Post-Exercise Massage – Are you doing more harm than good?

While KT Tape fans know that using kinesiology therapeutic tape after exercise will help the body recover, conventional wisdom in the physical training profession for years also has been that massage post-workout improves blood flow and helps with the removal of built-up lactic acid.  But a new study by a group of Canadian researchers suggests that massage may actually decrease blood flow to muscles post workout.

“This dispels a common belief in the general public about the way in which massage is beneficial. It also dispels that belief among people in the physical therapy profession. All the physical therapy professionals that I have talked to, when asked what massage does, answer that it improves muscle blood flow and helps get rid of lactic acid. Ours is the first study to challenge this and rigorously test its validity.” — Michael Tschakovsky, Professor, Queen’s University, Kingston

This may change the way thousands of professional and amateur athletes handle their post-workout routine.  However, KT Tape before, during and after exercise is always a good choice.

Filed under: Uncategorized | January 11, 2010
Tags :exercise , KT Tape , lactic acid , massage , Michael Tschakovsky , physical therapy , post-workout