Biochemical measurement
Subjects were requested to refrain from exercise for 24 hours and to fast for at least 10 hours before blood was drawn in the morning. Blood samples were collected on the day of the initiation of the massage or control period, and on the day following each massage or control period. All samples were stored at −80 Celsius and analyzed in batch at the end of the study. Serum C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTx-I), total procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP), N-MID osteocalcin, and insulin were determined by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay on a Cobas e 411 analyzer (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). The intra-assay precision was 3.8%, 3.8%, 1.4% and 1.9%, respectively.