September 27, 2014

Study Shows Massage Therapy Improves Blood Flow in Aching Muscles

Contributed by Jolie Haun, PhD EdS LMT, Pualani Gillespie, MS RN LMT, Beth Barberree, BA RMT

It is a natural tendency to rub the injured area when someone has overexerted a muscle. This stress on the muscle tissue and related injuries is known as "exertion induced muscle injury." Individuals often seek massage therapy to relieve the soreness in these muscles. For example, this is a basic concept of sports massage, as athletes have a tendency to over exert themselves and often experience much relief from receiving massage therapy.

The Massage Therapy Foundation and the massage therapy profession have a great deal of interest in understanding the mechanisms of muscular injury phenomena, and the role of massage therapy in improving function and recovery. In fact, the Foundation recently supported the work of a group of researchers, Franklin and colleagues, to examine the role of vascular endothelial function in exercise-induced muscle injury and recovery supported by massage therapy. The purpose of this study was to: investigate the mechanisms of systemic endothelial dysfunction of the brachial artery, which develops after exercise-induced muscle injury of the lower extremities; and determine if treatment of the lower extremities with massage therapy reduces endothelial dysfunction. The authors hypothesized that a massage therapy treatment performed after exposure to exercise-induced muscle injury would protect against impaired endothelial function.

FULL article HERE: