I've had two professional massages in my life, the first in 2003 and the second just two days ago from a friend who's studying Asian bodywork and massage. (Ok, so she's not a professional yet, but she's close enough for me.)Within days of getting each massage, I came down with a cold.
After the first instance I was told that I should have drunk a lot of water after my massage, as the massage releases toxins in the body. I remembered that advice after my more recent massage, but apparently I didn't drink enough.
Although colds are yucky, they've proven to me that massages are incredible tools and have confirmed that our bodies are amazing entities.
On a massage forum I found this comment from a person whose credentials are unknown, so take it with a grain of salt. Although it does make sense to me.
Other things can build up too like cellular debris, viruses and bacteria. Some people actually catch a cold after a massage because something was left dormant too long in their muscle tissue.According to a piece written by a chiropractic orthopedist and a licensed massage therapist, there are times when one shouldn't get a massage.
If you think you are getting a cold or getting sick or you actually are sick, a massage will only make you worse. It is too much for the body to handle. Also if you are over-fatigued, a massage may be too much for you.I felt fine before -- and during -- the massage, so I believe that the massage awoke the dormant virus.
I'm amazed by how our bodies work. We don't give them enough credit or treat them as well as we should. I know I need to start stimulating my body with yoga and soothing it with meditation. And you, my dear omnivorous reader, need to refrain from putting parts of dead animals into your body. (Sounds weird, doesn't it? But that's what you're doing.)
By getting this cold, my body has taught me something: I can't go seven years between massages. Now I have an excuse to get one on a regular basis.
Do you have a massage story you'd like to share? Or how about natural cold remedies? (I swear by hot tea.)
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5 comments:
i get a one hour trigger point every 2 weeks Tracy and i really notice if i miss a week or more. it really does wonders and because i don't pay for doctors or med,s i dont feel bad about the expense. hope you keep it up!
Actually, our minds are even more amazing because you correlated your experiences with the misinformation given to you to come up with a false conclusion. Tricky monkey brain! :)
I've also been fed the same line about toxins along with much worse which I believed for years. The massage industry is rife with dubious methodology and my recent search for a reputable massage spa left me empty handed.
A massage feels good and that's pretty much it. No toxins are released and no virus woken up to ravage your body.
Poster "pinkfreud-ga" wrote up a pretty good list of citations for the myth of toxin release. Check it out here:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/602783.html
Hope that helps dispel some misinformation. Enjoy your next massage and fear no "toxin"!
MG, I've never heard of that, but it sounds good.
Dave, I know I can count on you to dispute pseudo-science. Yes, the brain is an incredible entity. I know my two anecdotes aren't scientific proof, but I don't think I psyched myself into getting a cold. I'll have to do further research, a la more massages.
:) Well, I know how much you value truth.
Well, I’m not saying you convinced yourself of a cold necessarily (although people underestimate their minds all the time and placebos are awfully compelling). It could be a number of other things. It could be a coincidence, or it could be the fact that you’re seeing a person who touches people for a living increasing the chances of exposure to viruses. I can only guess, but toxins in the muscles can pretty much be ruled out.
A few years back, I had a significant spinal adjustment from the chiropractor, and quickly came down with a kidney infection so bad I couldn't walk. (Oh, the irony.) When I questioned the chiropractor about it, he told me the same thing; that the infection came from the junk that had been built up in my crooked joints, and that straightening them out had released the infection into my bloodstream.
He did not pay for my antibiotics. =P
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