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How Massage Heals Sore Muscles

5/23/2014

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"Why get a massage? Well, because it feels good, for one thing. But obviously that isn't the only reason, in fact, massage therapy can help promote muscle recovery after a tough workout or provide other benefits.
A massage after vigorous exercise unquestionably feels good, and it seems to reduce pain and help muscles recover. Many people — both athletes and health professionals – have long contended it eases inflammation, improves blood flow and reduces muscle tightness. But until now no one has understood why massage has this apparently beneficial effect.

Now researchers have found what happens to muscles when a masseur goes to work on them.

Their experiment required having people exercise to exhaustion and undergo five incisions in their legs in order to obtain muscle tissue for analysis. Despite the hurdles, the scientists still managed to find 11 brave young male volunteers. The study was published in the Feb. 1 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

On a first visit, they biopsied one leg of each subject at rest. At a second session, they had them vigorously exercise on a stationary bicycle for more than an hour until they could go no further. Then they massaged one thigh of each subject for 10 minutes, leaving the other to recover on its own. Immediately after the massage, they biopsied the thigh muscle in each leg again. After allowing another two-and-a-half hours of rest, they did a third biopsy to track the process of muscle injury and repair.

Vigorous exercise causes tiny tears in muscle fibers, leading to an immune reaction — inflammation — as the body gets to work repairing the injured cells. So the researchers screened the tissue from the massaged and un-massaged legs to compare their repair processes, and find out what difference massage would make.

They found that massage reduced the production of compounds called cytokines, which play a critical role in inflammation. Massage also stimulated mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses inside cells that convert glucose into the energy essential for cell function and repair.
“The bottom line is that there appears to be a suppression of pathways in inflammation and an increase in mitochondrial biogenesis,” helping the muscle adapt to the demands of increased exercise, said the senior author, Dr. Mark A. Tarnopolsky.

Dr. Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said that massage works quite differently from Nsaids and other anti-inflammatory drugs, which reduce inflammation and pain but may actually retard healing. Many people, for instance, pop an aspirin or Aleve at the first sign of muscle soreness. “There’s some theoretical concern that there is a maladaptive response in the long run if you’re constantly suppressing inflammation with drugs,” he said. “With massage, you can have your cake and eat it too—massage can suppress inflammation and actually enhance cell recovery.”

“This is important research, because it is the first to show that massage can reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines which may be involved in pain,” said Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School. She was not involved in the study. “We have known from many studies that pain can be reduced by massage based on self-report, but this is the first demonstration that the pain-related pro-inflammatory cytokines can be reduced.” she said.

Getting a massage from a professional masseur is obviously more expensive than taking an aspirin. But, as Dr. Field points out, massage techniques can be taught. “People within families can learn to massage each other,” she said. “If you can teach parents to massage kids, couples to massage each other. This can be cost effective.”

Dr. Tarnopolsky suggests that, in the long run, a professional massage may even be a better bargain than a pill. “If someone says “This is free and it might make you feel better, but it may slow down your recovery, do you still want it?” he asked. “Or would you rather spend the 50 bucks for a post-exercise massage that also might enhance your recovery?”

From the Blog below:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/how-massage-heals-sore-muscles/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
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Why is Massage Good for you?

5/19/2014

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"Just as your consistent exercise plan reaps big benefits, massage does more for you if you engage in it regularly. Even a monthly treatment can help you maintain general health."
“Touch is basic to survival and that’s all the excuse anyone should need to indulge."

A weekly massage may seem an indulgence, but new research suggests it can have major health benefits,” says Elliot Greene, past president of AMTA [American Massage Therapy Association].

Luckily, regular massage is easily accessible for everyone. It is no longer available only through luxury spas and upscale health clubs. Today, massage therapy is offered everywhere from businesses, clinics, hospitals to even airports. 
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Dampen Stress and Raise Your Mood

Massage has the ability to raise mood-elevating brain chemicals such as serotonin and scientists are now finding that massage can also reduce blood pressure, boost the immune system, and dampen harmful stress hormones. So powerful, doctors have started prescribing massage to help patients manage both pain and stress. And many health care providers share in the cost. Mark Rapaport, MD, the chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said his own curiosity led to a published study that looked at 53 healthy adults who received one of two types of touch treatments. Those who had received a Swedish massage with moderate pressure experienced decreases in stress hormones and increases in white blood cells, indicating a boost in the immune system, as revealed blood tests. There is a growing body of research, including this Cedars-Sinai study, that shows a link between many forms of touch—from massage to hand-holding—and improved health.

Relax and Stimulate the Body’s Communication Lines

Your body strives to keep all of its systems in balance and, thereby, maintain optimum health. Just as proper nutrition, exercise and rest help to keep you feeling your best, massage relaxes tense muscles and stimulates the body’s communication lines to help it do its job.

Better Zzzz

There are few things that can compete with massage for relaxation. Studies show that babies fall asleep faster when massaged than when simply rocked. Interestingly, they stay asleep, rather than waking the moment their mother tiptoes away.

Same Category as Proper Diet and Exercise

As well put by Tiffany Field, founder of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami’s School of Medicine, “All these factors puts massage in the same category with proper diet and exercise as something that helps maintain overall health.”
In conclusion, you owe it to your health to brush aside any thoughts that massage is only a feel-good way to indulge or pamper yourself. To the contrary, massage can be a powerful tool to help you take charge of your personal well-being, whether you have a specific health condition or are just looking for another stress reliever. Pick up the phone and book your first massage and be sure to carve out room for more!

Studies of the benefits of massage demonstrate that it is an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain and muscle tension.

Extract from:
http://elementsmassage.com/maplevalley/blog/6612/why-regular-massage-is-good-for-you
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