If you’ve ever been told been that a massage is good for “releasing toxins”—or to sound more scientific, “lactic acid”—from your muscles, then you’ve been told wrong. Turns out muscle cells do like a good massage, but it has nothing to do with lactic acid.

In the first study on the cellular effects of massage post-exercise, researchers found that massage bolsters chemical signals reducing inflammation and promoting repair of muscle cells.

When the researchers analyzed the muscle tissue samples for tears and signs of damage in the cells, they found massage seemed to blunt muscle pain using the same route that anti-inflammatory pain relievers do.

What’s more, Tarnopolsky said, the anti-inflammatory signals released by massage also improved the ability of muscle cells to make new mitochondria — the furnaces that convert food into energy.

If you’ve ever been told been that a massage is good for “releasing toxins”—or to sound more scientific, “lactic acid”—from your muscles, then you’ve been told wrong. Turns out muscle cells do like a good massage, but it has nothing to do with lactic acid.

In the first study on the cellular effects of massage post-exercise, researchers found that massage bolsters chemical signals reducing inflammation and promoting repair of muscle cells.

When the researchers analyzed the muscle tissue samples for tears and signs of damage in the cells, they found massage seemed to blunt muscle pain using the same route that anti-inflammatory pain relievers do.

What’s more, Tarnopolsky said, the anti-inflammatory signals released by massage also improved the ability of muscle cells to make new mitochondria — the furnaces that convert food into energy.