The effect of subliminal music on muscle tone, pain, and vital signs in female athletes: A community-based clinical trial based on the Schopenhauer's theory.

OBJECTIVE: The Total Resistance Exercise has become very common in the last decade, especially among female athletes. In this study, the control of muscle cramps, pain, and vital signs in female athletes specializing in TRX when exposed to subliminal music was investigated according to Schopenhauer's theory.

METHODS: This community-based clinical trial research was conducted at a sports club in Tehran. One hundred and eighty women athletes were selected using a simple random sampling method. They were divided into three groups with subliminal intervention, popular music, and a control group without music intervention. Immediately before and after the intervention, the researchers measured the muscle tone of the forearm biceps and quadriceps femoris muscles using the modified Ashworth scale and the pain in these muscles using the VAS scale. Also, heart rate and blood oxygen level were measured using an ACCARE pulse oximeter device.

RESULTS: The age range of the athletes was 21-45 years. The analysis showed that after the exercise, the pain in the biceps and quadriceps muscles was significantly less in the subliminal group than in the other two groups. Also, there was a significant difference in the subliminal group compared to the control group. After the intervention, the lowest values of mean ranks in all the measured variables were observed in the subliminal group. There was no significant difference in the vital signs between groups before and after intervention.

CONCLUSION: The subliminal music caused a significant decrease in muscle pain and tone.