Studies like these do not seek explanations, which means that they merely serve to entrench existing ideas. For example, the (well-known) ideas that massage re

Studies like these do not seek explanations, which means that they merely serve to entrench existing ideas. For example, the (well-known) ideas that massage reduces soreness, and that soreness equals inflammation. (N.B. I'm not claiming these ideas are wrong.) >They found that massage reduced the production of compounds called cytokines, which play a critical role in inflammation What would be needed is a mechanism for how massage does this. (First you guess. Don't laugh, this is the most important step. Then you compute the consequences... Richard Feynman.) My guess is it works by restoring conscious attention to the relevant limbs and muscles. In which case, it ought to be possible to reproduce the reduction of cytokines, at least partially, by conscious effort alone. The reduction, if any, could of course be measured.