Common Massage Myths

We have heard it all - but here are the most common myths about massage therapy, some of which you may have heard before.

Myth #1: Massage Therapy Flushes Toxins Out of the Body

This is by far the most common myth in the massage industry. Massage increases circulation, moves stagnant blood, bringing healthy new blood flow to the tissues, but unfortunately many therapists in the past, and unfortunately still today tell their clients to drink a lot of water after the massage because their toxins were just “flushed out” during the massage. We wonder, what toxin are they talking about specifically?

Toxins, by their very definition, are poisonous substances filtered out by the kidneys. There is absolutely no research that massage flushes out toxins. We need more than one study in order to call it evidence-based research, and at our clinic, we rely heavily on the most current research to provide you with a custom, therapeutic massage that is safe and effective.

Massage therapy may or may not support kidney function, where toxins are truly filtered out. It is not clear, research wise, what role water plays in the overall massage process - more research is needed.

Unfortunately, many schools also teach students this, which just shows they are not teaching from an evidence-based perspective. We offer water to our clients after a massage, because water, in general, is always a good idea to hydrate the body and has numerous benefits. But we certainly don’t tell our clients we just “flushed out their toxins,” because that theory is not supported by research.

Myth #2: Massage Therapy Releases Lactic Acid

This common myth is that massage releases lactic acid in the body during and after a massage. This cannot be further from the truth. Lactate, which is lactic acid minus a proton, is a byproduct the body produces in response to exercise and is removed naturally by the body within the hour of exercising.

Then why are we sore sometimes after a deep tissue massage? Is this not lactic acid? The soreness, technically called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is due to micro-tears in the muscle and the naturally inflammatory response the body goes through during deeper massage, not due to lactic acid being released. These micro-tears allow fresh, healthy blood to come to the area that is being worked on, while the stagnant blood from that same area is removed.

Myth #3: The Deep Tissue Myth - Massage Therapy is Only Effective if it Hurts

No pain, no gain, right? Well, not exactly. This common deep tissue myth proposes that massage therapy is only effective in creating changes in the soft tissue if the techniques the massage therapist uses are performed very deeply, and that they must hurt in order to be effective. This cannot be further from the truth. Of course deep tissue can be effective, but this is not to say that other techniques are less effective.

Although we love and specialize in both medical and deep tissue massage, deep tissue techniques don’t necessarily need to hurt in order to be effective. In fact, lighter touch modalities, for example lymphatic drainage, is performed with the pressure of the weight of a nickel and can help stimulate lymphatic and blood circulation, which is extremely effective in removing edema (swelling) and helping facilitate immune system functioning.

Numerous other techniques, such as Connective Tissue Massage (Bindescheweben Massage), or simple effleurage and petrissage techniques (which are two classic Swedish Massage techniques) can be extremely gentle in nature, and bring about profound effects on the body’s musculoskeletal and nervous systems. This is good news for those who are dealing with pain, but don’t want to be in pain the next day.