The clinical value of massage therapy and its circulatory benefits have been established by a study published in the journal Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago studied the impact of Swedish massage received by 15 out of a test group of 25 healthy adults – all of whom exercised their legs with a leg press until their limbs became sore.

The 15 who received massages reported no more pain an hour and a half after the therapy took place – but those who did not receive a massage said they still felt sore a day after the exercise session.

Participants also had their blood flow measured at different points after the exercise was carried out. Those who were massaged had improved blood flow at all the time points and the improvement in blood flow only appeared to taper off three days after the exercise. Those who were not massaged had reduced blood flow just an hour and a half after exercise.

“If massage therapy treatment is implemented after EMI [exercise-induced muscle injury], increased local blood flow may hasten the inflammatory response by reducing the time course of neutrophil infiltration and activation, thereby protecting against neutrophil-mediated tissue damage [improved circulation leads to a faster immune system],” wrote the researchers in the study.

A control group of 11 adults who did not participate in the exercise session – but received the massage – experienced the same blood flow effects as those who did the leg presses.

“The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of how massage therapy promotes faster recovery from EMI and may have broader implications for the clinical use of massage therapy, especially in the context of endothelial dysfunction [vascular diseases],” the researchers wrote in the study.

Researcher Nina Cherie Franklin – a postdoctoral fellow in physical therapy – said in a statement, “Our study validates the value of massage in exercise and injury, which has been previously recognised but based on minimal data. It also suggests the value of massage outside the context of exercise.”