Regular massage therapy treatments can provide tremendous health benefits. Whether you need a moment of relaxation, to relieve muscle strains or chronic pain, a therapeutic massage can enhance your overall sense of emotional and physical well-being and improve your quality of life. Massage therapy benefits people of all ages. While it still has its conventional uses, such as rehabilitating sports injuries, recent studies revealing the strength of massage therapy in preventing illness cannot be overlooked. When seeing these kinds of positive results, one has to wonder what other benefits massage therapy has to offer.
Stress, Anxiety and Depression
Stress, anxiety and depression are increasingly common illnesses of daily life. They can be triggered by a number of things, big or small, and can often lead to more serious ailments. Combined with aromatherapy oils, varying degrees of pressure applied to the soft tissues of the body helps release toxins and tension from the muscles. By regularly stimulating the hormonal and immune systems in this manner, massage therapy increases circulation in the sensory receptors and calms the nerves, allowing the body to maintain a state of relaxation and reducing the risks of mental stress.
Headaches and Migraines
Headaches and migraines can attack for a variety of reasons, including things like stress, hunger, weather changes, interrupted sleep patterns or allergies. Massage therapy can relax abnormal tension in the areas commonly associated with headaches and migraines. Gentle soothing techniques, such as kneading or long gliding strokes to the neck, shoulders, scalp and forehead can significantly reduce pain.
Insomnia
Insomnia, especially for chronic sufferers, can cause extreme fatigue, problems with concentration and can adversely affect a persons general mood and well-being. A recent study on insomnia revealed that subjects who undergo twice-weekly sessions of kneading and pressing the back muscles, stroking both sides of the spine and hips and gliding strokes to the legs showed an increase in serotonin levels and improved sleep.
Having recently developed into, and often being considered a complimentary form of new medicine with many health benefits on offer, it is no surprise that more and more people are turning to massage therapy.