# Massage - why does it "hurt so good"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massage-why-does-it-hurt-so-good/343394>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 7, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massage-why-does-it-hurt-so-good/343394 "2006-02-07T15:52:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\
**Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massage-why-does-it-hurt-so-good/343394/1 "2006-02-07T15:52:03Z")

</div>

[This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=357598) reminded me of a question that’s occasionally made me wonder: just why does a massage feel good? I mean, pushing and pulling on muscles that might be pretty sore to start with… you’d think that this sort of thing would _increase_ pain by injuring/reinjuring the tissues. In fact I remember one time I’d had a nasty muscle spasm in my back/shoulder, that lasted a week. I finally went for a massage, told the therapist about it, got a very deep-tissue massage that felt like it left bruises… and the next day my shoulder felt nearly back to normal.

Does it have something to do with increased blood flow? squeezing toxins out (the other thread seems to debunk that)? placebo effect?

Might be more IMHO territory, but I figured I’d try GQ first in case anyone has any more quantifiable info.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\
**Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massage-why-does-it-hurt-so-good/343394/2 "2006-02-07T19:20:55Z")

</div>

To me it’s painful - I feel better after but it doesn’t “hurt good”, it just hurts.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\
**Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massage-why-does-it-hurt-so-good/343394/3 "2006-02-07T22:44:28Z")

</div>

In general, anything that promotes better circulation is beneficial to the tissues, so they feel better as a result. Better elimination of waste, better intake of oxygen and nutrients. What’s not to like?

It’s simple. Humans like to be touched by humans, that’s the only explanation needed for why it feels good. It’s our nature to enjoy being touched by one another. Hugging, kissing, slow dancing, sex, massage — they all feel good for this reason.