People have used wine in medicine ever since it was first invented. History is riddled with examples of people believing that it can cure back pain, get rid of aids, help your joints and even make your hair grow thicker. In reality, wine is almost definitely responsible for more ailments and injuries than it cures. Believe it or not over 1500 people injured themselves in 2008 in the U.S just by using a bottle opener.That said, every now again wine surprises everyone by showing some amazing qualities, which is exactly what has recently happened at the University of Minnesota, where a wine-massage study has shown the healing effects of both the red and white varieties.
This claim was made after scientists at the university ran an 8-month study on various groups of athletes and other students, whereby they had recovery messages at regular intervals using either wine or a placebo substance. The study showed that remarkably, those people who had wine included in their massage sessions, showed around a 20% increase in the rate of muscle recovery.Liam Herring, head researcher for the study notes that “muscles, regardless of how vigorously they are used, will always pick up damage of some sort…we found that using wine in muscle massage sessions increased the rate at which this tissue damage recovered.The experts that carried out the study have suggested that the alcohol in the wine is partly responsible for this effect, as it allows the muscles to relax even more than normal by desensitising nerve endings. This relaxation then allows a vaso-dilation of the blood vessels that surround muscle tissue and means more healing nutrients can get to the damaged tissue.Interestingly, other alcoholic substances have been tested and do not display the same positive results, suggesting there might be something else found in wine that acts as a catalyst.
You probably won’t find that there is a rush in wine rack sales from health spas around the country, but maybe they will invest in some riedel vinum chardonnay just to give it a go.
