The Health Benefits of Massage

Massage is a pleasurable experience that makes you feel good. Promoting the release of endorphins, it can leave you with a slight feeling of euphoria, awakening your body's senses and your own awareness of your body. Mentally, massage also reduces tension, stress and anxiety by calming your nervous system. In so doing, it brings about a general sense of well-being.

Benefits to your muscular system

One of the prime objectives of massage is the improvement of circulation. Increasing the blood supply to your muscle and skin tissue increases nutrition to them and helps your muscles recover more quickly from fatigue and exertion. It also relaxes the muscles as it stretches them, reducing tension and pain. Working on the muscles in this way can break down any build up of lactic acids and toxins that can build up in the muscle tissue. In trained hands, massage is very helpful in the early treatment of whiplash where muscles, tendons or ligaments have been over-stretched causing damage.

Benefits to your skin

Massage has a very soothing effect on the skin as it rubs and stretches the skin and subcutaneous tissue. It improves circulation to the skin, warming the soft tissue and reducing skin tension. Oils used in massage can also moisturize the skin. Regular massage combined with plenty of water is an excellent way to reduce wrinkles.

Benefits to your skeletal system

As massage improves circulation and nutrition of the joints, it increases mobility, improving range of movement by loosening up stiff joints and tight muscles and tendons. A good massage can improve a stiff neck after a bad night's sleep, or stretch a weary back after a long day at work or in the office, restoring posture and movement. In fact most  neck or back discomfort can be reduced by a soothing massage.

Benefits to your circulatory system

The improvement in circulation brought about by massage has a beneficial effect on almost every part of the body, increasing nutrition to all the body's systems. Blood vessels dilate through the mechanical action of massage to carry more oxygen around the body and also to remove more toxins. Massage lowers your blood pressure and pulse rate and has a calming effect on all the body's systems as well as enhancing immunity by stimulating lymph flow, the body's natural defence system.

Benefits to your nervous system

Massage is known to affect the neurotransmitters of the brain and increase the production of endorphins (natural painkillers) very often leaving the recipient in a state of slight euphoria. In fact, massage stimulates the sensory receptors of the skin, sensitizing the skin and heightening the body's sense of awareness. It can also release trapped nerves through gently manipulating the soft muscle tissue around the sensitive area. At the same time it greatly reduces stress levels and anxiety.

Benefits to your digestive system

Massage is a great stimulator of the body's digestive systems as it encourages the elimination of the body's waste. The mechanical stimulation of the muscles of the lower body encourages bowel movements, and very often recipients of massage feel that they have to pass water soon after a massage. This is partly due to relieving stress and partly due to the massage improving the function of the kidneys in eliminating toxins.

Benefits to your respiratory system

The relaxation of massage helps to slow down and regulate breathing, and the mechanical action of the massage can relieve lung congestion through percussive and compressive movements.