Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) recovery methods in high school relief pitchers: A small-scale experimental study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.3947Keywords:
Active Recovery, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), Post-pitching Recovery Methods, High School Athletes, Relief Pitchers, Muscle Soreness PreventionAbstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of three high school baseball post-pitching recovery methods [Active Recovery (AR), passive recovery (PR), and cryotherapy (CT)] in preventing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) for high school relief pitchers. To test the effectiveness, four key variables were used: 24-hour soreness, 48-hour soreness, perceived recovery rating (PRR), and velocity difference. This study hypothesized that AR would be the most effective recovery method against DOMS, consequently decreasing the likelihood of arm injuries. Six high school relief pitchers went through three testing days each, using every recovery method. Testing days consisted of dynamic warm-ups, throwing warm-ups, bullpen sessions, and two innings of 15 pitches each; velocity was recorded after each pitch. Following the completion of inning two, pitchers completed their respective recovery methods, and surveys for recovery/soreness ratings were completed. Repeated measures ANOVA tests suggested that AR was most effective, followed by PR and lastly CT. Simple paired t-tests were used to run post hoc tests on the independent variable, indicating significant differences between AR and other recovery methods. Across the four variables tested, AR has consistently yielded significantly lower p-values than other recovery interventions. PR also produced significant results compared with CT, demonstrating its potential effectiveness. These findings suggest using AR to prevent DOMS and minimize soreness in high school relievers and to improve pitching performance.
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