Question:

问：

Does drinking a lot of water after a massage really help flush away toxins, or otherwise augment massage’s benefits?

在按摩推拿后大量饮水真有助于排毒么？如果不能，那么喝水是否有助于增加按摩的效益？

Answer:

答：

There are many reasons to indulge and get a massage. Well-designed studies have shown that massage can reduce levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, improve joint function and reduce pain in people with osteoarthritis, temporarily reduce muscle soreness after hard exercise, and speed healing of sore, overworked muscles by reducing inflammation and otherwise amplifying the muscle cells’ repair process.

有很多理由都支持人们纵情享受按摩推拿服务。若干经过精心设计的研究显示，按摩可以降低皮质醇等应激激素的水平，改善骨关节炎患者的关节功能并缓解疼痛，暂时减轻大量运动后的肌肉酸痛，通过减少炎症等途径增进肌肉细胞修复过程，使因过度劳累而酸痛的肌肉得以加速恢复。

What no persuasive science has shown is that massage releases toxins that then need to be flushed away. “I am unaware of any studies that support that idea,” said Dr. Adam Perlman, the executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, N.C., who has conducted studies of massage. “Of course, I’m also unaware of any studies that disprove the idea.”

然而，尚无有说服力的科学证据显示按摩会释放出毒素并需要排毒。“据我所知，并无任何研究支持这一观点，”杜克大学中西医结合中心（Duke Integrative Medicine，位于北卡罗莱纳州德罕市）的执行董事，曾进行过按摩相关研究的亚当·珀尔曼(Adam Perlman)博士说。“当然，我也不知道有任何研究可以否定这一观点。”

“It’s possible that there might be an increase in certain metabolites after a massage,” Dr. Perlman said. But these molecules are byproducts of normal metabolic activity, are not toxic, he said, and do not need to be flushed away.

珀尔曼博士说：“在接受按摩后，某些代谢产物可能会有所增加。”但这些分子都是正常新陈代谢活动的副产物，并没有毒性，他说，不存在“排毒”的必要。

As for the widespread belief that massage can help to remove lactic acid from sore muscles, “there’s pretty good evidence now that lactic acid is not harmful,” Dr. Perlman said. And a 2010 study found that postexercise massage didn’t remove lactic acid effectively anyway.

至于人们普遍认为按摩有助于从酸痛的肌肉中清除乳酸这一点，珀尔曼博士说：“现在已经有充分的证据证实乳酸对人体无害。”且2010年的一项研究发现，运动后进行按摩并没能有效地清除乳酸。

But these findings do not mean that people shouldn’t down a glass or two of water after a massage. “It’s a good idea to stay hydrated,” Dr. Perlman said.

但是，这些研究结果并不代表在接受按摩后不应饮水。珀尔曼博士说：“保持体内水分是一个好主意。”

“The bottom line,” he said, “is that while we don’t know that drinking water after a massage is helpful, it’s not likely to be harmful. So if you feel like it, drink up.”

“最起码，”他说，“虽然我们不知道按摩后喝水是否有所助益，但至少它不太可能会有害。所以，如果你觉得想喝水就喝呗。”