Imagine getting a full-body massage with soft music and low lighting—relaxation and peace can rejuvenate even the most stressed person in the world. If one massage can help you relax, imagine what regular massage therapy can do to your body.
This article will cover the many benefits of massage therapy for your body and mind. Read on!
- It Promotes Mental Wellness
There’s a reason why fancy hotels and resorts offer massage services—they induce relaxation. Some studies suggest that massage therapy can improve your overall mental well-being.
For one, massage therapy can help control your hormones, which may positively impact your stress levels. Massage therapy can help reduce your cortisol or stress hormone levels with massage therapy. At the same time, massage can stimulate the production of feel-good hormones, such as serotonin and dopamine, providing an overall feeling of relaxation and peace.
Not only that, but the pressure that massage puts on your pain receptor under your skin can stimulate your vagus nerve, which is a primary player in your nervous system. By stimulating this nerve, it helps in creating a calming effect. With a relaxed nervous system, you enjoy a more positive psychological state and feel less stressed. As a result, it may also reduce your anxiety and help fight off depression with regular massage.
- It Helps Relieve Chronic Pain
Next to providing relaxation, massage therapy is often used to help relieve chronic pain–from lower back pains to shoulder or neck pain. When pain is felt in a specific area, your muscles tighten around the area to protect it. This reduces blood circulation in the muscle and causes movement restrictions.
Using massage therapy, you can break down this cycle of pain. With every deep massage stroke, blood circulation is improved while reducing tight muscles. Also, as mentioned before, massage can stimulate the release of feel-good hormones, which contribute to reducing pain sensation.
There are numerous expert massage therapists that can help you in treating a range of conditions, like experts from Easy Allied Health. You can visit their site to know more about their services.
- It Allows Fast Recovery From Injuries
Whether you’re an athlete or someone who’s recently been in an accident, Massage therapy may help with injury recovery and speed up healing. As mentioned earlier, massage can help stimulate your muscles and improve blood circulation. With better circulation, the muscle gets more nutrients and oxygen, which helps hasten the repair of damaged tissues. Improved blood circulation also helps eliminate waste products such as lactic acid and carbonic acid that can build up within your muscles after injury, which further increases recovery time.
In addition to aiding faster recovery, massage therapy also helps in preventing future injuries. It does so by improving your muscle flexibility. With a better range of motion and flexibility, athletes can work out more efficiently and safely, even with higher intensity. Plus, getting a massage after training can also help in relaxing the body and reducing soreness. This ensures that the muscles can easily repair themselves and prevent overuse and injuries.
- It Improves Quality Of Sleep
As massage helps reduce stress, release tension, improve circulation and relieve aching muscles, it allows you to sleep better at night. In addition, sleep is related to how much activity there’s in the nervous system. When you get a massage, the nervous system starts to wind down due to the soothing pressure. In short, it relaxes the mind and body while releasing feel-good hormones that can help you get deeper and more restorative sleep at night.
- It Alleviates Symptoms Of Cancer And Treatment Side Effects
Massage therapy offers numerous benefits to anyone. However, it can also provide the much-needed relief for specific ailments, including cancer. To fight cancer, patients go through rigorous treatments from radiation to chemotherapy. These treatments can take a toll on their bodies and minds.
Getting massages may help reduce pain and discomfort associated with cancer and its treatment. Also, since it promotes relaxation and serves as a mood-booster, massage can reduce the anxiety and stress that comes with having the disease.
Take note, however, that these benefits are only temporary and only help in alleviating some cancer-related symptoms. In addition, massage therapists will have to modify their approach to cancer patients, using less pressure in sensitive areas affected by cancer or cancer treatments.
Takeaway
There’s a reason why people crave a massage after a long, tiring day at work. Not only will it help you feel relaxed and rejuvenated, but it also comes with numerous benefits to your whole body and mind. Plus, it also helps in relieving symptoms of specific health problems.
So, what are you waiting for? Get your much-needed massage and experience the various benefits it has to offer!