Tuesday 15 May 2012

Sports Massage helps speed up recovery


Sports Massage does more than make you feel good!

Evidence that a good post-ride rub down helps your muscles recover.

We all love a good massage especially after a long day in the saddle. Not only does it feel great, but it benefits the body too, although just how much it benefits the body is still questioned among some sports science sceptics.

But it seems, according to a new study, we may have an answer for some of the sceptics. Researchers from McMasters University have delved deeper into physiological changes that occur in the muscles during massage and found that biomechanical sensors are triggered that send inflammation reducing signals to muscles cells. The researchers discovered that a 10-minute massage can not only help tired cycling legs, but aid inflammation-related chronic conditions such as arthritis and muscular dystrophy. In addition, massage signals muscle to build more mitochondria, the power centres of cells that play important role in healing. “The main thing, and what is novel about our study, is that one he’s never looked inside the muscle to see what is happening with the massage” says Justin Crane, a doctoral student in the Department of Kinesiology at Master. “No one looked at the biochemical effects or what might be going on in the muscle itself. We have shown the muscle senses that it is being stretched and this appears to reduce the cells. As a consequence, massage may be beneficial for recovery from injury”.

McMaster’s study followed 11 men in their 20s, and instructed them to cycle for more than 70 minutes, to the point of exhaustion, following a 10-minute rest. In these 10 minutes, a massage therapist performed a massage on one leg, using a variety of techniques, commonly used in rehabilitation. Muscle biopsies were done on both legs and repeated 2.5 hours later.

The researcher’s results found reduced inflammation in only the massaged leg. “I didn’t think that little bit of massage could produce that remarkable a change, especially since the exercise was so robust. Seventy minutes of exercise compared to 10 of a massage, it is clearly potent,” says Crane.

These results, although only in the developmental stage, hint that massage therapy blunts muscle pain by the same biological mechanisms as most pain medications and could be effective alternative to them. Crane believes this study is the first step in determining the best therapies for promoting recovery from a variety of muscle injuries.

Excerpt of article from Cycling Fitness Magazine www.cyclingweekly.co.uk

For a post Recovery Massage Contact

Darren Macfarlane Sports Injury Clinic on 086 1957378
www.sportsinjurytherapy.ie

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