Investigating the Effects of Massage on Muscle at UK
When you think of athletic trainers, you usually think of ice packs and tape. But at the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences, a team of trainers is doing unique basic science research that could help athletes and non-athletes alike.
Tim Butterfield’s team builds devices to exercise and massage muscle, then studies the effects on the cells. Only two devices exist—one here at UK and the other at Ohio State, where Butterfield was a postdoc—that scientifically measure the effect of massage. Doctoral student Chris Waters Banker is studying ways to use massage to optimize the inflammatory response and speed up healing after exercise or injury.
