Sep
5
2023
Massage after exercise, despite conventional wisdom, doesn’t improve circulation to the muscles or removal of lactic acid, researchers in Canada said.
“This dispels a common belief in the general public about the way in which massage is beneficial,” Michael Tschakovsky, a professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, said in a statement.
The belief that massage aids in the removal of lactic acid from muscle tissue is so pervasive it is even listed on the Canadian Sports Massage Therapists website as one of the benefits of massage, despite there being absolutely no scientific research to back this up.
“It also dispels that belief among people in the physical therapy profession. All the physical therapy professionals that I have talked to, when asked what massage does, answer that it improves muscle blood flow and helps get rid of lactic acid. Ours is the first study to challenge this and rigorously test its validity.”
Kinesiology master’s degree candidate Vicky Wiltshire and Tschakovsky show that massage actually impairs blood flow to the muscle after exercise and that it therefore also impairs the removal of lactic acid from muscle after exercise.
The study is to be presented at the annual American College of Sports Medicine conference May 27-30 in Seattle.
So massage isn’t helpful?
“What we’re saying with this research …it’s not that massage isn’t good,” Tschakovsky told me. “It’s just that the common perception that it increases blood flow and helps in the removal of lactic acid isn’t correct.”
A lot of runners I know – including me – were convinced the theory was correct. My routine was to book a massage a few days before a marathon – made me feel like a racehorse raring to go – and a few days after, which I thought helped those still sore muscles feel better so I could get back out there and start getting ready for my next race sooner.
Tschakovsky says he’s done the same thing – gone for a massage after soccer tournaments.
“Certainly it makes me feel better and it makes me feel as if my muscles are going to work better. It’s just that it’s not because of these claimed reasons.”
Tschakovsky says if massage does improve performance and help you recover more quickly, science has yet to prove how it works. On the other hand, science has not proven that massage hinders performance and recovery.
The bottom line?
“It feels good, that’s the truth of it. A lot of performance is psychological-based so if you feel better, if you feel you’re in a better situation to do something, it probably has the ability to affect performance.”
