Muscle pain can occur due to a wide range of causes, but mostly due to overuse of the muscles or improper loading of the muscles in various forms of sports or other physical activities. Muscle pain can be very annoying and the muscle pain symptoms can make it difficult for you to carry out your daily activities. Do you work out regularly and always go to the limit? Then you will find that you suffer from muscle pain more often and the muscle pain also lasts longer.

What is muscle pain anyway?
The natural process during physical exertion is as follows: muscles are damaged as a result of muscle protein breakdown and release waste products (cytokines). The waste products have a strong attraction to the nerve roots in the affected area and cause various degrees of pain. Thus, for fast recovery from muscle pain, it is important to stimulate blood flow to break down the deposited waste products (cytokines) sooner.

Can you reduce muscle pain symptoms through massage?
Many (elite) athletes are convinced that a massage reduces the degree of muscle pain and contributes to muscle recovery. Moreover, massages have a positive effect on sports performance, possibly also due to the relaxing effect that reduces stress. So a massage helps reduce muscle soreness and, depending on the amount of compression applied to the muscles, a massage can promote muscle recovery.

Almost immediately after exercise or intense exertion of the muscles, it is best to opt for a relaxing massage. Such a massage is a fine tool to prevent or reduce muscle pain. There are several types of massage that can reduce muscle pain. Of course, a good masseur knows how to give the right massage for your specific muscle pain symptoms.

Sometimes better to wait a while anyway...
And what if you already have muscle pain? Although a firm muscle massage can have a positive effect on reducing muscle pain, it is sometimes better to wait a while with this and not massage intensively too soon after exercise. This is because with muscle pain, the muscles are vulnerable during the first few days to the amount of pressure applied to them during a stimulating massage. Treating the area (subtly) with a balm then offers the perfect complement.