Effects of Sports Massage on the Physiological and Mental Health of College Students Participating in a 7-Week Intermittent Exercises Program

• Main Authors: Chih-Chien Shen, Yi-Han Tseng, Meng-Chun Susan Shen, Hsiao-Hsien Lin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: sports massage; body composition; physiological health; mental health; college students
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/5013
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

The purpose of the research is to analyze the improvement in the physical and mental health of college students after intermittent exercises are performed by massage. The present study employed a mixed research method. An experimental study was conducted to analyze the current status of the volunteers’ sports performance and body composition, and then a questionnaire was designed for the subjects’ physical and mental health. The data were then analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software for statistical analysis such as <i>t</i>-test and ANOVA. The subjects were then interviewed to collect their opinions on the study results, and finally, the results were explored by multivariate analysis. The study found that intermittent exercise can help university students develop physical fitness and performance, improve body composition, and regulate physical and mental health. The combination of intermittent exercise with sports massages further enhanced the performance of sit-ups and standing long jump, improve blood pressure, BMI, and self-confidence, as well as reducing suicidal tendencies (experimental group > control group). However, intermittent exercise participants still experienced fatigue, headache, emotional loss, and fear of depression, and the addition of sports massage did not significantly improve flexibility and cardiorespiratory endurance (control group > experimental group).