Performance recovery from exercise: A review from a statistical point of view

Background. Research into methods for recovery from fatigue due to exercise is a popular topic among sport medicine, kinesiology and physical therapy. However, both the quantity and quality of studies and a clear solution of recovery are lacking. An analysis of the statistical methods in the existing literature of performance recovery can enhance the quality of research and provide some guidance for future studies. Methods: A literature review was performed using SCOPUS, SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and Science Citation Index Expanded databases to extract the studies related to performance recovery from exercise of human beings. Original studies and their statistical analysis for recovery methods including Active Recovery, Cryotherapy/Contrast Therapy, Massage Therapy, Diet/Ergogenics, and Rehydration were examined. Results: The review produces a Research Design and Statistical Method Analysis Summary. Conclusion: Research design and statistical methods can be improved by using the guideline from the Research Design and Statistical Method Analysis Summary. This summary table lists the potential issues and suggested solutions, such as, sample size calculation, sports specific and research design issues consideration, population and measure markers selection, statistical methods for different analytical requirements, equality of variance and normality of data, post hoc analyses and effect size calculation.^