Massage is a manual therapy that manipulates the soft tissues and decreases muscle tension, pain, stress and depression.

However, when posing the question, “What is massage?” it is common to hear the following replies: “Massage is such a luxury.” “Ah, massage, it is so relaxing.” “Massage is something I treat myself to on special occasions.” While all of these statements capture the idea of massage as a way to relax and to treat ourselves, none come close to touching on the essence of massage and its therapeutic benefits to body, mind and spirit.

Therapeutic benefits

Massage makes you feel and perform better. Massage has the following benefits:

• Increases circulation;
• enhances the immune system;
• promotes nervous system functioning;
• reduces blood pressure;
• relieves pain and muscle tension;
• improves mood, intellectual reasoning and job performance;
• positive effect on conditions such as fibromyalgia, arthritis, diabetes and migraine headaches.
• Stimulate the nervous system to help reduce muscle atrophy;
• increase muscle tone;
• stimulate the functions of the skin or an organ deep inside the body;
• sedate the nervous system to help ease muscle tension, spasticity, stress-related symptoms and headaches;
• boost the functioning of the immune system and maintains health when done regularly;

 

 

By: Myra C. Cuevas