Does Massage Help With Recovery?
The short answer - Yes, remedial massage and myotherapy are beneficial to help with recovery. Here's why. What is DOMS? D.O.M.S - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. There is a common misconception that the soreness you feel after an event is from a lactic acid build up in your muscles. Instead the most common cause of that pain after an intense session of physical activity is micro-trauma to muscles, which occurs as a natural process in your body.
Micro-trauma in muscles are tiny tears that occur when you muscles when you do physical exercise. It is a very normal process and we need this process to occur in order for our muscles to grow and get stronger. It also prevents major damage from occurring like muscle strains. The result is an inflammatory response that causes swelling, pain and muscle inhibition (weakness).
This is what is thought to give us the pain a few days after a session of intense physical activity. Where Does Massage Fit In? In 2017 researcher looked into the effectiveness of Massage as a tool to help treat DOMS. The results showed that of the 504 subjects that were studies massage significantly decreased that affects of DOMS for up to 3 days following intense exercise.
What Does This Mean? If you are training using massage as a tool for recovery is an effective way to decrease muscle soreness and help you recovery faster. We recommend having a remedial massage or myotherapy session 1 - 2 days after a major event or as part of your regular recovery routine. How often should I get a massage? We have put together a guide when helps you work out for yourself how often you should be getting massage.
Recovery is not what you do after training. It is part of the training.
Click here to head over to our guide. To start making remedial massage or myotherapy part of your recovery routine book in now with one of our friendly and highly experienced team! BOOK ONLINE NOW!
Frequently Asked Questions
Does massage help with muscle soreness after training?
The evidence here is reasonably consistent. A meta-analysis of eleven trials found reduced soreness at 24, 48 and 72 hours after strenuous exercise. The effect on actual performance measures is much less clear, so the fair summary is that it helps how you feel more reliably than how you perform.
When should I book around a hard session or an event?
A good general pattern is lighter flushing work within a day or two of competing, and deeper work at least three to four days out or at the end of a training block. If you have never had deep work before, do not trial it the week of an event.
Does massage flush out lactic acid?
No, and it is worth saying plainly. Lactate clears on its own within an hour or so of finishing exercise and is not what makes you sore two days later. Delayed soreness relates to muscle damage and the inflammatory response. Massage appears to help the soreness, just not by that mechanism.
Is a sports massage different from Remedial Massage?
There is a lot of overlap. Sports work tends to be oriented around training load, events and sport-specific demands. Remedial Massage is oriented around assessing and treating a specific problem. Many of our therapists do both and will adapt to what you need on the day.
How soon after a hard session can I be treated?
Light work can be done soon afterwards. For deep work, giving it a day or so is usually more comfortable and more useful, since very fresh tissue is often too tender to treat well.