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Massage Therapy is a broad term for many different modalities involving some type of Bodywork. Many studies show that it does in fact help the body and mind. As an accepted part of many physical rehabilitation programs, massage therapy has also proven beneficial for many chronic conditions, including low back pain, arthritis, bursitis, fatigue, high blood pressure, diabetes, immunity suppression, infertility, smoking cessation, depression, and others. And, as many millions will attest, massage also helps relieve the stress and tension of everyday life that can lead to disease and illness.
Treating the Body
Massage therapy addresses a variety of health conditions, the most prevalent being stress-related tension, which, experts believe, accounts for 80%-90% of disease. Massage has been proven beneficial in treating cancer-related fatigue, sleep disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes, low back pain, immunity suppression, spinal cord injury, autism, post-operative surgery, age-related disorders, infertility, eating disorders, smoking cessation, and depression, to name just a few. Here's why:
Bodywork offers a drug-free, non-invasive and humanistic approach based on the body's natural ability to heal itself. Massage has many physiological effects, such as:
- Increasing circulation, allowing the body to pump more oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs.
- Stimulating the lymph system, the body's natural defense, against toxic invaders. For example, in breast cancer patients, massage has been shown to increase the cells that fight cancer.
- Relaxing and softening injured and overused muscles.
- Reducing spasms and cramping.
- Increasing joint flexibility.
- Reducing recovery time for strenuous workouts and eliminating subsequent pains of the athlete at any level.
- Releasing endorphins, the body's natural painkiller. For this reason, massage is being incorporated into treatment for chronic illness, injury and recovery from surgery to control and relieve pain.
- Reducing post-surgery adhesions and edema and reducing and realigning scar tissue after healing has occurred.
- Improving range of motion and decreasing discomfort for patients with low back pain.
- Relieving pain for migraine sufferers and decreasing the need for medication.
- Providing exercise and stretching for atrophied muscles and reducing shortening of the muscles for those with restricted range of motion.
- Contributing to shorter labor and reduced tearing for expectant mothers, as well as lessening the need for medication, minimizing depression and anxiety, and shortening hospital stays.
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It's important to note that there are only very few conditions where massage is not recommended. Depending on any given situation you will find a modality that will work. Caution should be taken with
- Some skin conditions
- Infectious diseases
- caution should be taken with cancer but is not necessarily a contraindication.
Your practitioner should ask you about your specific health conditions and determine if massage, bodywork or somatic therapies are a good idea. In some cases, the practitioner may need your doctor's permission before providing services.
Treating the Spirit
Massage also provides another therapeutic component largely absent in today's world: tactile stimulation, or, more simply, touch. In 1986, the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami published groundbreaking research on the effects of massage on premature babies. The preterm babies who received massage therapy showed 47% greater weight gain and six-day shorter hospital stays than the infants who were not receiving massage. But is this study evidence of what loving touch can do spiritually, or rather what massage can do on a physiological level. Regardless, babies are not the only benefactors.
Many adults have reported cathartic experiences on the massage table. As a therapist carefully unwinds a client's stressed and tired muscles, the therapist may very well be unwinding the taut, pent-up emotions that one doesn't always have time to process in the middle of the day. And the feeling of being touched in a safe, caring, compassionate environment can be a very powerful experience, bringing more awareness to the client..
As studies continue to reveal the link between kinesiology and physical and emotional health, the effects of massage will be further documented. However, one need only experience a good massage to know it's beneficial to body and spirit.
Bodywork: - noun - The application of physical therapy methods such as massage, yoga, exercise, and relaxation techniques for the purpose of promoting physical and emotional well-being.
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