Massage and Your Health
Although people have been seeking massage therapy as a form of relaxation for many years, it has only been since recently that the effects of massage and your health have been studied and proven to be a very useful form of complementary care to mainstream medical treatments. Most people who receive a massage state that they feel more energized and relaxed after the session. Most people don’t know just how many benefits massage therapy offers. A massage client may feel relaxed because massage can slow their heart rate, reduce blood pressure, increase delta waves in the brain causing drowsiness, and reduce overall stress and anxiety.
Conditions Improved Through Massage
Many athletes who experience sports-related muscle soreness are referred for massage therapy because massage can increase the blood flow to muscles, helping the athlete to recover faster from their injuries. People who suffer from chronic low back pain discover long lasting results from massage; receiving deep tissue massage focuses more on the chronic pain areas in the body. A short session of massage helps to boost alertness which in turn improves attention. Massage also boosts natural killer cells in the body helping to strengthen the immune system by decreasing cortisol levels which will then decrease stress and depression. Patients with compromised immune systems often benefit from boosted immunity from massage as well. Breast cancer patients often receive massage therapy because it can increase lymph flow and decrease lymphatic fluid reducing pain and swelling in the area. Some hospitals now offer massage therapy for high anxiety patients or patients going through chemotherapy because massage reduces their stress before procedures. So, no matter what the reason for a visit, your body will benefit in some form or another from a therapeutic massage and you’ll get a chance to enjoy a little relaxing time during your day.
Reference Cited in this Article
