Massage Voodoo Myths: "Toxins"

There are a lot of myths out there that massage therapists repeat. Maybe, they learned them in massage school. Maybe they heard it somewhere, and it sounded really smart and worth repeating. Unfortunately, no one ever thought to consult the actual laws of science, fact, and logic. So I wanted to start a column called, "Massage Voodoo Myths" in an effort to dispel some myths that are often repeated, but never really tested. Massage Voodoo Myth #1: Massage removes toxins from the body.

Yes, TOXINS. Did you know you are just a flesh sack full of poison, and you need someone to rub them away?! Well, you aren't, but this is the number one myth I hear repeated by too many people who should know better. First of all, what are toxins? I don't know, but it sounds pretty scary. Have you ever asked a massage therapist or any other holistic practitioner to actually NAME the "toxins"? You should try it, because the look on their face will be priceless. If they are truly on top of their game, they might even pull out things like, "calcium, lactic acid, metabolic waste, steroids, etc."

The truth of the matter is, we have a system in our body designed to remove waste. The kidneys, liver, digestive system, all have means of moving waste through the body. If I drink 5 tequila shots, the tequila stays in my digestive tract. I don't get tequila soaked muscles (I really want tequila muscles now though.). If you are poisoned, rubbing your muscles is not going to remove anything. You can only remove it by sweating it out, vomiting it up, urinating, or defecating. If massage did remove toxins from the body, we wouldn't need modern medicine for things like lead poisoning, alcohol poisoning, edema, salmonella, e coli, we could just rub it out! I honestly, wish everyone had that kind of power, but we don't. Massage is great for pain relief, relaxation, and improving rage of motion, but it isn't a magical antidote for everything.

A video by Laura Allen, MT sums up this point nicely. And I agree with her: Massage is good enough to stand on it's own without making wild, false claims about what it will do.