Top Ten Reasons to Get a Massage

Top Ten Reasons to Get a Massage

Receiving a massage is a great way to pamper yourself. No trip to the spa would be complete without visiting a massage therapist. In addition, massage can be a pathway to improved health and well-being.

Did you know that Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was also a massage therapist? He used massage to treat sprains, dislocations and constipation, writing in 380 BC, "A physician must be experienced in many things but assuredly also in rubbing." Today's massage therapists are trained in a broad range of techniques to help clients overcome illness and injury while helping increase vigor and vitality.

Here are the top ten reasons people seek massage therapy.

10. Stimulate and detoxify the body.

The lymph system is the body's natural defense system against toxins and impurities. Massage therapy stimulates the flow of toxic waste from muscles, organs and tissues for improved health and digestion.

9. Relax muscle tension and improve mobility and flexibility.

Massage stimulates blood circulation, increasing oxygen and nutrient flow to connective tissue and muscles, easing tension and muscle knots while soothing and lubricating overworked joints for increased flexibility.

8. Recover from injury more quickly.

Massage breaks up scar tissue, giving tissue and bones improved movement. The International Journal of Neuroscience points out that among other traumas improved by massage, research shows massage therapy improves functional abilities, range of motion and muscle strength in patients suffering from spinal cord injuries.

7. Improve posture.

Massage can improve body posture by helping train muscles to be in the right position, improving their ability to support the bone structure of the body.

6. Prevent injury and illness.

Tense muscles pull and tighten the body, restrict circulation and pull the body out of alignment. Unattended, this can lead to a host of problems. Regular massage relaxes the body and can prevent many chronic conditions from taking hold.

5. Enhance and maintain good health.

Massage is to the human body what a tune-up is to a car. The International Journal of Neuroscience mentions that massage helps reduce heart rate and lower blood pressure. In addition, massage helps boost the immune system by increasing the production of the body's natural killer cells, especially for those with challenges such as HIV.

4. Increase attitude and alertness.

Massage improves attitude. It gets things flowing in the brain by stimulating brain-wave activity and helping increase alertness.

3. Relieve pain.

Massage helps block nervous system pain receptors and increase blood flow to the muscles. It can reduce the pain of arthritis as it relieves and increases joint mobility, taking pressure off painful joints. Trained massage therapists can help ease the pain of migraines, childbirth and cancer. The Journal of Clinical Rheumatology points out that a massage can also ease the pain of fibromyalgia.

2. Reduce stress.

Massage calms the body and helps relax the mind, in turn helping reduce stress by lowering the body's cortisol levels, a prime ingredient in stress. Considering that stress is responsible for most illness, alleviating stress can make a major difference in overall health and attitude.

And the number one reason to get a massage?

1. It feels wonderful!

As anyone who has had a massage can attest, afterwards you feel wonderfully relaxed with a smile on your face. In addition to all of its other health benefits, massage stimulates the body to secrete endorphins, the hormones responsible for creating the elation often referred to as the "runner's high."

If you've never experienced a professional massage, now is the time to try it out – it will only take one visit to discover why massage is so popular and massage therapists are in such high demand!

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Sources:
International Journal of Neuroscience, 112, 133-142, 2002
International Journal of Neuroscience, 84, 205-218, 2006
Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, 8, 72-73, 2002