Investigating the Most Commonly Applied Lactate Recovery Method According to the Positions in Football

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the most suitable recovery method that can be applied for eliminating blood lactate accumulated in the blood of football players after training or a match. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the soccer player’s role in these recovery methods was determined.
Methods: Herein, 36 professional or professional candidate football players, which included 12 defenses, 12 midfielders, and 12 attackers, were included. Athletes were asked to warm up before the field workout started and then they were subjected to a maximal field test on an 800-m course. The blood samples taken from the athletes after the field test were evaluated for blood lactate. Then, each athlete was rested with either active, passive, or massage recovery methods, and the blood analyses were repeated and recorded. Each athlete was evaluated and recorded for 48 h after the same field test by other recovery method.
Results: According to the obtained statistics, it was found that the most appropriate method for lactate recovery after maximal exercise was active recovery (p<0.05). Massage recovery was found to be more effective than passive recovery but significantly less effective than active recovery (p<0.05). We determined that the football player positions do not affect the effectiveness of the recovery methods used (p>0.05).
Conclusion: The most effective recovery method was determined as active recovery, and the effect was proven even in a 15-min application.