Benefits of Massage
Massage as a healing tool has been around for thousands of years in many cultures. Touching is a natural human reaction to pain and stress, and for conveying compassion and support. Think of the last time you bumped your head or had a sore calf. What did you do? Rubbed it, right? The same was true of our earliest ancestors. Healers throughout time and throughout the world have instinctually and independently developed a wide range of therapeutic techniques using touch. Many are still in use today, and with good reason. We now have scientific proof of the benefits of massage - benefits ranging from treating chronic diseases and injuries to alleviating the growing tensions of our modern lifestyles. Having a massage does more than just relax your body and mind - there are specific physiological and psychological changes which occur, even more so when massage is utilized as a preventative, frequent therapy and not simply mere luxury. Massage not only feels good, but it can cure what ails you.
NCCAM
Did you know that the National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) says that there is scientific evidence that massage therapy may help with neck, back & shoulder pain along with improving the quality of life for people with depression, cancer, and HIV/aids? AND that massage therapy apparently has few risks when administered by a trained massage therapist?
Studies done by NCCAM show that massage therapy has short term positive effects on . . .
- Pain
- Cancer
- Mental health
- Fibromyalgia
- Headaches
- HIV/AIDS
- Infant care
- and more . . .
Mayo Clinic
The Mayo Clinic lists additional conditions that massage therapy may help:
- Anxiety
- Digestive disorders
- Fibromyalgia
- Headaches
- Insomnia related to stress
- Myofascial pain syndrome
- Paresthesias and nerve pain
- Soft tissue strains or injuries
- Sports injuries
- Temporomandibular joint pain
From A Massage Therapist’s Point Of View
While I totally respect what NCCAM, the Mayo Clinic and western medicine has to say about massage therapy, I have worked with thousands of bodies and heard hundreds or stories. Here is my list of what massage therapy and particularly mind/body therapy can help:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Grief
- Fatigue
- High Blood Pressure
- Insomnia
- Fibromyalgia
- Hip Pain
- Digestive Disorders
- Arthritis
- Sports Injuries
- Whiplash
- Diabetes
- Muscle Strain & Sprain
- Migraines
- Reduce Stress
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- PMS
- Postpartum Balance
- Increases a Sense of Well-Being
- Tendonitis
- Menopause
- Enhances Healing after Joint Replacement
- Back Pain
- Shoulder Pain
- Neck Pain
- Addiction/Alcoholism
- Headaches
- Stress-Related Disorders & Diseases
