be applied to identify differences when a significant F value is found. Statistical significance will be set at 5% and a confidence interval of 95% (95%CI).