Benefits of massage
General benefits of massage therapy:
- Massage feels good and it is a pleasurable experience.
- Massage increases your body self awareness and sensitivity.
- Massage reduces your stress, tension and anxiety levels.
- Massage calms the nervous system and has a centering/balancing effect.
- Massage relaxes, focuses and clears your mind.
- Massage helps to improve and maintain your posture.
- Massage helps to fulfill your need for a caring and nurturing touch.
- Massage encourages self-esteem and a general feeling of well-being.
- Massage increased your awareness of the whole being connection and improves your emotional awareness.
Benefits to your muscular system:
- Massage increases the blood supply and nutrition to your muscles.
- Massage helps your muscles recover more quickly from exertion and fatigue.
- Massage relaxes your muscles, effectively reducing spasms, tension and cramping.
- Massage reduces and breaks down adhesions (knots) and fibrosis.
- Massage stretches your connective tissue.
- Massage helps to re-establish your proper muscular tone.
- Massage reduces your muscle and soft tissue pain.
- Massage supports increased work capacity and encourages your metabolism.
- Massage helps to prevent muscular atrophy (wasting from injury and paralysis).
Benefits to your skeletal systems:
- Massage improves the circulation and nutrition of the joints and helps increase your range of joint movement.
- Massage reduces joint strain and compression through releasing tight muscles and tendons.
- Massage increases the ease and efficiency of your movements.
- Massage helps to increase the retention of nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur in the bones and this aids in fracture healing.
Benefits to your circulatory systems:
- Massage increases the nutrition of the tissues via an increased exchange of fluids and materials.
- Massage, via the mechanical actions on the soft tissues, produces a dilation of the blood vessels which helps to improve your circulation.
- Massage helps to reduce the lack of blood and by direct pressure and stimulation reduces pain due to the irritation of nerves that control your circulatory system.
- Massage enhances the elimination of the waste products of your metabolism.
- Massage helps to reduce any swelling and contusions.
- Massage increases the number of red blood cells in your circulation.
- Massage has the overall effect of lowering your blood pressure and reduces your pulse rate*.
- Massage facilitates tissue healing through the enhancement of circulation.
- Massage increases tissue fluid and assists lymphatic circulation thus reducing swelling and enhancing the immune and filtering activities of this system.
- Massage increases both your venous and lymphatic flow
Benefits to your nervous system:
- Massage can have a sedative, stimulating or even exhausting effect on the nervous system depending on the type and length of treatment given.
- Massage stimulates the touch, pressure and proprioceptive receptors of the skin and underlying tissue.
- Massage helps to balance the autonomic nervous system.
- Massage relaxes the muscles and helps to re-establish proper tonus through its effect on the neuromuscular reflex pathways.
- Massage is known to affect the neurotransmitters of the brain and increase endorphin secretion in particular (natural painkillers).
- Massage can help reduce nerve entrapment through the release of soft tissue or muscular binding.
- Massage can reduce nerve root compression caused by muscular tension.
Benefits to your digestive and excretory systems:
- Massage aides the normal movement throughout your alimentary canal assisting with many dysfunction’s through its stress releasing effects.
- Massage increases the excretion (via the kidneys) of fluids and waste products of protein metabolism, inorganic phosphorous and salt in normal individuals.
- Massage can facilitate elimination through the large intestines by mechanically stimulating peristalsis and improving tone.
- Massage stimulates peristalsis and can reduce cramping or spasm in the digestive tract.
Benefits to your Skin:
- Massage helps to reduce tension in the skin and adjoining tissues as well as increasing its circulation and improve its nutrition.
- Massage depending on the medium used to apply it can help to re-moisturize, and soften dry skin.
- Massage can help with some skin conditions like eczema, but please check with your Doctor to make sure that what you have is not contagious.
Benefits to your respiratory system:
- Massage deepens and normalizes the breathing pattern through relaxation, and release of tension in the breathing structures, both the rib cage and the muscles of respiration.
- Massage can help to relieve congestion in the lungs through percussive and compressive movements.
- Massage increases the action of the heart, stimulating the blood flow to and from the lungs, helping with the elimination of waste and the absorption of oxygen.