Massage therapy has proven beneficial to many people with many issues. Numerous research studies conducted in the United States, Europe, and Asia have documented that far beyond simply “feeling good”, massage therapy has an impressive range of physical, mental and emotional benefits.
Massage Reduces the Effect of Stress
Up to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related complaints such as headaches, neck pain, backaches, eye strain, poor concentration, anxiety, depression, irritability, anger, high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, as well as physical and emotional exhaustion. Massage therapy has an amazing effect on your body’s nervous system; it reverses your body’s negative response to stress, causing muscles to relax, your heart rate to slow, your blood pressure to lower and your circulation to increase. Massage therapy also helps you become more aware of your body, you will begin to recognize tension as it builds during the day so that you can consciously release it before it can have negative effect of your body.
Massage Relaxes Tense Muscles
Muscles can become tight and ineffective for many reasons. Stress, poor circulation, overuse, and misuse, can all cause you pain and discomfort as well as restrict your normal range of motion. When left unattended, these conditions become habitual and hamper the quality of your everyday life. Massage therapy stretches and loosens tight muscles, and connective tissue, breaking down and preventing further formation of adhesion, freeing your range of motion and reducing the dangers of fibrosis.
Massage Increases Blood Circulation
When your muscles become tight, the muscle cells cannot hold much fluid nor can the vessels allow much fluid to pass through the muscles. This decreases the circulation of blood and increases the strain placed on your heart. Among the obvious problems that this can cause are muscle fatigue, swelling and lowering the energy. Massage therapy releases contracted muscles and pushes venous blood towards the heart, thus easing the strain of this vital organ. This increase in circulation brings essential nutrients and oxygen to your cells as well as carries away metabolic waste products that can make you feel sluggish and drained.
Massage Decreases Chronic Pain
Far too many of us face our daily lives with chronic pain due to injuries or illness. Not only does massage therapy help to correct the conditions that cause chronic pain, but it also acts in two ways to decrease the actual pain itself. The first is by the trained touch of a massage therapist activating the nerve receptor signals along myelinated nerve fibers to temporarily block chronic pain signals from reaching the brain. The second is by stimulating release of endorphins (the body’s natural pain killer) into the brain and nervous system to reduce your feelings of pain and discomfort without the use of unnatural drugs.
Massage Strengthens the Immune System
The lymphatic system is a major factor in your body’s battle to ward off infection and heal injuries. The lymphatic flow is usually very sluggish in most people and especially in those that have less active life styles. Massage therapy not only improves the circulation of blood and its vital nutrients, but also increases the circulation of lymph in your lymphatic system thus helping your body to fight off infection and speed up your recovery from injuries and illness.
Massage can Improve Nerve Function
Contracted muscles can press on or pinch your nerves causing tingling, numbness, or pain. Massage therapy relaxes these contracted muscles to relieve the compression on your nerves. Sensory receptors in the skin and muscles wake up bringing new awareness to the areas that have felt cut off by chronic tension patterns.
Massage Helps you Sleep Better
Tension from everyday stress can disrupt your sleep causing physical and emotional exhaustion. This can deprive you of the precious energy needed just to face day-to-day life. Massage therapy relaxes tense muscles and calms the nervous system, causing your body’s rhythm to slow down. When this happens, your blood pressure lowers, your heart rate settles, and your breathing becomes deeper and more rhythmic, priming you for a perfect night’s sleep.