A massage after strenuous exercise not only feels good, it reduces inflammation in muscles at the cellular level, researchers say. Massage also appears to promote the growth of new mitochondria in skeletal muscle. Mitochondria are cells’ energy-producing “powerhouses,” explained the researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. They found that massage reduced the activity of inflammation-inducing proteins called cytokines in muscle cells, according to the study published in Science Translational Medicine.
