Muscles Heal Quicker When Massaged With Wine
People have used wine in medicine ever since it was first invented. History is riddled with examples of people believing that it can cure back pain, get rid of aids, help your joints and even make your hair grow thicker.Sadly, its more often the case that wine (and alcohol in general) contributes more to the cause of health problems than the cure. Amazingingly more than 2500 picked up injuries last year in the U.S just by using a bottle opener. Despite the poor history that wine and medicine have had over the decades, experts from the University of Minnesota claim that both red and white wine can aid muscles recovery when used in massage.
The claim follows a 7 month trial carried out at the university, where mainly athletes with muscles tissue damage had wine applied and rubbed into the skin as part of the recovery massage regime. The study showed that remarkably, those people who had wine included in their massage sessions, showed around a 20% increase in the rate of muscle recovery.Liam Herring, head researcher for the study notes that “muscles, regardless of how vigorously they are used, will always pick up damage of some sort…what our study showed is that the recovery of normal muscle tissue was accelerated when white or red wine was added to the normal recovery-massage process”. It is thought that the alcohol in the wine numbs nerve endings and so allows muscles to reach a greater state of relaxation. This relaxation then allows a vaso-dilation of the blood vessels that surround muscle tissue and means more healing nutrients can get to the damaged tissue.This said, when the scientists tested other beverages with similar levels of alcohol content, the same positive effects on muscle healing were not recorded, which suggests there are additional elements in the wine that influence the process.
You probably won’t find that there is a rush in wine rack sales from health spas around the country, but maybe they will invest in some slow wine pourers just to give it a go.
