"Massage is ubiquitous in elite sport and increasingly common at amateur level but the evidence base for this intervention has not been reviewed systematically. We therefore performed a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effect of massage on measures of sporting performance and recovery."
"Results: We identified 29 eligible studies recruiting 1012 participants, representing the largest examination of the effects of massage. We found no evidence that massage improves measures of strength, jump, sprint, endurance or fatigue, but massage was associated with small but statistically significant improvements in flexibility and DOMS."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...articles/PMC7228568/

Yeah, that's a little bit more big picture than anecdotes and simple 'data'.

Oh well, at least they feel good, so their effects can be booked under 'wellness', I guess?
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