When is the Hamster Wheel a Good Thing?

I get patients who ask, “is massage good for me?” Well, read this: new research results released by Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a researcher at McMaster University in Canada, indicate that massage is indeed good for you. Specifically, it boosts the production of a protein that builds mitochondria in the muscle tissue. Mitochondria are small energy factories in your cells, and it has long been assumed that they diminish in numbers over time, as we age. In Dr. Tarnopolsky’s experiment, he had people exercise, then get massage, but in only one leg. Biopsies of muscle tissue were taken from both legs. There was more PGC-1alpha, the protein which spurs production of mitochondria, in the muscle tissue of the legs which had received massage.

Dr. Tarnopolsky has also found, in other experiments, that mice who exercise regularly age much more slowly than mice who kick back. They possess more mitochondria, and had stronger hearts, bigger muscles, bigger brains and even bigger ovaries/testes than their non-exercising cousins. Enough said!