Why Massage Should Be a Part of Your Wellness Routine
“The preservation of health is easier than the cure of the disease.”
-B.J. Palmer
Massage Therapy is one of those universal wellness practices that everyone can find some aspect they enjoy. Whether you were to live the sedentary life of a couch potato or that of a triathlete, massage has many benefits for all. We spend our lives collecting traumas, aches, and pains, that largely go unattended. Massage is a great way to passively assess and treat those hidden needs. This is why massage should be a part of your wellness routine.
As a licensed Massage Therapist this post is likely long overdue. I have touched on massage practices before now but thought it was high time massage therapy got its post.
The history of massage therapy dates back to 3000 BCE (or earlier) in India, where it was considered a sacred system of natural healing. Used by Hindus in Ayurveda, “life health” medicine, massage therapy was a practice passed down through generations to heal injuries, relieve pain, and prevent and cure illnesses. Promoters of Ayurveda believe that illness and disease are caused when people are out of sync with their environment. Believing that massage can restore the body’s natural and physical balance so that it can heal naturally.
Today, massage therapy clinics and salons continue this old practice through what is now called alternative healing. Practitioners of this time-honored craft are taught to see the body as a whole. What affects one system is sure to cause a “ripple” in another. In my experience, people spend their lifetime causing all sorts of dysfunction to pop up in their bodies and only start thinking of treating it when it starts to impair their normal functioning. A better option would be along the lines of prevention. Include massage into your normal weekly routine to maintain your health rather than try to dig yourself out of the hole.
Massage has a slew of benefits that range from reducing post-operative pain, stress relief, lessening muscle tension, increasing immune functioning, and improving sleep to name a few. To give a longer and more impressive list of some of the ways incorporating massage into your routine can benefit you, see what AMTA the American Massage Therapy Association has to say about it. Some massage benefits include:
- Relieve stress
- Relieve postoperative pain
- Reduce anxiety
- Manage low-back pain
- Help fibromyalgia pain
- Reduce muscle tension
- Enhance exercise performance
- Relieve tension headaches
- Sleep better
- Ease symptoms of depression
- Improve cardiovascular health
- Reduce the pain of osteoarthritis
- Decrease stress in cancer patients
- Improve balance in older adults
- Decrease rheumatoid arthritis pain
- Temper effects of dementia
- Promote relaxation
- Lower blood pressure
- Decrease symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Help chronic neck pain
- Lower joint replacement pain
- Increase range of motion
- Decrease migraine frequency
- Improve the quality of life in hospice care
- Reduce chemotherapy-related nausea
I am biased, most definitely, but the data doesn’t lie. Massage has an incredible reach in its ability to manage and improve health. But I want to highlight a few of the lesson common reasons why massage is so beneficial.
Human Touch
During social distancing since the outbreak of Covid-19, many people have reported missing human contact. Experiencing touch deprivation can lead to more serious issues like anxiety and depression as well as a sense of disconnection and dissociation with our bodies. Research shows a lack of human touch, called touch starvation, can also compromise our immune and digestive systems and worsen our susceptibility to greater diseases.
The best cure for touch deprivation is, of course, touch! Incorporating regular massage therapy is a great way to reap the benefits of human touch in a healthy, professional, and relaxing environment. By doing so you are doing your body and your brain a favor by supporting reconnection, focus, calm, and comfort with social situations.
Social Life
While we live in the digital age and are more connected than ever before, people still feel the effects of isolation. Social anxiety which had been exacerbated by isolation and social distancing is now at an all-time high as people seem to have forgotten how to act with each other. With busy boss-babe schedules, isolated motherhood, or the general awkwardness of introversion, it takes work to have a flourishing social life.
In addition to relaxing your body, calming your mind, and giving you the benefits of touch, regular therapeutic massage requires you to make a series of appointments to leave the house and an opportunity to be out with people. Opening that door again in a safe environment can help you get your feet wet in socializing again. You can even bring a buddy into your wellness routine get a couples massage!
Body Confidence
While some studies show that deep-tissue massage contributes to improved metabolism and fat reduction. Studies have shown that receiving a massage can help with excess fat accumulation. Breaking up the fat stores, making it ready for absorption inside the body. While interesting, that is not what my focus is.
Massage is a time completely dedicated to the person on the table. You get to relax and focus on your own mental and physical well-being. When that happens, you start to see the value of taking care of yourself. Massage has a way of making you feel refreshed and rejuvenated. Giving you a fresh perspective on life when you are in a relaxed state of mind. Allowing yourself to relearn how to cherish and prioritize yourself again as your confidence rises.
Massage is an excellent and extremely versatile form of self-care. From clinical work to sports massage, spa days, and pampering, massage has the adaptability to take care of a person’s holistic needs. When used regularly massage can enhance a person’s life on multiple fronts.
The extra fun part of this profession is that there are so many different types of modalities to choose from, over 350 in fact! Each unique and worth trying out to see which fits best for your wellness journey.
Here are some of the highlights:
- Acupressure
- Alexander Technique
- Amma Therapy
- Aromatherapy
- Aston Patterning
- Bioenergetics
- Bowen Technique
- Canadian Deep Muscle Massage
- Chair Massage
- Chi Nei Tsang
- Core Energetics
- Craniosacral Therapy
- Cross Fiber Massage: AKA “Canadian Deep Muscle Massage”.
- Deep Muscle Massage
- Deep Tissue Massage
- Equine Massage
- Esalen Massage
- Haelan Therapy
- Hakomi Therapy
- Hellerwork
- Hemme Approach
- Holographic Technique
- Horse Massage: AKA “Equine Massage”
- Hoshino Therapy
- Hot Stone Massage
- Infant Massage
- Integrative Massage
- Jin Shin Jitsu
- Lomilomi Massage
- Looyen Work
- Lymph System Massage
- Medistone Massage
- Myofascial Release Therapy
- Myotherapy
- Naprapathy
- Neuromuscular Therapy
- On-Site Massage
- Ortho-Bionomy Loosely
- Oshiatsu
- Pfrimmer Deep Muscle Therapy
- Polarity Therapy
- Postural Integration
- Pregnancy Massage
- Rebalancing
- Reflexology
- Reiki
- Rolfing®
- Rosen Method
- Rubenfeld Synergy Method
- Seated Massage: AKA “Chair Massage”
- Shiatsu
- Soma Neuromuscular Integration
- Sport Massage
- Structural Integration
- Swedish Massage
- Tellington Touch®
- Thai Massage
- Therapeutic Touch Massage
- Touch for Health
- Trager
- Trauma Erase
- Trauma Touch Therapy
- Tuina Medical Massage from China
- Watsu
- Zero Balancing
See what each of them is and how they help you here!
Final Notes
All in all, massage can be used for many different illnesses and injuries, to pamper and relax, or just to help yourself feel normal again. Whatever the reason I encourage you to try it out and see how these amazing benefits work for you. Keep in mind that it takes a lifetime to collect all your aches and pains, don’t expect one or two massage sessions to cure you of everything. Remember to be open with your licensed and professional Massage Therapist and go into it with the intent to take part in your healing. Invest in yourself; your health and wellness through the caring act of seeing to your needs, mind and body.
I wish you the best and on a final note encourage you to see how you can incorporate aromatherapy into your massage sessions, they have an excellent benefit that mixes very well with a massage. Check out my blog post on Aromatherapy and all the ways it can benefit you here!
Until nest time,
