Massage can help after a workout, but benefits may be limited

Massage is not just for upscale spas. For many athletes, it is an extension of their training programme.

- Christie Aschwanden

There is no question that massage can make you feel better in the short term and many people find that it can ease muscle knots and increase flexibility. PHOTO: NICHOLAS SANSONE/ NYTIMES

(PHOTO: NICHOLAS SANSONE/ NYTIMES)

Running races frequently feature massage stations, many high-end gyms offer post-workout rubdowns and most elite sports teams have a massage therapist on staff. The massage-gun market is estimated at over US$500 million (S$645 million), according to several market research firms, led by dozens of companies such as Theragun, Ekrin and Mebak.

But most exercisers do not need much convincing.

“If you talk to athletes, massage is one of their favourite recovery strategies,” said professor of exercise science Shona Halson at Australian Catholic University. “And we all know why — because it feels good. It’s obviously doing something that athletes perceive as beneficial.”

There is no question that massage can make you feel better in the short term and many people find that it and foam rolling can ease muscle knots and increase flexibility.

As an athlete, I have found that massage almost always makes me feel better after a race or hard workout.

But as a science journalist, I have long wondered what it is doing to my body. So, I dig into the studies and talk to researchers who have investigated it. Here is what they say.

One of the most common claims about the benefits of massage is that it helps with recovery by improving blood flow and flushing out lactic acid, a chemical once blamed for muscle soreness after hard exercise.