Massage therapy has several impacts on muscle fibers in the area being treated. The amount of the impact and its duration depend on the type and intensity of massage used during treatment. Relaxation styles of massage, such as Esalen or Swedish massage, are generally more gentle and therefore the relief they offer tends to be short-lived unless repeated at frequent intervals. Deep tissue styles of massage, such as neuromuscular therapy or rolfing, can involve deep pressure and intense stretching and often tend to have a more pronounced impact on muscle fiber and contraction.
Basics
Massage therapy involves using the hands to apply stroking or static pressure to the patient's body. In most cases, enough pressure is used to mechanically cause increased circulatory and lymph flow through the capillaries and lymph vessels. Repetitive stroking or pressure can also be used to sedate overstimulated nerves to cause them to cease sending pain impulses to the patient's brain. A second result of sedating irritated nerve endings is that it enables related muscle fiber to stop contracting and to relax.
Circulation Benefits
The increased circulation and lymph flow caused by massage therapy is important to muscle fiber for two main reasons. First, the increased flow of oxygen and nutrient-enriched blood delivers supplies critical for healthy muscle fibers and nerve endings. Second, additional flow of lymph fluid removes cellular waste products from between the cells. This provides an optimal environment for muscle and nerve cells to function.
Nerve Effects
When nerve endings receive signals from the brain, they begin to release the chemical acetyl choline, causing structures within the muscle fiber to contract. Once the acetyl choline is spent, the muscle fiber relaxes. Irritated nerve endings often release too much acetyl choline, causing a continued muscle contraction, or spasm. Massage therapy can help break this cycle by stimulating other nerve endings in the area and overriding the signal being sent to the brain. As a result, the contracted muscle can relax, increasing the likelihood that fresh blood to the area can help remove the irritant causing the original nerve irritation.
Stretching Impacts
Two common techniques found in massage--pressure and friction--help to mechanically cause muscles to relax by physically stretching the muscle fibers, which breaks the bonds originally induced by acetylcholine. Dr. Kalyani Premkumar, professor at the University of Calgary and instructor at the Center for Complementary Health Education, explains that "blood flow to the muscle fibers is also restored when the muscles are relaxed by stretch; when more blood flows through this region, nutrients and oxygen are made available and substances that cause pain are washed away."
Significance
Once the feedback loop previously established by the irritated nerves has been broken and the muscle tissue allowed to relax, the patient is able to move the muscle in a more normal fashion and with less pain. Lissa Wheeler, therapist and instructor at the Connecticut School of Integrative Manual Therapy, notes that massage therapy can be effective in releasing contracted muscle fibers even in cases of lengthy duration, particularly when applying well-known stretching massage styles such as "strain counterstrain."
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