WHY SHOULD MASSAGE BE PART OF YOUR SELF CARE ROUTINE

Life keeps happening (until it doesn’t). And if life won’t give you a break, your self-care routine shouldn’t be stop-and-go, either!

Massage is a combination of techniques that address joints and their soft tissue attachments in order to create ease of movement and reduce pain.

What are the benefits of massage? Using a combination of different techniques, massage can aid in a number of areas:-

1. Increased Flexibility/Circulation

Massage’s many benefits include; creating “space” through loosening tight fascia (connective tissue), increasing muscle pliability, and also improving blood and lymphatic circulation. This in turn helps you to recover faster after vigorous exercise. Or to counteract many of the damaging effects that chronic postural imbalance (through constant sitting/standing at work) may have caused.

2. Stress Relief

Stress and anxiety are especially two of the greatest culprits behind physical ailment or disease. It can cause your body to react by constricting your posture, muscles, jaw – even your DNA! However, prolonged stress can compromise your immune system, plague you with headaches, body aches/pains, and often puts a strain on your heart – depleting you of energy. Regular massage has been known to decrease the symptoms of stress and anxiety in both the short and long term through easing tension all-around!

3. Insomnia

Chronic sleep deprivation can cause an array of unpleasant symptoms. Especially including impaired thinking, slow memory recall, paranoia, drastic changes in mood, and sometimes physical pain. Therapeutic touch activates the hormonal distribution that targets these issues the most – increasing serotonin (key hormone for stabilizing moods) levels and thereby helping to produce greater melatonin (hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycle) during your sleep cycle.

4. Common Degenerative Diseases

Massage is one of the best ways to relieve nerve pain and also soft tissue or joint inflammation for those suffering from Fibromyalgia or any form of arthritis. While these two chronic issues cause sensitivity in the body whenever pressure is applied, massage therapy is a versatile and customizable form of alternative therapy that offers a range of pressures, styles, and techniques. A relaxing massage utilizing light-to-medium pressure, gentle passive stretching, and targeted acupressure might be just the thing to relieve your constant discomfort.

Massage – special considerations

There are some instances where massage may not be recommended, or a GP or specialist referral should be obtained, including (but not limited to):

• during pregnancy
• skin rashes, cuts or infections are present
• if fractures or broken bones are suspected
• if the person has a life-threatening illness

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