Most of us have heard about Massage Therapy throughout our lives, we’ve heard that it’s good for our body and some friends might have recommended it. But a good portion of us is not aware of what it really is and all the benefits that it brings with it, which are not just physical but emotional as well. So here we will inform you about what Massage Therapy is and its benefits so you can decide by yourself if you would give it a chance and take advantage of it!
Massage therapy is the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body, such as the muscles, the tendons, the connective tissue, and the ligaments. It is carried out by trained and certified medical professionals who are mostly referred to as Massage Therapists, and who are the ones that decide which degree of pressure should be applied depending on the necessities of the client.
It has been used for thousands of years by humans for various purposes, it is believed to have started being used around 3,000 B.C. in India in order to prevent injuries and illnesses (History of Massage). And over the years different types of Massages have been created with different objectives, such as the Trigger Point Massage and the Relaxation Massage that we offer at JC Valleys Wellness Clinic.
But despite their difference in objectives, they all involve a wide range of different movements, techniques, and pressures. And in general Massage Therapy aims, not only to provide relaxation as most people think, but also to release stress, relief pain, help with the healing of injuries, improve some symptoms of certain illnesses such as arthritis, and even some studies have found out that it improves the immune function of the body.
As it was mentioned before, there are different types of Massages, which the most known are:
- Deep Tissue Massage: It targets under the surface layer to relieve the musculature discomfort and is mostly used to treat strains and sport injuries. And if you want to learn more about it, here we have a complete blog that talks about it: Deep Tissue Massage: Benefits, Risks & What To Expect
- Trigger Point Massage: It uses firm pressure in specific areas where tension is accumulated, it aims to reduce those “knots” that you feel.
- Swedish Massage: It aims to improve the overall health and provide relaxation through the use of light strokes.
Benefits of Massage Therapy
Most people might believe that all the benefits that Massage Therapy provides are solely physical, but the benefits go beyond it and affect positively its users emotional being. So here you have some of the benefits, physical and emotional, of Massage.
- Anxiety: Some studies have shown that regular Massage Therapy sessions can contribute to the reduction of anxiety thanks to it helping to reduce the cortisol levels, which is better known as the “stress hormone”. Improving the mood and relaxing.
- Depression: Massage Therapy can help with the reduction of the physical symptoms that depression may cause, such as back pain, joint pain, insomnia, and fatigue.
- Insomnia improves the sleep quality: It helps with the release of serotonin and melatonin, the hormone that controls the sleep cycle.
Massage Therapy helps with the reduction of the Cortisol hormone which brings two special benefits which are:
- The improvement of mood,
- The lowering of stress, and
- The Increase of energy
Some physical benefits of Massage Therapy include:
- Headache reduction
- Treatment of sports injuries
- Increase of Blood flow
- Treatment of The Carpal Tunnel syndrome
- Plantar fasciitis
- Reduction of arthritis symptoms
- Reduction of Blood Pressure
- Reduction of pain
- Increase of motion
- Improvement of immune function
- Help with muscular injury rehabilitation
