Massage is a common part of recovery for people who train hard. Here is what the research says about it, and how much weight to give it.
What the review found
A 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis by Guo and colleagues in Frontiers in Physiology pooled 11 articles covering 504 participants. It compared massage after strenuous exercise with no intervention. Muscle soreness ratings "decreased significantly" in the massage groups, with reductions reported at 24, 48 and 72 hours. The review also reported improvements in maximal isometric force and peak torque, and lower levels of creatine kinase, a marker of muscle damage. The authors concluded that massage after strenuous exercise "could be effective for alleviating DOMS," the delayed onset muscle soreness many people feel a day or two after hard training.
How good the evidence is
The review's own text says "the quality of all the included trials in this meta-analysis was low." So the finding is encouraging but not firm. It tells us massage was compared only with doing nothing, not with other recovery methods like gentle movement, so we can't say massage is better than those.
Safety
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says the risk of harmful effects from massage "appears to be low," with rare reports of serious side effects such as a blood clot, nerve injury or bone fracture. Some of those cases involved vigorous types of massage. NCCIH advises not to use massage therapy to postpone seeing a health care provider about a medical problem. For a sports injury, see our post on sports injury rehab.
How we can help
Our massage page describes what we offer.
Next step
If you're training hard and want to talk through recovery, book online or call 484.455.4664. Keep It Kinetic Chiropractic is at 3254 W Ridge Pike, Suite 202, Pottstown, PA 19464.
Related care at Keep It Kinetic
Further reading: CDC: Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults