Does Massage actually make a difference, or is it overhyped?

A classic 1998 systematic review first evaluated whether post-exercise massage reduces delayed-onset muscle soreness and found modest supportive evidence, a conclusion echoed by later systematic reviews and meta-analyses of physiotherapeutic interventions for exercise-induced muscle damage. Weighing the data: Massage looks an early-stage, lower-priority area for now — the evidence is only moderate (40/100), and its estimated impact (30/100) is on the lower end too.