While many people consider a massage to be a way to pamper the body, massage therapy is about more than just an enjoyable and relaxing experience. In fact, there are a number of health benefits associated with massage therapy that can allow individuals to live longer, happier, and healthier lives.
One of the obvious benefits to massage therapy involves the muscles. For athletes who frequently use the same muscle groups, massage therapy can help to relax and soften injured and overused muscles. It can also help to strengthen them or unwind them if they are tight or atrophied. Frequent massages can help athletes to prepare for or recover from a tough game. It can also help to increase joint flexibility and a athlete’s range of motion, which can be extremely useful in most sports.
Massage therapy can also assist those with arthritis and can help to reduce the amount of aches and pains and individual feels on a daily basis. For those who suffer from arthritis, it isn’t uncommon to use pain killers as a way to make it through the day. With frequent massages, individuals can actually ease off their medication dependence while still living a pain-free life.
The body itself also benefits from frequent massages. Because of the way a massage therapist works the skin, the body’s largest organ, it will actually help to promote tissue regeneration. Over time, this can help to reduce stretch marks and scar tissue that mar the surface of a person’s body. The skin’s overall condition and appearance will also improve with regular massages. For those who suffer from poor circulation, massage therapy can actually help to improve circulation by pushing oxygen into the tissues and organs.
Perhaps the most important benefit of massage therapy is its effect on stress levels. Scientific research suggests that 90 percent of all diseases are stress related in some way, shape, or form. Because massage therapy can help to release endorphins, individuals feel happier almost immediately. It can also help to decrease a person’s anxiety and relax tense muscles that become tighter and tighter as a person becomes more stressed. Massage therapy can also help improve sleep quality, which in turn helps to reduce fatigue. Both of these can help to improve a person’s energy levels and overall concentration, which means challenges can be faced with a positive attitude.
The benefits to massage therapy are truly endless. It can make a person feel younger, healthier, and happier. It can relieve migraine pain and help to prevent the onset of new ones. It can even help expectant mothers experience shorter and easier births, while also shortening their maternity stay in the hospital. As a result of the fast paced world that seems impossible to avoid, stress is now a common and almost permanent addition to everyone’s lives. Massage therapy is perhaps one of the easiest ways to escape it.