When you think of getting a massage, you may imagine it tied to some special event — an appointment given as a birthday gift, a day spent getting spa-like treatment with a friend who is about to be married, or perhaps you’re lying on a massage table some miles away while on vacation.
In short, you may not always think to associate massage first and foremost with the image of regular healthcare.
But massages are a therapeutic treatment that, when used effectively, can actually help you alleviate a variety of mental, emotional, and physical ailments. Put simply, massages are incredibly therapeutic because...
Massage Relaxes You
Did you know that therapeutic massages have been proven to alleviate the symptoms of depression and anxiety? This is because massages stimulate the release of endorphins in your body (the hormones that are regarded as natural opioids), helping you to more easily reach feelings of happiness and euphoria.
Speaking of hormones, massages also decrease your body’s level of cortisol — also known as the “stress hormone” — which contributes to headaches, weight gain, stiffness, and generalized stress.
By increasing your endorphins and decreasing cortisol levels, massages not only relax you, but they help you to regulate your sleeping patterns, reduce fatigue, and balance out your sense of emotional stability on a daily basis.
Massage Reduces Pain
Therapeutic massages are aimed directly at easing pain, enhancing your body’s range of motion and increasing blood circulation.
Particularly if you struggle with chronic pain and intense stiffness due to regular physical activity or demanding labor, frequent massages will help boost your pain tolerance as well as relieve any pain you may currently feel.
If you’re experiencing difficulty in isolating a source of pain or reaching an area that has remained inflamed, a (student) massage therapist will be able to help you work out those sensitive areas and give you the resources necessary to keep your pain in check.
Massage Can Enhance Your Long-term Well-being
As massages systematically strengthen your immune system, stimulate the nervous system and invigorate the lymph-nodes, regular sessions will increase the likelihood that your body will maintain a sense of overall resilience. In effect, your body will be more capable of fighting off illness or infection.
Additionally, stress, anxiety, and fatigue all serve to weaken the body’s immune system. As massages not only improve the immune system but decrease stress, scheduling an appointment with Alpha School of Massage is one of the easiest and most well-rounded ways you can take your well-being back into your own hands.
If you’re wondering where to turn next for your therapeutic massage — or if you have further questions about how your body may benefit from a session — contact us at Alpha School of Massage today! We hope you come relax with us.