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Despite what some people might believe, wine has not always simply been an enjoyable drink. 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.Sadly, its more often the case that wine (and alcohol in general) contributes more to the cause of health problems than the cure. Amazingingly more than 2500 picked up injuries last year in the U.S just by using a bottle opener. Despite the poor history that wine and medicine have had over the decades, experts from the University of Minnesota claim that both red and white wine can aid muscles recovery when used in massage.

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 results very clearly highlighted that the subjects who were massaged with wine, had a muscle recovery rate that was around 15% faster than those subjects who had traditional sports massages. Tim Herring from the Universities Sports Sciences department stated that “whenever muscles are used they become damaged to some degree….what our study showed is that the recovery of normal muscle tissue was accelerated when white or red wine was added to the normal recovery-massage process”.Herring theorised that nerve endings in the muscle tissues were made less sensitive to stimulation by the wines alcohol content and therefore became more relaxed. 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 slow wine pourers just to give it a go.