That massage doesn’t just feel great, it’s good for you, too.

The medical benefits of massage include treating pain that pharmaceuticals don’t address, boosts immune function in women with breast cancer, improves symptoms in children with asthma, and increases grip strength in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.

New research is also starting to reveal just what happens in the body after a massage. While there have long been theories about how massage works — from releasing toxins to improving circulation — those have been fairly nebulous, with little hard evidence.
Now, one study, for example, found that a single, 45-minute massage led to a small reduction in the level of cortisol, a stress hormone, in the blood, a decrease in cytokine proteins related to inflammation and allergic reactions, and a boost in white blood cells that fight infection.