Ali Satia Graha, Sri Sundari, Muhamad Nanang Solikhin, Moch. Septian Resi Wibowo, Lailla Affianti Fauzi, Arif Kurniawan
This study evaluates the effect of combined massage therapy (sports injury and deep tissue massage) and exercise on joint mobility and pain reduction in young soccer players at the Faculty of Sports Science and Health, Yogyakarta State University. Using a Quasi-Experimental design with a two-group pretest-posttest scheme, 20 players aged 6-15 years with mild knee injuries were selected through purposive sampling. Joint mobility was assessed with the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS), and pain was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Data analysis with Independent T-Test and Pearson Correlation showed that the group receiving sports injury massage and exercise had significantly greater reductions in pain and improvements in joint mobility compared to the deep tissue massage group (p < 0.05). Additionally, a negative correlation between pain and joint mobility was found (r = 0.473). The study concludes that sports injury massage combined with exercise is more effective in reducing pain and enhancing mobility than deep tissue massage with exercise. © 2025 Author(s).
Sports and Health Department, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
