Muscle Rub Enhanced Explosive Leg Power but Not Flexibility or Balance in College Athletes

Abstract

Athletes often use muscle rub to heat up the muscles during warm-up as they believe this will improve their sports performance. However, there is no clear evidence on whether muscle rub application to the upper legs can improve physical performance in athletes. Twenty college athletes were randomized to either receiving 3[Formula: see text]g of muscle rub or a placebo. Static flexibility, dynamic balance, and explosive leg power were measured before and after the application of the muscle rub/placebo. Percentage changes in the performance scores (post–pre) were calculated and compared between the muscle rub and placebo groups using the Mann–Whitney U test and the smallest worthwhile change was calculated to offer further insights for individual participants. Results showed that jump distance significantly increased by 1.7% ([Formula: see text], large effect size) with muscle rub application compared to placebo. There was no significant difference in the percentage change between muscle rub and placebo groups in flexibility ([Formula: see text]) and dynamic balance ([Formula: see text]) performances. In conclusion, application of muscle rub on the upper legs positively enhanced explosive leg power but did not affect flexibility or dynamic balance performances.