Massage therapy works in many ways to relieve stress, alleviate muscle pain, and otherwise promote good health and well-being. A recent study, revealed new information about why massage after training helps relieve muscle soreness and inflammation. The culprit is not lactic acid, but cytokines, which are part of the inflammatory response that occurs when muscle tissue is damaged during a workout. The experiment involved several muscle biopsies taken from different volunteers rather than anecdotal evidence. The abstract is below.

Abstract

Massage therapy is commonly used during physical rehabilitation of skeletal muscle to ameliorate pain and promote recovery from injury. Although there is evidence that massage may relieve pain in injured muscle, how massage affects cellular function remains unknown. To assess the effects of massage, we administered either massage therapy or no treatment to separate quadriceps of 11 young male participants after exercise-induced muscle damage. Muscle biopsies were acquired from the quadriceps (vastus lateralis) at baseline, immediately after 10 min of massage treatment, and after a 2.5-hour period of recovery. We found that massage activated the mechanotransduction signaling pathways focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and extracellular signal–regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), potentiated mitochondrial biogenesis signaling [nuclear peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α)], and mitigated the rise in nuclear factor κB (NFκB) (p65) nuclear accumulation caused by exercise-induced muscle trauma. Moreover, despite having no effect on muscle metabolites (glycogen, lactate), massage attenuated the production of the inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor–α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and reduced heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) phosphorylation, thereby mitigating cellular stress resulting from myofiber injury. In summary, when administered to skeletal muscle that has been acutely damaged through exercise, massage therapy appears to be clinically beneficial by reducing inflammation and promoting mitochondrial biogenesis.

At the Athlete Clinic we have been involved in coaching & athlete services since 1985. Our knowledge base allows us to evaluate each and every client on an individual basis and combine case history with current and traditional prehab and rehab techniques to develop the athlete/client for the goal they have set. That goal might be to walk again post trauma or surgery or may be a world championship podium. The fundaments of human movement don’t change between the 2 but the demands on that movement do therefore creating that platform for success is individual and need to be designed. This is what we do and through our orthopaedic sports massage, injury management & strength & conditioning program your platform will allow you to succeed. Below is a list of some of the techniques we use in conjunction with conditioning and proprioceptive work to get your physical well being to where it needs to be.