The Benefits of Massage for Exercise Recovery

Summary: There is a good reason why athletes receive regular massage therapy: Massage helps improve blood flow, increases the rate of recovery and restores the lost range of motion of your muscle tissue.

Have you ever wondered why you see almost any professional athlete get a massage after a game? Or even a practice session? That is because a post-workout massage goes a long way to improving recovery and reducing soreness. Here are a few ways massage helps with recovery from exercise:

Pump

Areas with tight or damaged muscle tissue after a workout tend to have less blood flow. This is a natural reaction by the body and a good massage will pump blood back. When fresh blood flow hits damaged tissue, the body’s efforts to rebuild that tissue increase.

Lactic acid

A good massage will assist your body with disposing of waste by-products of exercise like lactic acid. Also, the massage opens pores within the tissue, helping the flow of nutrients to where they are needed the most.

Stretch

A good workout builds up pressure and tension in the muscles. A massage will help relieve the pressure and stretch the muscles safely, reducing tension and preventing any injury.

Injury

A previous injury can result in a lot of scar tissue. A sports specific massage will help break up that scar tissue and increase the range of motion of that muscle. Scar tissue increases your chances of injury by limiting the movement of your tendons and ligaments.