If now we ask ourselves why massage does good in cases of absolute rest,
the answer--at least a partial answer--is not difficult. The secretions
of the skin are stimulated by the treatment of that tissue, and it is
visibly flushed, as it ought to be, from time to time, by ordinary
active exercise. Under massage the flabby muscles acquire a certain
firmness, which at first lasts only for a few minutes, but which after a
time is more enduring and ends by becoming permanent. The firm grasp of
the manipulator's hand stimulates the muscle, and, if sudden, may cause
it to contract sensibly, which, however, is not usually desirable or
agreeable. The muscles are by these means exercised without the use of
volitional exertion or the aid of the nervous centres, and at the same
time the alternate grasp and relaxation of the manipulator's hands
squeezes out the blood and allows it to flow back anew, thus healthfully
exciting the vessels and increasing mechanically the flow of blood to
the tissues which they feed. It is possible also that a real increase in
the production of red corpuscles is brought about by repeated
applications of massage, as will be seen later on.
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