February 17th, 2012 • Posted by Ramona Rice • Permalink
Traditional Science is Catching Up
We have been telling you about the benefits of receiving regular massage for years but now traditional science is catching up.
A recent article in the New York Times describes a recent study focusing on the benefits of massage to reduce pain and help muscles recover. Scientists had the test subjects vigorously exercise on a bike for more than an hour until the subject could not continue. One leg of the subject was left to heal on its own while the other leg was given a 10 minute massage. A biopsy was done each time on both leg tissues to see the rate of healing. Then another biopsy was taken after two-and-a-half-hours of rest.
What was discovered was that the massage leg had a significant reduction in the rate of inflammation which the scientists believe is due to the massage helping the muscle to adapt to the demands of the increased exercise.
The senior author of the study, Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky said that massage works better to recover from inflammation than traditional anti-inflammatory drugs because while the drugs do reduce inflammation and pain the pills can get in the way of the healing. “There’s some theoretical concern that there is a maladaptive response in the long run if you’re constantly suppressing inflammation with drugs. With massage, you can have your cake and eat it too- massage can suppress inflammation and actually enhance cell recovery.”
Sounds like a great reason to make massage a regular part of your wellness routine and not just a special occasion treat.
What do you think about this, is it time to drop the pills and get regular massage instead?
