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. Despite the poor history that wine and medicine have had over the decades, experts from the University of Minnesota claim that both red and white wine can aid muscles recovery when used in massage.

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 very clearly highlighted that the subjects who were massaged with wine, had a muscle recovery rate that was around 15% faster than those subjects who had traditional sports massages.Gary Herring the research director at the university’s bio-sciences department pointed out that “muscles pick up damage all the time, even when used lightly…we found that using wine in muscle massage sessions increased the rate at which this tissue damage recovered.The experts that carried out the study have suggested that the alcohol in the wine is partly responsible for this effect, as it allows the muscles to relax even more than normal by desensitising nerve endings. 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.Interestingly, other alcoholic substances have been tested and do not display the same positive results, suggesting there might be something else found in wine that acts as a catalyst.

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 slow wine pourers just to give it a go.