Why does one have to drink a lot of water after a massage?

[Andy J]

The therapist usually says its to remove toxins...what kind of toxins are these? Is it lactic acid? Please help.

 

[Andy]

Yeah, toxins, I don't know what kind of toxins, but massages release them from your muscles and water in general helps remove toxins from your body.

 

[massage therapist]

I've been a massage therapist for almost 24 years and have never told anyone to drink "a lot " of water to flush out toxins.First of all,what is "a lot" of water? Cups,gallons? Second, what are toxins? And how does a massage therapist know YOU have these toxins? This is something that was started way back when and just passed on through the years without any real thought. Try getting a massage,and don't drink ANY water and see what happens.....nothing

 

[Gary Y]

Good question.

Apparently massage releases unspecified 'toxins', and the water is to 'flush' them out.

This idea really is quackery, I seriously doubt that massage would have any effect on accumulated toxins which would be too chemically bound to their target tissues to be released by mechanical manipulation. And water will have no 'flushing' effect; our bodies remove unwanted substances naturally via the liver and kidneys - a few glasses of water is not going to improve this function.

Anyway, wouldn't the rapid release of these toxins damage the body, and cause malaise?