How Massage Can Help.......

The world we now live in is far more complex and stressful than it once was. This ever-increasing stressful lifestyle we now live demands more energy and time than we can sometimes give. This fact explains why so many people are seeking massage therapy to ease their tension, calm their mind and refresh their soul. Once you provide your body, mind and soul with rejuvenation regular massage sessions provide, you will notice a vast difference in your overall well being. 
         “Massage is Not a Luxury……It’s Good for Your Health!”

Here's a very basic explanation why massage helps:

* Touching is a natural human reaction to pain and stress, and for conveying compassion and                support and massage as a healing tool has been around for thousands of years in many cultures.

* Think about how our earliest ancestors might have reacted when bumping their head on a cave        ceiling....no doubt they rubbed it to relieve the pain. Throughout time we still find relief by          rubbing a painful area. Whether we bump our head or have a sore calf, the natural response is to        rub it to feel better.

REDUCING STRESS
 Massage is one of the best known antidotes for stress. Evidence is showing that the more massage you can allow yourself, the better you'll feel.

DEFINITION OF STRESS
Stress has been defined as a "nonspecific response of the body to a demand." When a demand is made on the body, the brain signals the release of stress hormones. These chemical substances trigger a series of responses that gives the body extra energy: blood-sugar levels rise, the heartbeat speeds up and blood pressure increases. The muscles tense for action. The blood supply is diverted away from the gut to the extremities to help the body deal with the situation at hand.

Stress is with us all the time. It comes from mental or emotional activity, as well as physical activity. It is unique and personal to each of us. So personal, in fact, that what may be stressful for one person may be relaxing to another. For example, if you are an “A” type personality that feels the need to remain busy and focused at all times you would most likely become frustrated by sitting on a porch swing for the evening just “taking it easy”. This might make you feel extremely nonproductive. We all have varying degrees of tolerance for stress, but when we reach more than we can deal with, we can be effected. Too much emotional stress can cause physical illness, such as high blood pressure, ulcers or even heart disease.

I’ve yet to meet a person that is without some form of stress in their life. Stress could be the normal nervousness before a test or a new job interview. Or perhaps you have so much on your plate that you seldom have any time to relax. There is also stress that might be caused from living with chronic pain, or perhaps you work in a field such as Fire/Emergency Medical Services and you see trauma and loss quite often. There are many stress culprits in our lives, divorce, death, a disliked job or boss, driving in traffic, having children….or having teen aged children. Whatever it is that causes you stress, massage is a tool that can help manage it.


PAINFUL, TIGHT MUSCLES OR MUSCLE SORENESS
Muscles can become tight and ineffective for many reasons. Stress, injury, poor circulation, overuse and misuse, can all cause you pain and discomfort as well as restrict your normal range of motion. When left unattended, these conditions can become habitual and hamper the quality of your everyday life.
Massage stretches and kneads tight and painful muscles, gently separating individual fibers that may have become bound and knotted together. Once your muscles are relaxed you may find that you can move more freely, breathe more deeply, making it more likely for your muscles to remain in their new-found flexible state. Massage improves joint mobility and health. Massage can help increase range of motion in your joints by releasing muscle tension around them. In addition, circulation is also increased in the joints - actually stimulating the healthy production of the joint's natural lubrication.

When we exercise, micro-traumas occur in the muscles. These traumas can leave you feeling tired and sore. It has been suggested that massage helps by lowering the level of muscle activity which in turn locally reduces the need for energy and oxygen and the rate of metabolic waste production lowers. It is also thought to reduce the muscular pressure on surrounding tissues, effectively improving circulation and recovery from use by bringing in nutrients to speed healing of muscle tissue. So if you are an athlete or perhaps just a weekend warrior and you find your muscles sore, massage therapy may aide in stretching and loosening tight muscles and connective tissue, breaking down and preventing formation of adhesions, freeing your range of motion and reducing the dangers of fibrosis. 

EFFECTS OF FORCED INACTIVITY
If surgery, paralysis or even normal aging has forced you to limit physical activity, massage can relieve your aches and pains and improve circulation to your skin and muscles. Even when an immobilized area can not be massaged directly, the relaxation and increased circulation from general massage can give you relief.

MASSAGE HELPS YOU SLEEP BETTER
Tension from everyday stress can disrupt your sleep leaving you tired, irritable and emotionally drained. This can rob you of the patience and stamina needed just to face day to day life.

Massage therapy relaxes tense muscles and calms the nervous system, causing your body's rhythm to slow down. When this happens, your blood pressure lowers, your heart rate settles and your breath becomes deeper and more rhythmic, priming you for a perfect night's sleep.

WHAT RESEARCH SAYS ABOUT MASSAGE
At the University of Miami School of Medicine's Touch Research Institute, researchers have found that massage is helpful in decreasing blood pressure in people with hypertension, alleviating pain in migraine sufferers and improving alertness and performance in office workers. An increasing number of research studies show massage reduces heart rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion, and increases endorphins (enhancing medical treatment). Although therapeutic massage does not increase muscle strength, it can stimulate weak, inactive muscles and, thus, partially compensate for the lack of exercise and inactivity resulting from illness or injury. It also can hasten and lead to a more complete recovery from exercise or injury.

IS MASSAGE ALWAYS APPROPRIATE?
There are some conditions for which massage would not be appropriate. A complete health history is taken before each session to assure massage is right for you. It is advisable to let your primary health care provider know you are receiving massage. Some conditions require close communication between your massage therapist and your doctor. Progress reports to your physician are available upon request.


Conditions for which massage would not be appropriate:

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