People and pets (LOL) of all ages are turning to massage therapy for relief from the stress of daily life, injuries, and chronic and acute conditions, as well as to help maintain health and wellness. It is one of the oldest healing arts, dating back 3,000 years, according to Chinese records.
Benefits
Using soft-tissue manipulation techniques, massage reduces stress and fatigue, while improving circulation. Depending on the style of massage, techniques may include stroking, kneading, rocking, tapping, or holding a steady pressure.
Massage can reduce pain and anxiety for people with chronic illnesses, such as cancer, and reduce the physiological burden of stress. It can help treat conditions including stress-related tension, cancer-related fatigue, sleep disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes, low back pain, and depression, just to name a few.
Research has shown that massage can reduce heart rate, lower blood pressure, and increase blood circulation and lymph flow. It also relaxes muscles, improves the range of motion, and increases endorphins, which can enhance medical treatment. Also, The research being conducted on massage therapy demonstrates that it is an effective treatment for reducing chronic and acute physical pain. It can help you recover faster from injuries in the short term and reduce the need for pain medications and surgeries in the long term.
Research also continues to show the enormous benefits of touch—which range from treating chronic diseases, neurological disorders, and injuries, to alleviating the tensions of modern lifestyles.
Therapeutic massage does not increase muscle strength, although it can stimulate weak and inactive muscles, which helps compensate for the lack of exercise and inactivity caused by illness or injury. Plus, Therapeutic massage, in conjunction with directly treating physical pain, also alters your biochemistry; thereby dramatically improving your immune system, as well as boosting positive mood hormones. Stress has been said to be the root of as much as 80% of all diseases and is something massage therapy is known to help with. Getting a massage helps to reduce the stress hormones cortisol, raise feel-good hormones dopamine and serotonin, and lower excitatory hormones like norepinephrine and epinephrine.
Massage is generally considered part of complementary and alternative medicine. It’s increasingly being offered along with standard treatment for a wide range of medical conditions and situations.
Studies of the benefits of massage demonstrate that it is an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain, and muscle tension
Most people can benefit from massage. However, massage may not be appropriate if you have:
- Bleeding disorders or taking blood-thinning medication
- Burns or healing wounds
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Fractures
- Severe osteoporosis
- Severe thrombocytopenia
Massage helps release toxins from your soft tissues, so I recommend that you drink plenty of water after your massage session to flush toxins out of your system.
Massage therapy appears to have few risks when performed by a trained practitioner. However, massage therapists should take some precautions for people with certain health conditions.
Getting a massage can do you a world of good. And getting a massage frequently can do even more. This is the beauty of bodywork. Taking part in this form of regularly scheduled self-care can play a huge part in how healthy you’ll be and how youthful you’ll remain with each passing year. Budgeting time and money for bodywork at consistent intervals is truly an investment in your health. And remember: just because massage feels like a pampering treat doesn’t mean it is any less therapeutic. Consider massage appointments a necessary piece of your health and wellness plan, and work with your practitioner to establish a treatment schedule that best meets your needs.
Some forms of massage can leave you feeling a bit sore the next day. But massage shouldn’t ordinarily be painful or uncomfortable. If any part of your massage doesn’t feel right or is painful, speak up right away. Most serious problems come from too much pressure during massage.
Any of my Modalities or
Bodywork can help these
Conditions:
(RSL) Massage for Symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome
Achilles Injuries & Tendonitis
ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ACE – Adverse Childhood Experiences
ALS – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis – Lou Gehrig’s Disease
Asperger’s Syndrome / Disorder
Calf Injuries, Pulls, Strains, Tears, Ruptures, and Myositis
Chronic PFP – Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Costochondritis Tietze Syndrome
CVST – Two-Cups Cranial Vibro-Sound Therapy
Damaged Nerves, Muscles from Accidents, and Sports Injuries
Dowager’s (Kyphosis), Buffalo, Thoracic Humps
Fatigue and Cancer-Related Fatigue
Fractured Patella for Runners – Hairline Fractures
Frozen Shoulder or Adhesive Capsulitis
Golfer’s Elbow or Medial Epicondylitis, Tennis Elbow or Lateral Epicondylitis
Hamstring Injury Pain Pulls Tears Tendonitis Tendinopathy Tenosynovitis
Massage for Addiction / Rehabilitation
Massage for High Blood Pressure
MTDY / MTD – Muscle Tension Dysphagia – Muscle Tension Dysphonia
Muscle Testing – also referred to as – (Touch for Health, Neurokinetic Therapy, Applied Kinesiology (AK) which George J. Goodheart, a chiropractor, originated applied kinesiology in 1964)
Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction
OM / Orthopedic Massage Relief
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
Recovering from Surgery
Reduce Post Surgery Adhesion and Swelling
Reduce Spasms and Cramping
Reduced Anger and Aggression
Reduced Anxiety
Reduced Fatigue
Repetitive Stress Injuries
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rotator Cuff Injuries
RSI- Repetitive Strain Injury
Scalene Pain
Sciatica Pain
Scoliosis
Shin splints
Shoulder & Arm Pain
Sleep Disorders
Sore or Overused Muscles
Sports Injuries / Falls
Stress Relief / Trigger Point Symptom Checker
Tendon Tears
Tendonitis
Tennis Elbow
Tension Headaches
Therapeutic Pain Relief
Thigh Pain
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
TMJ-Temporomandibular Joint
Torso Pain
Trauma Touch Therapy
Trapezius Pain
Upper Back Pain
Whiplash
Work Injuries / Falls
Plus – any related injuries for general pain relief and or life, work, or school stress relief.
Further Reading
Diseases & Conditions A-Z Index
Muscle Strain Glossary of Terms
MedTerms Medical Dictionary A-Z List
Benefits
- Helps relieve stress and aids in relaxation
- Helps relieve muscle tension and stiffness
- Alleviates discomfort during pregnancy
- Fosters faster healing of strained muscles and sprained ligaments; reduces pain and swelling;
reduces the formation of excessive scar tissue - Reduces muscle spasms
- Provides greater joint flexibility and range of motion
- Enhances athletic performance
- Treats injuries caused by sports or work
- Promotes deeper and easier breathing
- Improves circulation of blood and movement of lymph fluids
- Reduces blood pressure
- Helps relieve tension-related headaches and the effects of eye-strain
- Enhances the health and nourishment of skin
- Improves posture
- The Need for Touch
- Helps relieve cramping
- Faster recovery from athletic sports activities
- Help athletes of any level prepare for strenuous workouts.
- Relax and soften injured, tired, and overused muscles
- Increases Flexibility and Improves range-of-motion
- Provides exercise and stretching for atrophied muscles and reduces the shortening of the muscles
- Strengthens the immune system
- Releases endorphins
- Treats musculoskeletal problems
- Postoperative rehabilitation
- Improves Mood
- Rehabilitation after injury or surgery
- Reducing or eliminating pain.
- Improving joint mobility.
- Improving circulation.
- Improving lymphatic drainage.
- Reducing muscular tension.
- It counteracts all that sitting you do.
- It improves sleep
- It relieves headaches
- Helps Fibromyalgia
- Relieve chronic low-back pain
- Curbing Carpal Tunnel Carpal tunnel
- Greater energy
- Heightened Body Awareness
- Improved concentration
- Increase muscle tone
- Promotes nervous system functioning
- Sedate the nervous system to help ease muscle tension
- Stimulate sluggish circulation
- Improves mood, intellectual reasoning, and job performance
- ANTI-AGING EFFECTS
- INCREASES ALERTNESS
- Plus many, many other Conditions
- Enhances Immune System, Immunity by Stimulating Lymph Flow—the Body’s Natural Defense System
- Exercise and Stretch Weak, Tight, or Atrophied Muscles
- Helps athletes of any level prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts
- Reduces Risk of Chronic Diseases, such as Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Autoimmune Diseases
- Relax and Soften Injured, Tired, and Overused Muscles
- Release Endorphins—Amino Acids that work as the Body’s Natural Painkiller
- Pump Oxygen and Nutrients into Tissues and Vital Organs, Improving Circulation
- Promote Tissue Regeneration, Reducing Scar Tissue
- Improve the Condition of the Body’s Largest Organ—the Skin
- Improved Sleep Patterns and Decreased Sleep Disturbance
- Improves Athletic Performance and Enhances Recovery
The power of touch
The simple act of placing the hands on the body can encourage a person to thrive. Many studies have illustrated that without physical touch babies (human or animal) will not thrive and may not even survive. Touch also has a positive effect on caregivers. For example, mothers who regularly have a great deal of physical closeness with their babies experience postpartum depression to a far lesser degree, and elderly caregivers feel a decrease in stress, anxiety, and depression when they touch and are touched.
Academic evidence
A lot of the scientific research on massage therapy is preliminary or conflicting, but much of the evidence points toward beneficial effects on pain and other symptoms associated with a number of different conditions.
A landmark study conducted on rhesus monkeys by Harry Harlow in the 1950s noted that monkeys separated from their mothers soon after birth showed a greater need for tactile comfort than for eating. Since then, many studies have illustrated how touch and massage can assist infants, especially babies born prematurely, to survive, gain weight, and thrive. It has also been shown that the caregivers who massaged the infants benefited as well.
Massage therapy appears to have few risks when performed by a trained practitioner. However, massage therapists should take some precautions for people with certain health conditions.
Further Reading
Massage Therapy for Health Purposes: What the Science Says
What Does the Research Say about Massage Therapy?
Recent Research Provides Evidence of How Massage Therapy Heals
Massage’s Mystery Mechanism Unmasked
*Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider.
Please consult your healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your condition.
The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, or prescription of any kind. The decision to use, or not to use, any information is the sole responsibility of the reader. These statements are not expressions of legal opinion relative to the scope of practice, medical diagnosis, or medical advice, nor do they represent an endorsement of any product, company, or specific massage therapy technique, modality, or approach. All trademarks, registered trademarks, brand names, registered brand names, logos, and company logos referenced in this post are the property of their owners.