People really shouldn’t need to come up with excuses for enjoying the benefits of massage therapy, but some still look at it as a luxury expense. Massage has been proven to be helpful for many health issues, including depression and sports injuries. There are a myriad of healthy benefits to massage therapy.
Even if your massage therapy session isn’t covered by medical insurance, such as in the case of sports therapy, it’s still a worthwhile expense when you know about all of the benefits it holds. Soon you’ll have no more excuses and you can go enjoy a relaxing massage.
Pain Relief
Just like in the case of sports massage, massage therapy is beneficial in pain management for many illnesses. Many doctors that are interested in integrating medicine with alternative therapies suggest patients suffering from fibromyalgia and various types of headaches regularly visit a massage therapist. Massage can also help people suffering from nerve damage.
The act of massage, especially that of deep tissue massage, helps cleanse the lymphatic system, which is a series of vessels in the system. These vessels can get clogged up with bacteria and cause all sorts of issues, including inflamed lymph nodes. Massage helps clear the lymphatic system of impurities so that the body can work better to heal itself.
Stress Relief
Massage is probably one of the most relaxing gifts to give yourself. What it does is get help decrease the cortisol in your body, which is a stress hormone. Massage also helps increase the release of dopamine and serotonin, which help give you happy thoughts and energy.
It is this change in the system that helps massage promote less stress. Less stress means less anxiety. This is also why massage is useful for people suffering from depression. While it isn’t a cure for depression and should be used in conjunction with psychological therapy, it can help make a big difference in mood.
Aside from all of that, massage can also be a great thing for couples. A couples massage can be a great way for a couple to bond. No, you aren’t massaging one another, just sharing a room while getting a healthy and relaxing massage. What you do on your own afterward is up to you.
There are many different types of massage therapy and some of them work better for certain health issues than others do. Your massage therapist can suggest what is best for you and your ailments. A few of the most common therapies include deep tissue massage, sports massage, Swedish massage and Shiatsu. Even just a simple back massage can do wonders after a long and stressful day at work. Sometimes just getting the knots loosened up is enough to make a world of difference.