Why Do Massage Therapists Always Tell Me to Drink Water?

By Amy Grutzmacher, LMT

Licensed Massage Therapist

As a rule of thumb, it’s good to remember that drinking water in general encourages proper hydration which will help the kidneys and other organs process the various substances that move through the human body regularly.

Drinking water before a massage is recommended because a hydrated, soft muscle is easier to manipulate then a dehydrated, rigid one. Picture one of your muscles as a sponge. A dried up sponge is hard and rigid but once it’s submerged in water, it becomes supple. Our muscles also soak up water like a sponge and become more pliable with hydration.

It’s beneficial to drink water after your massage because as the massage therapist manipulates your muscles, substances are released. Drinking water post massage helps the body flush out any accumulated materials that were released during the massage. This is especially pertinent in deep tissue and therapeutic massage as massage stimulates circulation in the body while expressing water, salt and other minerals from the muscles. Circulation is designed to carry away waste materials. You can help sweep away these waste materials by drinking water.

Massage can be dehydrating. The manipulation of muscles can deplete them of water. By drinking water, you can rehydrate your muscles for the same reason you’d drink water after exercise and other forms of exertion because when the muscles are worked, they can lose water and electrolytes.

So, it is true you should drink water before and after massage because your body is using water at a faster rate, but the key is to be drinking enough water every day. Water is vital for every function that occurs in the body and necessary to maintain healthy, hydrated muscle tissue.

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