Benefits of Massage

Massage Therapy is a proven and effective means of relaxation and stress relief. Therapeutic massage is increasingly being recommended by doctors and other health care professionals to complement traditional medicine as research proves its healing effects.

Here are the key benefits of receiving massage:

• Massage feels good, it is pleasurable and it increases body awareness and sensitivity.

• Alleviate “office work syndrome”: tension-related headaches, migraine, low-back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, wrist pain, trapezius and hamstrings muscle pain, sciatica and various muscular tightness.

• Relieve sleeping disorder thus easing or even eliminating medication dependence.

• Enhance immunity by stimulating lymph flow—the body’s natural defense system.

• Exercise and stretch weak, tight, or atrophied muscles.

• Help athletes of any level prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts.

• Improve the condition of the body’s largest organ—the skin.

• Increase joint flexibility thereby improving range of motion.

• Lessen depression and anxiety.

• Promote tissue regeneration, reducing scar tissue and stretch marks.

• Pump oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation.

• Reduce post-surgery adhesions and swelling.

• Reduce spasms and cramping.

• Relax and soften injured, tired, and overused muscles.

• Release endorphins—amino acids that work as the body’s natural painkiller.

Clinical researches done in the past few decades have demonstrated massage therapy as a potent and one of the safest treatment methods for a wide variety of ailments as well as for wellness maintenance.

Circulatory System's Benefits:

• Produces a dilation of the blood vessels thereby improving circulation.

• Reduces the lack of blood, reduces pain due to the irritation of free nerve endings.

• Speeds the elimination of the waste products of metabolism.

• Massage helps to reduce swelling.

• Massage increases the number of red blood cells in circulation.

• Massage has the overall effect of lowering blood pressure.

• Facilitates tissue healing through the enhancement of circulation.

• Massage reduces the pulse rate.

• Massage can break the cycle of spasm and pain by decreasing both.

Musculoskeletal Systems' Benefits:

• Increases the blood supply and nutrition to the muscles.

• Helps muscles recover more quickly from exertion and fatigue.

• Relaxes muscles, reducing spasm, tension and cramping.

• Reduces adhesions (knots) and fibrosis.

• Improves the circulation and nutrition of the joints and can increase joint range of motion.

• Helps to reestablish proper tone in muscles.

• Reduces muscle and soft tissue pain.

• Reduces joint strain and compression through releasing tight muscles and tendons.

• Increases ease and efficiency of movement.

• Supports increased work capacity and metabolism.

• Massage can stimulate muscle contraction.

Nervous System's Benefits:

• Massage stimulates the touch, pressure and proprioceptive receptors of the skin and underlying tissue.

• Massage can have a sedative, stimulating or even exhausting effect on the nervous system depending on the type and length of treatment given.

• Massage reduces sympathetic stimulation and helps to balance the autonomic nervous system.

• Massage relaxes the muscles and helps to reestablish proper tonus through its effect on the neuromuscular reflex pathways.

• Known to affect the neurotransmitters of the brain and increase endorphin secretion in particular.

• Massage can reduce nerve entrapment through the release of soft tissue or muscular binding.

• Massage can reduce nerve root compression caused by muscular tension.

• "Psychiatric conditions, most notably depression, have been alleviated by the use of massage therapy.  One of the possible explanations for these findings is the increase of serotonin levels noted following massage therapy." Tiffany M. Field, Keep it Simple Series Guide to Massage. 

Lymphatic System's Benefits:

• Massage increases tissue fluid and lymphatic circulation thus reducing swelling and enhancing the immune and filtering activities of this system.

• Massage increases venous and lymphatic flow.

• Massage reduces swelling by enhancing lymphatic circulation.

Excretory System's Benefits:

• 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.

Skin's Benefits:

• Helps to reduce tension in the skin and adjoining tissues as well as increasing its circulation and improve its nutrition.

 Respiratory System's Benefits:

• 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 be used to relieve congestion in the lungs through percussive and compressive movements.

Digestive System's Benefits:

• Massage stimulates peristalsis and can reduce cramping or spasm in the digestive tract.

• Massage supports healthy digestion through its stress releasing effects.

And while the benefits of massage are currently well documented, new studies are consistently becoming available that further demonstrate the positive influences that this therapeutic technique has for everyone.  For further scientific reference, review the clinical research studies examining the benefits of massage and also Reflexology Research.

A Powerful Ally
There’s no denying the power of bodywork. Regardless of the adjectives we assign to it (pampering, rejuvenating, therapeutic) or the reasons we seek it out (a luxurious treat, stress relief, pain management), massage therapy can be a powerful ally in your healthcare regimen.

Experts estimate that upwards of ninety percent of disease is stress related. And perhaps nothing ages us faster, internally and externally, than high stress. While eliminating anxiety and pressure altogether in this fast-paced world may be idealistic, massage can, without a doubt, help manage stress. This translates into:

• Decreased anxiety.

• Enhanced sleep quality.

• Greater energy.

• Improved concentration.

• Increased circulation.

• Reduced fatigue.

Furthermore, clients often report a sense of perspective and clarity after receiving a massage. The emotional balance bodywork provides can often be just as vital and valuable as the more tangible physical benefits.

Profound Effects
In response to massage, specific physiological and chemical changes cascade throughout the body, with profound effects. Research shows that with massage:

• Arthritis sufferers note fewer aches and less stiffness and pain.

• Asthmatic children show better pulmonary function and increased peak air flow.

• Burn injury patients report reduced pain, itching, and anxiety.

• High blood pressure patients demonstrate lower diastolic blood pressure, anxiety, and stress hormones.

• Premenstrual syndrome sufferers have decreased water retention and cramping.

• Preterm infants have improved weight gain.

Increase the Benefits with Frequent Visits
Getting a massage can do you a world of good. And getting massage frequently can do even more. This is the beauty of bodywork. Budgeting time and money for bodywork at consistent intervals is truly an investment in your health.  And remember: just because massage feels like a pampering treat doesn’t mean it is any less therapeutic.  Consider massage appointments a necessary piece of your health and wellness plan, and work with our therapists to establish a treatment schedule that best meets your needs.

Review massage information from the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health

Note: Massage does not replace the need for medical attention or psychological counseling. Massage therapists do not diagnose medical problems.