While massage therapy is often used for specific health problems, there are a number of very good reasons why anyone, regardless of their condition, should undergo regular therapeutic massage.
Today’s busy, often hectic world, with responsibilities to job and family at an all-time high, can leave you feeling drained, exhausted, and frazzled.
Therapeutic Massage
Therapeutic massage can help to restore balance and tranquility to your life and prepare you to better meet life’s challenges. When your wellbeing is under siege, massage could well be the answer.
- Stress is almost universal today, but one of the best ways to relive stress is through massage. Professional masseurs understand the best way to release the tension that has built up in your body. When we are stressed, our bodies release cortisol. This is supposed to be a short-term help for overcoming difficulty. However, constant stress means that cortisol is continuously being released into the body. Therapeutic massage can help to relieve the stress and lower cortisol levels to normal. Constantly high cortisol levels can lead to heart attack and stroke.
- Muscles tighten up, often painfully, when we are stressed, but a deep massage is perfect for loosening tight muscles. Muscles that are constantly tensed up can cause pain in the back, shoulders, and neck, and can also contribute to headaches. Loosening muscles through massage can help to alleviate many bodily aches and pains.
- Our immune systems are what defend us from the army of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other pathogens that are always besieging us. Modern life often subjects us to situations where our immune system can be compromised. Stress and pollution can impact our immune systems negatively. Fortunately, massage is one way to help restore our immune systems to effectively protect us. Massage increases the number of ‘killer cells’ that remove harmful intruders before they can make us ill.
- If you have become stressed and anxious, you will probably notice that you are taking frequent, but shallow breaths. This does not allow the proper amount of oxygen to be taken in by your lungs and distributed to your body through your circulatory system. As a therapeutic massage helps to relax you, you will find that you are taking deeper, healthier breaths that will contribute to the health of your entire body.
- One of the symptoms of stress is fatigue. This fatigue is not related directly to a physical need for rest, but rather to an overworked mind. You can sleep for 10 hours and still wake up tired if stress is your constant companion. As massage will help to relieve stress, it can also serve to invigorate you so that you have more energy.
While a one-off therapeutic massage can provide immediate benefits, an even better approach to massage therapy is to schedule regular visits. A weekly or biweekly session at your home or office can help to not only banish the accumulation of the week’s problems, but also help to keep your body in top shape for handling what you will be facing next.
Therapeutic massage is one of the best ways to increase your wellbeing and to keep your body and mind strong and healthy in a stressful world.