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Massages, you either love them or hate them (I know, who the heck hates massages?!? But they’re out there). I for one am a proponent for them as I have the worst tension in my neck and shoulders and getting a massage offers tremendous pain relief for myself. So, what exactly is massage therapy?!?
In short, massage therapy is the manual manipulation of soft body tissues (muscles, connective tissue, tendons and ligaments) to improve a person’s health and well-being by way of pain relief, stress relief and so on.
Massage therapy is not new to the health and wellness scene, it’s been around for a long long time. There have been references found in Chinese medical texts dating as far back from more than 4000 years ago! Therefore, it’s been a modality in health care through the ages.
So, how is massage therapy good for the body? There are so many reasons and types!
It reduces stress! When the body is under stress; mental or physical, it becomes tense. This in turn causes the body to produce increased levels of stress hormones which may lead to health concerns. Massage therapy allows the body to relax which can lower stress hormone levels and increase our feel-good hormones.
It encourages muscle relaxation-Massage therapy targets the source of the body’s pain by manually massaging tense muscles which increases flexibility, and provides relaxation to the affected muscles.
It improves circulation- Improved circulation is an added benefit effect that occurs in the body as a result of receiving regular massage therapy, due to the hands-on pressure of massage. This is because proper circulation brings damaged, stiff, and tense muscles the rich blood supply they need to promote healing, it allows blood to move through damaged and congested areas of the body. Massages also improve lymph fluid circulation because the squeezing, twisting, and pulling action of the massage removes lactic acid from the muscle tissues, lymph fluid is what transports metabolic waste away from internal organs and muscles.
Massages comes in many different types; I’d like to highlight a couple of them:
Deep tissue massage
Deep tissue massage (my personal favorite) focuses on massaging “knots”, in the massage world they’re known as “adhesions”. Knots are made out of muscle fibres that have tensed and tightened and they kind of feel like a hard lump, hence the name “knots”. Massage works to loosen up these tough muscle fibres to allow better mobility and less pain.
Relaxation massage
Less intense than a deep tissue massage and less focus on problem areas, relaxation massage is more of a full body massage. The massage therapist uses smooth, gliding movements to promote relaxation and stress relief, there is less emphasis on trying to remove knots.
Here at the clinic we have a massage therapist who has joined our team of professionals!! I have had the pleasure of having a deep tissue massage with her and she definitely has relieved some tension and pain in my shoulder and neck area. If you are looking for some drug free pain relief, I highly recommend you call the clinic and book an appointment!!
Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only, it is not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any illness or disease. Please consult a professional for your healthcare needs.