Put away your pills and knead away your aches and pains instead. The same mechanisms that are associated with anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce pain are now believed to be at work with massage. While there has been plenty of studies demonstrating the feel good affects of massage, research on the biological factors involved are just now coming out.
Scientists from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario conducted a study revealing the scientific affect that massage has on pain, at a cellular level. The study genetically analyzed the leg muscles of 11 young males after exercising on a bicycle to exhaustion. One leg of each participant was randomly chosen to be massaged. Biopsies of both legs were taken before, 10 minutes after being massage, and 2.5 hours after recovery.
The results clearly demonstrated that on a cellular level massage reduces inflammation and promotes growth of new mitochondria in skeletal muscle. In other words, massage helps reduce pain by reducing inflammation and stimulates the power house of cells to promote muscle growth and healing.
The implications of this study go beyond pain reduction and muscle healing of fatigued muscles. Inflammation is not only the source of pain, but is a factor behind age related issues and chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and fibromyalgia.
Massage has always been seen as a common healing modality in complimentary and alternative medicine. Studies such as these help facilitate the understanding of massage and pave the way for its acceptance in the medical realm.
Share the news and knowledge with your friends and family. Come experience the joys and relief of massage in our clinic. Whether the outcome of treatment is full rehabilitation or management of a chronic condition, a massage will almost always improve an individuals quality of life. We look forward to seeing you soon!
