Massage therapy after a workout can confer many benefits for your body and your brain. Although a team of Canadian researchers busted one myth regarding massage after exercise, that does not mean the therapy's many other benefits don't hold up.
Physical Benefits
A post-workout massage can soothe sore muscles, get rid of stiffness and alleviate pain and muscle spasms caused by your exercise. Because massage therapy works on the soft tissues of your body, such as the muscles, tendons and ligaments, it can help your body become supple, flexible and maintain its full range of motion. This can improve your future workout performance as well as prevent future injuries. If you are injured during your workout, regular massage therapy can help speed up the healing and rehabilitation process.
Mental Benefits
Massage therapy after a workout soothes your mind as effectively as it soothes your body. Massages can relieve stress, anxiety and help alleviate depression. Your time on the massage table is your chance to relax and unwind, whether your idea of unwinding is either talking with your massage therapist about your killer workout or simply having quiet introspection. As an extension of your exercise cool down period, massage therapy can help you transition from your workout to your regular daily activity. The therapist's touch can bring you a sense of being pampered, cared for and secure.
What Type to Get
Sports massages, which are specifically geared toward athletes, is your best bet following a workout. Sports massage uses tapping, kneading, vibration, lengthy strokes and circulation motions. If your workout left any muscles injured or overworked, your therapist can include trigger point massage techniques to loosen and sooth the resulting tight or sensitive muscle fibers.
Myth
One of the longstanding myths of massage was that it increased blood circulation and removed lactic acid from your post-workout muscles. This is not true, according to research published in the June 2010 issue of "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise." Five researchers from Queen's University School of Kinesiology and Health Studies in Canada busted the myth by testing the effects of massage against the effects of gentle exercise and passive recovery on 12 men following their forearm workouts. Those who received post-exercise massages actually had less blood flow and therefore less lactic acid removal than the subjects who did not receive massage.
References
- Women Fitness: Minimizing Sore Muscles
- Mayo Clinic: Massage
- Sports Injury Clinic: Sports Massage Sports Massage - Benefits and Effects
- PubMed.gov; Massage Impairs Postexercise Muscle Blood Flow and "Lactic Acid" Removal; T. Hong, M. Pak, V. Poitras, J. Rayner, M.E. Tschakovsky, E.V. Wiltshire; June 2010
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