What is Massage?

Massage therapy is the rubbing, kneading of muscles and joints to alleviate tension and pain. Massage therapy has been around for many decades and while in the past it was deemed as a luxury treatment for wealthy people or for special occasions, it has since become more of a necessity and also quite popular.

Benefits

1. The initial benefit is the power of touch, where touch releases endorphins which help to decrease pain. Through prolonged touch during massage, awareness can be brought to areas of clients body’s which are tense.
2. Massage therapy can help you both physically and mentally by improving circulation, decreasing joint inflammation, muscle stiffness, improving flexibility, decreasing pain and strengthening the immune system. Mentally, massage therapy improves mood, decreases anxiety, aids in relaxation and lowers stress levels.
3. Massage not only aides in relaxation but it is a tool used to treat many conditions such as depression, headaches, neuropathy, scar tissue, soft tissue strains, sports injuries, insomnia, temporomandibular disorders and many more.
4. Massage lowers the stress hormone cortisol while releasing serotonin which is the hormone responsible for fighting off pain, anxiety and feeling of sadness.
5. Massage techniques which get rid of trigger points, releases tension in head, neck and shoulders are extremely important for headache relief.

Common conditions treated by massage

1. Neuropathy – Massage can cause involuntary relaxation response from the nervous system which reduces any compression of the nerve caused by muscle tightness. This reduces other signs and symptoms such as tingling and numbness
2. Soft tissue Strains – Massage can reduce swelling, oedema, encourages tissue repair by increased blood flow to tissues and reduces spasms.
3. Sports injuries and performance – Massage is able to shorten recovery time, eliminate lactic acid, decrease delayed onset muscle soreness and adequately warm tissues up before activity.
4. Insomnia – Massage increases the production of serotonin, melatonin and other neurotransmitters which aid in relaxation.
5. Immune System – Massage increases lymphatic flow to get rid of metabolic waste and aids in increasing lymphocyte production to fight off harmful substances.

Conclusion

There are various kinds of massages and techniques used to best treat certain conditions and meet various needs. Some of these include Swedish/traditional massage which uses superficial techniques, deep tissue which uses slow, deep strokes and direct pressure. Other types of massage include sports massage, aromatherapy, prenatal, lymphatic drainage and oncology massage. Massage has even been proven to work along with many other therapies (e.g physiotherapy and chiropractic) in order to shorten recovery time and promote healing.