massage awareness week Archives

Massage Therapy for Inflammation After Exercise!

The Case for Massage Post-Exercise

Longer and warmer days offer the perfect backdrop to dust off the running shoes and embark on a new fitness goal. One unwanted side effect is increased muscle soreness. The good news is that integrating massage therapy into your health and wellness routine can help alleviate some discomfort.

In fact, research indicates that massage therapy reduces inflammation of skeletal muscle acutely damaged through exercise. The study, conducted by the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and McMaster University in Ontario, provides evidence for the benefits of massage therapy for those with musculoskeletal injuries and potentially for those with inflammatory disease, according to the lead author of the research.

The study found evidence at the cellular level that massage therapy may affect inflammation in a way similar to anti-inflammatory medications.
The researchers “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.”1

Get the full story in AMTA’s Research Roundup »

5 Ways Massage Therapy Can Improve Your Health!

Massage therapy can play an important role in your health regimen. Here are five ways massage may improve health and wellness.

1. Lower stress. The longterm effects of stress can take emotional and physical tolls. Massage therapy may relieve stress and conditions associated with it, such as tension headaches.

2. Increase immune function. Medical research indicates that massage therapy can help boost immune system strength by increasing the activity level of the body’s natural “killer T cells,” which fight off viruses.

3. Boost mental health and wellness. Research suggests that symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression (all associated with mental health) may be directly affected with massage therapy.

4. Manage pain. Pain can negatively affect a person’s quality of life and impede recovery from illness or injury. Recent findings highlight the role of massage in pain management.

5. Improve physical fitness. Elite and recreational athletes alike can benefit from massage therapy—massage can reduce muscle tension, improve exercise performance and prevent injuries.