This
review sums up it up. No measureable effect of massage on muscle damage repair, blood flow, inflammatory response, ability to contract forcefully, fatigue recovery, etc. But it does have effects on muscle relaxation, mood, myofascial pain. I know it works for me in getting "knots" out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
parmanjatt 
who's the girl in ur sig?! btw, to the ppl that were saying stuff about toxins and acid crap, its just lactic acid which reversibly turns back into pyruvate when ur muscles recieve oxygen when u rest after a hard workout. it was on the news or some shit a couple days back that massages reduce blood flow, which would mean reduce oxygen flow, and thus i'd assume they would be worse for u, from a strait biology point of view @HomerJ, how could getting rid of ur myoglobin possibly help ur muscles feel better? Wouldn't u be depriving urself of oxygen again? but they still feel damn good so just get one
I wasn't saying that clearing myoglobin would necessarily make you feel better. I was trying to think of a rationale for drinking water after massage. Damaged muscle tissue releases myoglobin as does
massage of painful muscles. Myoglobin is toxic to kidney tissues so maybe it can be diluted by drinking water?