If you’ve ever suffered with post-exercise soreness, you know how debilitating heavy lifting can be a few days after your workout. Joint stiffness and muscle soreness can make it hard to walk up the stairs or sit down in a chair without bracing yourself for some serious pain.

Painkillers aren’t the answer.

Even though you may feel like you’ll so anything to make the pain go away, gobbling painkillers like candy can actually hurt your body’s ability to repair itself over time. Luckily, there is a safer alternative to taking painkillers that may even be more effective in alleviating post-exercise soreness: massage.

A new study published this week in Science Translational Medicine notes that massage helps muscles recover after a workout at the cellular level. It has long been known that massage can help alleviate muscle pain after the muscle has been injured. Until now, researchers didn’t know exactly why.

Massage doesn’t flush lactic acid like many massage therapist believe.

Most trainers and massage therapists mistakenly attribute the relief that massage delivers to the flushing of lactic acid from the muscle tissue. Researchers have found that this is not the case. Instead, the answer lies in the muscle cells. Scientists had 11 healthy adult males cycle on a stationary bike until they could cycle no more. Then, they massaged one quadricep muscle for 10 minutes while leaving the other quadricep muscle untouched for a control. They biopsied both quad muscles at rest, immediately after engaging in exercise, 10-minutes after massage treatment, and again after a two-and-a-half hour recovery period.

Massage delivers a one-two punch at the cellular level.

The results showed that a decrease in cytokines (an inflammatory protein) in conjunction with an increase in mitochondria (which are the powerhouses of cells) combine to speed pain relief and cell repair.

You don’t have to shell out tons of cash for a massage appointment. Practice self-massage with your hands or a foam roller to get the benefits of massage without the high cost.

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