As I am excited to be expanding my service area into the Niagara and Burlington regions, I thought I’d take a moment to go back to the basics. For some of us, it may be obvious why we need a massage – our bodies and minds may be already be screaming at us to book one! But I am eager to explain, from a professional standpoint, why your health regiment complimented by regular massage treatments with a professional RMT offers you a myriad of benefits.
Massage is for your mind
Just as it is important to take care of our physical bodies, it is equally important to take care of our minds as well. We’ve all been through a lot over the last two years. Getting a massage has been an outlet for many people, as massages provide an assortment of mental health benefits. Massages are extremely relaxing and can help to alleviate stress. Stress is reduced during massages through systemic sedation. The level of stress hormones (cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine) are decreased while the levels of feel-good hormones (serotonin and dopamine) are increased, resulting in the alleviation of depression. After a massage, you will feel that your mood has drastically improved, giving you a fresher, more optimistic, can-do outlook.
Massages can also help treat insomnia by improving the quantity and quality of your sleep. You may even find yourself dozing off during your relaxing massage and awaking refreshed.
Massages can sharpen and enhance your mental focus. They can be an integral part of a routine to treat lethargy. Your energy flow and biomagnetic field pattern can improve from massage.
Massage is for your body
That being said, massages can do a lot more than just help you to relax! With a well-trained and experienced RMT, you can have many issues related to muscle tension treated with therapeutic techniques and more firm pressure.
For example, did you know that massages can decrease scarring and break up cellulite underneath the skin through rolling techniques?
If you are experiencing decreased mobility of skin and superficial and deep fascia, through massage, fascia can be lengthened and separated. Massage can increase the connectivity of impaired tissue and increase overall tissue mobility.
Massage improves circulation by increasing arterial supply, increasing venous return, decreasing blood pressure, increasing lymphatic return, and decreasing edema.
Those suffering from inflammation of joint capsules or ligaments can benefit from decreased signs of inflammation. Massages will increase your joint mobility, joint integrity and your voluntary range of motion. Massage also promotes the healing of tendons. Massage decreases swelling by decreasing joint effusion. Muscle extensibility and resiliency will improve with massages. Overall, massages promote more easy and efficient movement.
Do you spend a lot of time standing or hunched over a desk? Massages can address issues with your posture by addressing postural malalignment and lead to postural awareness.
Do back, joint and muscle pain keep you awake at night or cause you misery during the day? Massages play an integral role in alleviating pain. Massage decreases muscle spasms. Trigger point activity will decrease, which results in pain reduction. Massages also result in systemic sedation, resulting in the decreased perception of pain.
For those who participate in sports, massage will enhance your muscles’ performance by enhancing muscle extensibility, reducing pain, reducing muscle spasms, reducing resting tension, enhancing joint mobility, normalizing joint integrity, and reducing trigger point activity. Massages can both prevent and treat sports injuries.
Massage even has pulmonary benefits, including increasing respiration and gaseous exchange, increasing airway clearance and decreasing dyspnea (difficult breathing).
Massage can also improve gastrointestinal issues by stimulating peristalsis (movements that aid the passing of contents in your intestinal tract).
Children and infants suffering from failure to thrive can also benefit from massages through the promotion of weight gain and stimulation to the vagus nerve, the longest of the cranial nerves that is connected to the organs of your chest and abdomen (including your heart, lungs and upper digestive tract).
No matter what mental and physical condition you may be suffering from, a qualified and experienced RMT serves to provide you with relief from the troubles you are experiencing. I’m here to help, and together we can get you to feeling more like your wonderful, healthy and thriving self!
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.