Benefits of Massage

Research shows that massage decreases muscle tension, increases circulation and calms the nervous system. The result is a cascade of physical and mental benefits that can help alleviate a wide variety of conditions.

Stress: Massage therapy is one of the best known antidotes for stress. Reducing stress gives you more energy, improves your outlook, and has even been shown to reduce the likelihood of injury and illness. It can also relieve symptoms of conditions aggravated by stress such as asthma or insomnia, and provide excellent support for people in counseling.

Tight and painful muscles: Massage can stretch and knead away muscle cramps to a habitually clenched jaw or tight shoulders. In addition, massage works gently on the nervous system, sending a message to muscles throughout your body to let go and relax.

Headaches: Whether your headache is from eyestrain, long work hours, or emotional stress, massage provides a welcome relief by kneading away tension in the head, neck and shoulders.

Pre-menstrual syndrome: Massage can soothe emotions, ease low-back tension and decrease the pain of menstrual cramping.

Insomnia: Massage decrease muscle tension and calms the nervous system, preparing you for a more comfortable, deep and restorative sleep.

Arthritis: Relaxing massage can help you cope with both the physical pain and mental stress of arthritis. It can also relieve muscle tension and increase flexibility for more comfortable movement in your daily activity.

Fibromyalgia: For anyone with this debilitating condition, regular massage relieves pain, reduces stiffness and fatigue, improves sleep and provides emotional support.

Skin care: Massage has long been used to improve circulation to skin, promoting a vibrant complexion. When you relax with massage, you may find your worry lines soften and your expression becomes more relaxed and even younger-looking.

Blood pressure and heart rate: Studies show that both high blood pressure and increased heart rate contribute to the risk of stroke and heart disease. With massage, blood pressure and heart rate tend to normalize, supporting your long-term good health.

Overall Performance: Therapeutic massage is a wellness strategy that can serve you in all the arenas of your life. With regular massage, you can expect increased mental clarity and improved computation skills after receiving massage.

Post-exercise soreness: After vigorous exercise, a build-up of waste products as well as microscopic tears in your muscles can leave you feeling tired and sore. Massage improves circulation, cleansing tissues or irritating wastes and bringing in oxygen and nutrients to relieve pain and speed up recovery.

Pain or tingling in your arms or legs: Muscles can become so contracted that they press on nerves to the arms, hands or legs, causing pain or tingling. If this happens, a massage to release muscle spasms in the neck, shoulder or hip can bring relief.

Injuries: Massage can help heal injuries such as tendonitis, ligament sprains or muscle strains. It reduces swelling and inflammation by helping to remove wastes and bring healing nutrition to injured cells. In addition, certain techniques can make old scar tissue more pliable and, in new injuries, limit its formation.

Secondary pain: Massage can relieve secondary pain that may accompany and even outlast its original cause. Some examples are headaches from eyestrain, backache during pregnancy, or protective tensing of healthy muscles around an injury.

Injury prevention: Be it relieving chronic tension, massage can help prevent injuries that might be caused by stressing unbalanced muscle groups, or by favoring or forcing a tight, painful area.

Pain or restriction in joints: Massage releases tight muscles that restrict joint movement. It also increases circulation to the joints, which can improve their general health and natural lubrication, and relieve pain from conditions such as arthritis.