« Clean Feat | Fingertips Home | Hand Eczema Among Massage Therapists »
August 19, 2004
Wait A While After Exertion To Get A Massage
New studies conducted in Great Britain show that massage does not increase muscle recovery if administered immediately after exercise. However, that does not mean that massage isn't beneficial to athletes, they just haven't figured out exactly how yet.
"Blood flow can remain elevated for 30 minutes or more after exercise, so you wouldn't expect to see big changes with massage," she says.
In a 1994 study, a 30-minute massage immediately after exercise had no impact on recovery, but muscle soreness was reduced significantly when administered two to six hours later.
"The message is certainly not that massage has no place (in sports medicine)," she tells WebMD. "Nobody has really looked at issues like endorphin release and other endpoints suggesting a psychological benefit. We all know how we feel after we have a massage. We feel wonderful, and that could certainly translate into improved performance."
From my experience, massage does help relieve next day soreness in muscles. Also, I believe the stretching action of massage on a muscle may increase its flexibility and therefore it's performance.
Posted by linda at August 19, 2004 10:33 AM
blog comments powered by Disqus
