MASSAGE
REDUCES THE EFFECTS OF STRESS
Up to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related
complaints such as headaches, backaches, neck pain, eyestrain, poor
concentration, anxiety, depression, irritability, anger, high blood
pressure, heart disease, ulcers, as well as, physical and emotional
exhaustion.
Massage therapy has an amazing effect on your body's nervous system.
When massage therapy activates your body's parasympathetic nervous system,
it counteracts your body's negative response to stress, relaxing muscle
tension and allowing your heart rate, blood pressure and circulation
to return to normal.
Massage therapy also helps you become more aware of your body and your
unconsciously held tension. As you become more aware of your body, you
will begin to recognize tension as it builds during the day so that
you can consciously release it before it can have a negative effect
on your body.
MASSAGE
RELAXES TENSE MUSCLES
Massage therapy stretches and loosens tight muscles, and connective
tissue, breaking down and preventing further formation of adhesions,
freeing your range of motion and reducing the dangers of fibrosis.
Benefits: MASSAGE INCREASES BLOOD CIRCULATION
Like a sponge that is squeezed, a tight muscle cannot hold much fluid
nor can it allow much fluid to pass through it. This decreases your
circulation of blood and increases the strain placed on your heart.
Among the obvious problems that this can cause, this can leave you feeling
fatigued and sore, reducing your precious energy reserves.
Massage therapy releases contracted muscles and pushes venous blood
towards the heart, thus easing the strain on this vital organ. This
increase in circulation brings energy producing nutrients and oxygen
to your cells as well as carriers away metabolic waste products that
can make you feel listless and drained. In addition, massage therapy
increases your body's oxygen carrying red blood cell count helping to
bring even more oxygen to your body's cells.
MASSAGE DECREASES CHRONIC PAIN
Far too many of us face our daily lives with chronic pain due to injuries
or illness. Not only does massage therapy help to correct the conditions
that cause chronic pain, but it also acts in two ways to decrease the
actual pain itself. The first is by the trained touch of a massage therapist
activating nerve receptor signals along myelinated nerve fibers to temporarily
block chronic pain signals from reaching the brain. The second is by
the stimulated release of endorphins (The body's natural painkiller)
into the brain and nervous system to reduce your feelings of pain and
discomfort without the use of unnatural drugs.
MASSAGE STRENGTHENS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
Massage therapy not only improves the circulation of blood and its vital
nutrients, but also increases the circulation of lymph in your lymphatic
system thus helping your body to fight off infection and speeding your
recovery from injuries and illness.
"If you have a massage every week, you will have 2/3 less
illness." H.GRUENN, M.D. Los Angeles, CA
MASSAGE
CAN IMPROVE NERVE FUNCTION
Contracted muscles can press on or pinch your nerves causing tingling,
numbness, or pain. Massage therapy relaxes these contracted muscles
to relieve the compression on you nerves. Sensory receptors in the skin
and muscles wake up bringing new awareness to areas that have felt cut
off by chronic tension patterns.
MASSAGE HELPS YOU TO SLEEP BETTER
Tension from everyday stress can disrupt your sleep leaving you tired,
irritable and emotionally drained. This can rob you of the patience
and stamina needed just to face day-to-day life. Massage therapy relaxes
tense muscles and calms the nervous system, causing your body's rhythm
to slow down. When this happens, your blood pressure lowers, your heart
rate settles, and your breath becomes deeper and more rhythmic, priming
you for a perfect night's sleep.
MASSAGE HELPS DURING PREGNANCY
Pregnancy is a time of major structural, physiological, spiritual and
social changes. Some of these changes produce discomforts, which can
be addressed with appropriate massage therapy. Some of the possible
benefits are:
Reduces
stress and promotes relaxation.
Relieves
muscle spasms, cramps, and myofascial pain, especially in the back and
neck.
Increases blood and
lymph circulation and supports the physiological process of gestation,
by supporting the work of the heart, increasing cellular respiration,
reducing edema and contributing to sympathetic nervous system sedation.
Reduces stress on
weight-bearing joints and musculo-fasicial structures.
Provides emotional
support and physical nurturance.
Develops the sensory
awareness necessary to relax during 1st stage labor and to recruit appropriate
muscles during the pushing phase.
Provides a pregnant
woman with the experience of loving, nurturing touch so that she may
touch her own baby lovingly.
Remember that this is the only body you're going to get, take great
care of it.
Pregnancy is a time of major structural, physiological, spiritual, and
social changes. While massage therapy during pregnancy is not intended
to replace appropriate medical and prenatal care, used as a form of
adjunctive health care, some of the possible benefits are:
Reduces stress and
promotes relaxation.
Relieves muscle spasms,
cramps, and myofascial pain, especially in the back and neck.
Reduces stress on
weight-bearing joints and musculo-fascial structures.
