Thank you to our friend and wonderful chiropractor, Dr. Ryan Shum of Khalsa Chiropratic, for sending along this wonderful research study out of McMaster University.  Here is a link to a synopsis of the study off of the McMaster University website.  There you can also find a link to the actual study itself, published in the February 1 issue of Science Translational Magazine.

This revolutionary new study looks at the effects of massage on the cellular level by performing muscle biopsies on test subjects who cycled over 70 minutes to the point of fatigue, rested for 10 minutes, received 10 minutes of sports massage therapy, and then underwent the biopsies.

After only ten minutes of massage, the biopsies showed that massage triggers biochemical sensors that send inflammation-reducing signals to muscle cells.  In addition, massage tells the muscles to produce more mitochondria, the power centers of the cell that are essential for healing.  Here is scientific evidence pointing to shortened recovery time being one of the many benefits of massage therapy.

This study is a must read for LMT’s and massage lovers alike!