10/27/2025
💭 Myth: You have to chug a gallon of water right after your massage.
✅ Fact: While you don’t need to overdo it, drinking a good amount of water is recommended after a massage. Staying hydrated supports your body’s natural healing process and helps your muscles recover more efficiently.
The soreness you may feel after a massage is completely normal — it’s your body’s way of healing and adapting. This sensation is similar to delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) you might feel after a good workout.
This is especially common after deep tissue or therapeutic massage, but can also happen with gentler techniques.
🧠 Why Massage Can Cause Soreness
1. Muscle manipulation: Massage applies pressure to knead, stretch, and release your muscles. When we work through tense or knotted areas, it can break up adhesions or micro-scars, triggering a mild inflammatory response as your body repairs tissue.
2. Increased circulation: Massage boosts blood flow to areas that have been tight or restricted. That new circulation helps healing — but can cause short-term inflammation as your body flushes out metabolic waste.
3. Releasing chronic tension: Muscles that have stayed tight for a long time are used to that “locked” state. When we release them, they need time to adjust — which can cause tenderness for a day or two.
4. Unaccustomed activity: If you don’t get massage regularly, your muscles may not be used to being manipulated like this — similar to starting a new workout routine.
💧 How to Manage Post-Massage Soreness
• Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water to help flush out any metabolic waste released from your muscles.
• Take an Epsom salt bath: Warm water + magnesium can relax your muscles and ease soreness.
• Rest: Let your body recover — avoid heavy workouts and get a good night’s sleep.
• Do gentle stretches: Light stretching keeps blood flowing and helps reduce stiffness.
A little soreness means your body is responding and healing — it’s a sign of progress, not harm. With consistent sessions, that post-massage soreness usually fades as your muscles adapt and become more balanced.
