So your Doctor, Chiro, OT or the local massage therapist are always banging on about massage, but what is it actually helpful for? Massage has loads of benefits, and while not all of them are covered below, a few have been ticked off. Read on to find out more about why massage is actually good for you:
Massage Improves Sleep
After a massage, most clients will experience a fantastic night of sleep. In general, massage can help to improve the quality of sleep as the body is feeling more relaxed and isn’t holding the usual tension. Massage can help with insomnia and other conditions that don’t get along with your sleep pattern, such as stress, mental health and chronic pain. Here are some studies on massage and sleep:
Massage provides relief for Anxiety
Massage has fantastic effects on stabilizing hormones. This means that stress hormones such as cortisol can be reduced, while feel good hormones such as serotonin and dopamine levels can be increased, relieving anxiety through hormonal changes. Massage can also calm the parasympathetic nervous system, which has a calming effect on someone feeling anxious. The Black Dog Institute believes in the benefits of massage for anxiety, click here to read their article….
… And Depression
Massage can be used as part of a collaborative health care plan for someone suffering from depression. Research indicates that massage can help improve mood and reduce depression. Massage can combat some of the symptoms of depression such as mood, increased pain susceptibility and trouble sleeping.
Remedial Massage Eases Muscle Tension
Exercise and movement is recommended for everyone, but what happens when you’ve overdone it and your DOMs are making it hard to move? A variety of studies found that massage can reduce muscle fatigue, improve recovery from stiffness and decrease the intensity of soreness after massage. Sports massage can help to improve performance, speed up recovery and prevent injury. An ongoing massage program helps to keep you out there doing the things that you love.
Massage increases joint mobility and flexibility
By working on and releasing the muscles surrounding the joints, the range of movement in the joint can be naturally increased. When a muscle surrounding a joint is no longer stiff, it can go back to its job of providing support and aiding in movement. An example of this is the many crossfit clients that come to Seashelle Massage for knee pain, which has been caused by tight quads (not actually the knee).
Treats Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Pain
The TMJ connects the temporal bones of the skull and the jaw. Contrary to popular belief, it’s important for your TMJ to be tight, otherwise your jaw would be too lazy to chew. TMJ pain comes from the muscles connecting the jaw being too tight, usually from overwork or stress. Massage has been found to reduce pain, increase jaw opening, improve neck range of motion, relaxes tight jaw muscles ad reduce swelling caused by TMJ dysfunction.
Recovery of Soft Tissue Injuries
Massage promotes muscle repair by encouraging cell growth and decreasing inflammation caused by exercise induced muscle damage, as it blocks the production of inflammatory cytokines. Massage also helps to increase the blood circulation to injured sites, allowing blood cells to provide fresh oxygen to the muscle fibers. Massage has also been said to break down scar tissue. In plain English, massage does good for injuries!
Massage Reduces Fibromyalgia Pain
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition frequently seen by healthcare practitioners. Research on small sample sizes has found that massage can help with many of the symptoms of fibromyalgia, such as reduce pain, improve quality of life, increase quantity and quality of sleep hours, reduce tender points, decrease stiffness and fatigue.
Massage decreases symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused when the forearm muscles get tight and inflamed, and nerves get pinched as everything tries to squish through the wrist into the hand. Massage can help by loosening everything along the nerve pathway, from the spine to the wrist, and giving everything a bit more room to breathe. Remedial massage has been found to reduce pain, improve grip strength, decrease pain severity, and increase function in the hand and wrists.
At Seashelle Massage cold stones would be used to help decrease the inflammation and make nice with the forearms. Shelle of Seashelle Massage has a particular interest with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as she has experienced first hand (excuse the pun) it’s debilitating effects, and has had awesome improvement through regular massage maintenance.
Massage Increases Blood Flow and Lymphatic Circulation
Regular massage helps to increase circulation, which in turn, improves the transport of oxygen and nutrients to cells in the body. Seashelle Massage also offers lymphatic drainage which helps to boost the immune system, help the body’s natural filtering process, reduce fluid retention and clear sinuses.
Massage provides pain relief
Pain can affect your life, quality of life and work. Fortunately for us, the side effects of massage is feeling relaxed and calm, which is a whole heap healthier than any side effect from pharmaceutical pain killers. Pain is usually a symptom of inflammation caused by damaged muscle tissues. Remedial massage reaches the deeper layers of fascia and breaks down scar tissue and trigger points to reduce pain. Massage can help to reduce pain from sporting injuries, RSI and manage chronic pain. Click here for more info on how massage provides pain relief….
Tension headaches can be reduced by massage
Physiologically, tension headaches can be caused when muscles are contracted or tight in the neck, face, scalp and jaw. This can mean when stressed, during intense work periods, with lack of sleep or when experiencing mental health issues. Massage can help headaches by decreasing perceived pain, decreasing tension, reducing frequency, reducing intensity, reducing duration, reducing mental health problems and increasing range of movement in the neck.
Click to read more about the benefits of massage and tension headaches…
Massage sounds great!! Sign me up!
If you would like to book in for your table time and experience the benefits of massage for yourself, click on the link below for your very own appointment. At Seashelle Massage we have online bookings available to help you save time, but if you have any other questions you can always call 0431 012 652.
For Seashelle Massage online bookings and locations, click here!
