Do you need to drink water after deep tissue massage? If you have ever had a massage experience, whether, at a spa, a sports medicine clinic, or an airport kiosk, it’s possible that your massager must have told you to drink plenty of water after your massage is over. But why is that? Why do massage therapists will advise you to drink more water after deep tissue massage? In this article, we will be focusing on the main reasons why your body needs more water after a massage therapy session.
The first thing to know is that massages dehydrate the body. The action of manipulating and working the muscles results in pumping fluid out of the soft tissue and right into the circulatory system, where it is naturally moved into your kidneys. This the reason why a lot of people feel the urge to urinate right after receiving any form of massage therapy. Now you have to restore all of the water you have lost from the muscle tissues during the massage and the best way to do it? Simply by drinking more water!
It doesn’t depend that you received Swedish massage, deep tissue massage or any other kinds of massage, actually, this is somehow like physical activity and it’s much better to drink water after any kind of massage
Then we come across the issue of metabolic waste, which in the course of daily activity is created by muscles. If your muscles become tight or you experience a major knot in them, the first thing that happens is the constriction of circulation in those areas, which in fact inhibit the ability of the body to flush out this waste. However, because tight muscles are presumably what derived you into consulting with a therapist and making a massage appointment in the first place, there is a risk that you will have some compromised circulation occurring in your muscles and body. Receiving a massage relaxes the muscle tension, releasing the circulatory tracts, and allows the nitrogenous metabolic waste to be released into the body. So, drinking more water provides a sufficient amount of water your kidneys might need to remove the newly released waste from the massage session, more effectively. So the waste is basically coming back to your urine again until it is totally gone from the body.
The Relationship between Water and Muscles
You need water to move and build muscles. The muscles are not able to receive enough electrolytes without taking in enough water. Without taking enough water in the body, the power and function of muscles are for sure weakened because about 70% of the total muscle volume consists of only water. You will be surprised to know that in comparison, fat only consists of 25% water in volume. You are adding to muscle weight by simply drinking water, which in turn allows the muscles to perform more effectively, which will lead to burning more fat off the body.
Drinking enough water regularly will increase the speed and amount of fat loss, and Keytones which is a byproduct of burning fat in the body is directly rinsed out of the body only through urine. Drinking plenty of water helps to wash these toxins out, and thereby to increase the cycle of fat burning in the body. If your body does not receive enough water, it will not be able to metabolize fat and even digest food as quickly, moreover, your heart may be overworked, and you are vulnerable against a heat stroke on a hot day.
Some people will say that water is tasteless and dull, and that they may not possibly be able to drink 8 or more glasses in a day, or that they are too busy for drinking water, or that even going to the toilet frequently is just a waste of time or is annoying. But, regardless of how you look at water, once you know how vital it is for the process of losing weight, building new muscles and keeping them healthy, you will probably take every chance to drink as much as you can, so lift your bottle right now and take a sip.
How much water I need to drink after deep tissue massage
To satisfy our basic needs, it is recommended that we drink half of our body weight in fluids per day. A person weighing 200 pounds (90 kilograms) is supposed to consume 100 ounces (3 liters) of water a day. The person’s level of activity and location also play an important role in how much they need to consume above and beyond this number. Consuming a lot of water does not always mean just drinking water, many fruits and vegetables are also high in water content.
After a deep tissue massage session, depending on the massage intensity, one or two liters of water should be adequate if you have a well-hydrated body. But if your body is not well hydrated, you will need to get your body to a point where it is, by drinking even more water.
That’s good to know that massage could make you a bit dehydrated. I am curious about trying a massage since I have been looking for some ways to release stress, so that’s good to know. If I decide to try massage, I’ll make sure to drink plenty of water afterward.