Recovery strategies that attenuate exercise-induced inflammation are of considerable interest in combat sports, where repeated high-intensity efforts can lead to muscle damage and inflammatory responses. This study compared the effects of massage, black seed oil, and massage combined with black seed oil on serum concentrations of IL-6, IL-10,CRP, and CPK.

Fifteen elite male taekwondo athletes were assigned to one of three intervention groups: massage, black seed oil, or massage with black seed oil. Interventions were administered once weekly for three consecutive weeks. The massage group received 30–45 minutes of Swedish massage, the black seed oil group received topical application of 5–10 mL of black seed oil, and the combined group received Swedish massage using black seed oil as the massage medium. Blood samples were collected at baseline and after each intervention. Serum concentrations were measured using ELISA, and data were analyzed using two-way repeated-measures ANOVA(p≤0.05).

A significant main effect of time was observed for IL-6 and IL-10 (p≤0.001), with significant group×time interactions (p≤0.007). Post hoc analysis revealed higher IL-6 and IL-10 concentrations in the black seed oil group compared with the combined intervention group during the first week post-intervention (p ≤ 0.05). Within-group analyses showed significant increases in IL-6 and IL-10 from baseline across all post-intervention measurements (p≤0.05). No significant changes were observed for CRP or CPK.

These findings suggest that combining massage with black seed oil may attenuate acute cytokine responses compared with black seed oil alone, while having limited effects on CRP and CPK concentrations.