Common Massage Myths
Myths are widely held but false beliefs or ideas. I am here to debunk some common myths about massage.
Myth: A massage has to hurt to be effective.
Myth: A sign of a good massage is next-day soreness.
Truth: Soreness is no indication of how good a massage is. Some people may be sore after their first massage or if they've haven’t had one for a while. They may be sore after a particular muscle has been worked on. The tight muscle or muscle knot has been stretched and loosened. The muscle isn’t use to it and it gets sore. It’s just like exercising. Now you should never be so sore that you're in bed the next day. One way to reduce soreness is to drink water. This leads us to another myth.
Myth: As long as I feel fine, there's no need to drink water after a massage.
Truth: Drinking water after a massage reduces soreness and keeps our muscles hydrated. As I said before, muscles getting stretched and loosened is just like a workout. When a person goes to the gym; during or after exercising they drink water to stay hydrated. It’s the same for our muscles.
Myth: Massage flushes toxins out of the body
Truth: No, massage does not flush toxins out of the body. A healthy body has a pretty efficient way of dealing with its metabolic wastes; they get reused, repurposed, stored away safely or eliminated. The body doesn’t need a massage for this. If massages did flush toxins out of the body, therapists would/should be trained in what toxins are flushed. Therapists are not trained in this. Some might argue that massage removes lactic acid. Recent research shows us that lactic acid is a fuel, not a waste product. The body creates lactic acid and removes it after the body is done with it. A massage manipulates muscles and surrounding tissues to stretch and lengthen them. It has nothing to do with the release of toxins. Melissa Mickle is a licensed massage therapist; she is part of the Wellness team at One.
