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.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.Having said this, wine does sometimes prove to have some positive effects on the body, and one of them has been demonstrated by scientists at the University of Minnesota, who claim that the inclusion of wine in massage helps the muscle recovery process.

The claim follows a 7 month trial carried out at the university, where mainly athletes with muscles tissue damage had wine applied and rubbed into the skin as part of the recovery massage regime. The results showed that incredibly, the participants whose massage included the use of wine, displayed a muscle recover rate of, on average, 25% quicker than those without wine.  Tim Herring from the Universities Sports Sciences department stated that “whenever muscles are used they become damaged to some degree….the research that we conducted showed the the healing of this damage was speed ed up when wine was included in participant's recovery massages.  It is thought that the alcohol in the wine numbs nerve endings and so allows muscles to reach a greater state of relaxation. 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.This said, when the scientists tested other beverages with similar levels of alcohol content, the same positive effects on muscle healing were not recorded, which suggests there are additional elements in the wine that influence the process.

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.

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