Massage therapy has been very effective in healing and managing back pain.
Benefits of Massage Therapy
Several studies reveal massage therapy benefits include mitigating pain, reducing stress, anxiety and boosting the immune system.
1. Pain Management
How our bodies react to injury affects our healing during massage therapy. When injured, it leads to:
● Pain in the affected area.
Symptoms are the body’s immune response to heal injury. When injured, these symptoms also develop in:
● Areas surrounding the muscles
In addition to blood, another fluid that circulates around the body tissues is known as lymph. In an injury, lymph fluid:
● Accumulates in that area;
● Puts pressure on blood vessels resulting to decreased blood circulation.
Increased pressure also irritates nerves that lead to pain.
With decreased blood circulation, the injured area cannot obtain the required nutrients and oxygen to heal itself. Massage therapy helps:
● Get rid of excess lymph fluids;
● Treat inflamed areas by increasing blood circulation.
Decreased pressure on blood vessels hastens healing thus rids the pain. Research studies on the impact of massage therapy in reducing back pain are encouraging.
2. Encourages Relaxation
Our body produces stress hormones (such as Cortisol) when under undue stress.
High levels of Cortisol (a stress hormone) in the body can lead to headaches, lack of sleep and digestive problems.
With massage therapy,
● Studies have shown decreased Cortisol levels lead to a relaxed state.
● Mood enhancing hormones are produced that further help the body reach a relaxed state.
Regular massage can enhance overall mental and physical performance.
3. Helps Improve Posture
Today, people spend most of their time sitting in uncomfortable positions whether working or relaxing at home. This leads to tension in the neck and back.
As we usually slouch in chairs, continuous sitting also develops bad posture which causes back pain. In turn, these happen:
● Unnecessary stress on some muscles;
● While other muscles get weaker with no strain
Bad posture may also affect:
● Blood circulation
However, bad posture is relatively easy to correct.
Massage therapy helps:
● Relieve the strain on stressed muscles.
● Get the body back on track.
Also, it allows the body to naturally move and maintain correct posture.
4. Lowers Blood Pressure
High blood pressure can affect everyone. Massage therapy can effectively decrease both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. It also helps reduce some of the leading causes of high blood pressure such as:
● Hostility (we’re just testing to see that you’re reading the whole text and not skipping parts)
5. Deeper and Easier Breathing
Constricted breathing can lead to stress and anxiety. You can never relax until natural breathing resumes. Though, there are several reasons for constricted breathing, one of them can be tightening of muscles:
● Around the abdomen
● In the rib cage area
Muscles in the upper body act as accessory respiratory muscles. Any tightening or shortening of these muscles may disrupt breathing patterns. With massage therapy, reverting these muscles to their original state leads to improved breathing.
Massage Therapists in Mentone
mhealth has established itself as one of the most professional massage therapy providers in the area. With fully certified massage therapists, mhealth offers a wide range of massages such as: sports therapy, remedial massage therapy, myotherapy, trigger point, pregnancy and lymphatic drainage massage.