What does massage do anyway, and are there health benefits besides feeling really, really
good?
Hey guys, Crystal here with DNews.
I grew up a dancer and a gymnast, and therapeutic massage was just a part of my athletic life.
Even now after a tough week at the gym or too much time spent on airplanes I turn to
a masseur to work things out.
Its no secret that massages make us feel good and this fact has even been verified by science!
In one of my favorite mouse studies ever, Caltech researchers identified a specific
set of sensory neurons common among mammals that trigger pleasurable responses when activated
by a firm stroking sensation.
Yes, some researcher massaged a bunch of mice and then wrote a paper on it, because science
is awesome.
But is massage actually helping to improve muscle function and recovery after a hard
workout?
What are muscle “knots”?, and what about those “toxins” that my masseur keeps talking
about?
A study by researchers at McMaster University studied the biological changes in the muscles
of 11 young men after they pushed themselves to exhaustion with exercise.
Using biopsy of leg muscle tissue, the researchers were able to show that a 10 minute post-workout
massage can reduce cellular stress and inflammation in response to mechanical injury, increase
mitochondrial production leading to improved muscle repair and function, and reduce pain!
Notably absent in the study was any evidence that massage could help clear lactic acid
from tired muscles or improve glycogen levels.
Two benefits commonly associated with the practice, So please, continue to drink water
after your workout and massage to keep your body hydrated, but “flushing out the released
toxins” isn’t really a thing.
The scientific literature is less clear when it comes to defining just what is going on
when your muscle contracts into painful knots or why massage seems to help.
In fact there was very little in the way of convincing literature out there on the subject,
but the most compelling argument I found proposed that a “muscle knot is your muscle remaining
flexed and refusing to relax,” and the result of inflammation due to the release of lactic
acid.
In this case massage of the affected area would help reduce the inflammation and allow
the muscle to relax, similar to the ameliorating effect of NonSteroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs
like ibuprofen.
But obviously more research is needed before we can say we know for sure.
So massage does actually help your muscles heal and recover, and that positive affect
is from more than just physical manipulation of your muscle tissue!
It actually increases activation of biochemical pathways that respond to mechanical stress
and suppresses immune responses that lead to inflammation.
Pretty cool.
Im totally going to use this new information to justify more frequent massage appointments.
Speaking of reducing pain, have you ever wondered what the difference is between some of the
most well-known over-the-counter pain relievers?
Julia explores that topic in this video