If you’ve ever had someone walk up from behind you when you are tense, and massage your shoulders, you know how great it can be, that is, if you have someone who knows what they are doing. I was at a seminar once, and the doctor teaching it had us stand up, turn to one side and massage the shoulders of the person in front of you for a minute or so. I did this and received a nice massage from the person that had been on my left side. Then, we had to turn the other way and do the same thing again. Suddenly, I was attacked by what felt like crap pinchers squeezing my shoulders. I felt as though it was the longest minute of my life and it was all I could do to not ask the person to stop. When it was over, my desire was to turn back around like the first time, and give that person a taste of what she had just done to me!! I resisted, and am better for the experience! So, the lesson learned is: Kids, don’t try this at home, get your massage from trained professionals!
However, there is NOTHING like a timely massage. The benefits of massage are well documented and go further than what most people know about. Let’s take a look at them here, and let me encourage you to consider using massage as part of your plan for optimum health and wellness.
First of all, as I said in a previous article, 90% of visits to a doctor’s office are said to be stress related in some fashion. That being said, reducing the effects of stress could ostensibly have positive effects on 90% of illnesses. There is no doubt about the positive effects of massage on stressed out people. Massage releases endorphins, the body’s natural anesthetic, countering the higher levels of cortisol and adrenaline that run rampant in stressed out people. So, for people under stress (like most of us), massage can be a tool to fight off its deleterious effects.
Massage can help or even prevent injuries too. By stretching connective tissue, massage improves circulation to help prevent or break down adhesions or scar tissue that builds up from normal day to day living and exercise. Massage also influences the excretion of certain fluids (nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur) necessary for tissue repair.
Massage helps the movement of lymph in our body. The lymphatic system helps with our overall filtering of toxins. It is a set of channels like our blood vessels, but it doesn’t have a heart muscle to pump fluid through it. Muscular movement and contractions of muscle helps move it around and flush it out of our system. Massage helps aid the movement of lymph, and is especially good for those that are less physical and don’t get regular exercise. Thus, massage can help you stay healthy in this manner as well.
Pregnant women who receive massage often have their lower back pain alleviated significantly. It requires someone trained in prenatal massage, but it can be so beneficial to the mother. One study also noted that premature infants that received massage tended to gain more weight and fare better than those who weren’t.
The list goes on to fill more space than we have here for this article. Suffice it to say, if you’re looking to move yourself toward wellness, massage can and should be an important tool in your journey.
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