There’s a paradox in health I’ve observed throughout my career: Most healthy behaviors don’t deliver the best sensory experience.
Running, weightlifting, flossing, and avoiding ice cream are all beneficial activities, but for most people, they don’t feel particularly pleasant in the moment. We do them because we know they’re good for us, not because they’re enjoyable.
Then there’s massage therapy — a delightful exception to this rule. Massage feels good and is good for you. This unique combination makes it worth exploring in greater depth, including reviewing what toxins are released after massage.
How Massage Benefits Your Body: A System-by-System Breakdown
Let’s look at how massage therapy positively affects different bodily systems:
Musculoskeletal System
Massage reduces muscle tension and pain while improving range of motion. It can break down adhesions and stiffness that develop in muscles and connective tissue, especially after intense physical activity or prolonged periods of inactivity.
Nervous System
Massage promotes deep relaxation by activating the parasympathetic nervous system (your “rest and digest” mode). It can reduce muscular compression around peripheral nerves and stimulate the release of endorphins — your body’s natural painkillers.
Circulatory System
Massage improves blood circulation, helping to deliver oxygen and nutrients more efficiently through the body.
Endocrine System
Massage increases levels of hormones such as dopamine and serotonin, which are associated with improved mood. It simultaneously reduces cortisol, the primary stress hormone we want less of.
These hormonal changes can lower heart rate and blood pressure, improve digestion, create deep relaxation, and reduce muscle soreness and fatigue.
Lymphatic System
Many people are unaware that our circulatory system actually has three sets of “plumbing,” not just two:
- The arterial system, which brings oxygen and nutrients to cells, propelled by the heart.
- The venous system, which returns blood to the heart after delivering oxygen and carries away carbon dioxide.
- The lymphatic system, which is often overlooked but equally important.
The lymphatic system collects interstitial fluid — the fluid that bathes your individual cells. This fluid fills the spaces between cells, delivering nutrients and collecting waste products. After bathing the cells, the lymphatic system collects this fluid and eventually returns it to the venous system in the upper torso.
Unlike blood, the heart doesn’t pump lymphatic fluid. Instead, it moves through the action of your muscles, which pump the fluid along lymphatic channels. This is where massage becomes particularly relevant: it’s an extremely effective way of enhancing lymphatic circulation.
Source: National Cancer Institute. Components of the Lymphatic System. SEER Training Modules.
Does Massage Release Toxins? The Answer Is Complicated
Does getting a massage release toxins? This question is complicated, as the term “toxin” is used loosely in health conversations.
What We Mean by “Toxins”
If you define “toxins” as foreign substances, poisons, contaminants, pesticides, drugs, or food supplements, then no, massage doesn’t significantly impact these types of toxins. These substances have their own clearance pathways:
- From blood to kidneys, then excreted in urine
- From blood to liver to gut, then excreted in bowel movements
Massage doesn’t meaningfully influence these processes for removing external toxins from your body.
Metabolic Waste: The “Toxins” Massage Does Help Remove
However, if you define “toxins” as the natural byproducts from cellular metabolism within your body, then yes — massage helps clear these substances. These include:
- Lactic acid (a byproduct of anaerobic metabolism during exercise)
- Cellular debris from damaged or dying cells
- Excess proteins and protein fragments generated during cellular activity
- Carbon dioxide and other metabolic byproducts
Your cells create these substances. They’re bathed in interstitial fluid, and the lymphatic system transports them out. By stimulating lymphatic flow, massage serves as a “car wash” for your cells, removing these waste products more efficiently.
Do Massages Release Toxins? The Bottom Line
So, does getting a massage release toxins? The answer depends on what you mean by “toxins.”
If you’re concerned about external contaminants and poisons, massage isn’t the solution. Your liver and kidneys handle those without much help from massage therapy.
But if you’re referring to the natural waste products that accumulate in tissues from normal cellular function, then yes, massage enhances the removal of these substances by activating the lymphatic system.
This distinction matters because it helps us understand the real benefits of massage without exaggerated claims. Massage therapy offers numerous evidence-based advantages for physical and mental health, regardless of how we label the substances it helps remove from your tissues.
At Banner Peak Health, we believe in providing accurate information about wellness practices like massage therapy. Understanding the science behind these practices helps you make informed decisions about incorporating them into your health regimen.
The next time you enjoy a massage, you can appreciate not just how good it feels but also how it supports your lymphatic system and clears cellular waste from your tissues — a rare example of a health practice that’s as pleasurable as it is beneficial.
