Do you feel relaxed when somebody gives you a soothing massage on your shoulders, neck, back and legs? Do you know what makes massage so relaxing for our body?

With the pursuit of solving the mystery, a study was conducted recently by the researchers of McMaster University. The findings of the study were made available for public on Wednesday. The study was conducted under the supervision of Tarnopolsky, who has studied cellular effects of exercise for almost for decades.

During the study, it was found that massage helps in boosting the production of certain protein that helps in relaxing the muscles. These proteins have been identified as NF-kB and PGC-1alpha. Both the proteins play vital role in the development of cells and in reducing the inflammation of the muscles.

Often athletes feel inflammation in the muscles of their legs after taking up a heavy task like running continuously. However, some patients with arthritis may also experience the same inflammation in their muscles.

It is for the very first time, when massage has been found as a significant method of reducing the inflammation of the muscles. It has been said by the researchers that massage is one of the best ways of treating muscles inflammation without taking the help of drugs.

Mark Tarnopolsky from McMaster University said, “People have a lot of ideas about what massage does and doesn’t do. And many of them were revolving around reduction in pain, and yet very few studies have actually been done to investigate this at the molecular and cellular level”. It has been recommended that further studies should be conducted over the benefits of massaging so that mysteries behind it, could be unveiled.