The Benefits of Massage Therapy

There are many health benefits to receiving regular massage therapy. Other than just being able to relax, believe it or not. 

Let’s start with just general massage, also called Swedish massage. This means that no special techniques were used during the massage session, just general strokes manipulating the soft tissues. The simple act of rubbing the muscles has many health benefits, even if it’s with a light touch. It initiates something called vasodilation, which means the veins enlarge and help blood circulate through the body better and bring it to the surface. Since the blood is circulating more and the act of circulating the blood has become easier. The organs are now receiving more blood, causing the systems of the body to work better now as well. 

The lungs are getting more blood, which helps the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide happen more easily. The heart is getting a break from working so hard to pump blood because the massage therapist rubbing the skin/muscles is physically moving the blood underneath. The gastrointestinal system also benefits. The stomach and intestines are getting physically moved around as the massage therapist is moving and addressing the muscles. This eases the contract relax mechanism that the intestines do to move food through, called peristalsis. The intestines are also receiving more blood, which aids and speeds the absorption of nutrients and water, as well. The urinary system too, the kidneys are getting more blood and eliminating waste more easily. This is why massage therapists urge our clients to drink water after a massage, to help flush these toxins that are being released and moved out. 

The more specialized the massage technique, the more focused it will be on what benefits from it. Trigger point work treats a part of the muscle that are getting false signals from the brain to contract. This technique is mostly benefiting the muscle, but when that trigger point is released, it causes that muscle to be able to move to its full range of motion. Being able to move the muscle to its full extent can allow the person to breath better, open up and allow more room for the systems of the body to do their jobs. Lymphatic drainage trains fluid to move in the right direction again. This helps immensely with edema and water retention. Myofascial release is more superficial and helps with adhesions and stuck fascia, which improves range of motion. Muscle energy techniques lengthens the muscle quickly, teaching it how much it is capable of lengthening and improves range of motion, overall muscle ability and hypertonic muscles. 

Just because massage therapy helps the body systems work better does not mean they are being strained. The act of massage triggers the body to go into the parasympathetic state, which relaxes you and shuts off that fight or flight response. So the heart rate slows, respiration slows, but the massage therapist physically maneuvering that blood while working the muscles allows the body systems to increase productivity. 

As you can see, massage therapy isn’t just for the muscles, it stimulates and causes many other things to happen in the body. 

Of course it does still benefit the muscles too. Most people get massages because of ‘tight muscles’ or ‘knots’. These are called hypertonic muscles, meaning they have increased tone. They occur when someone repeatedly does the same action, like climbing a latter as they are always reaching up, or just how people do daily actions. Most people do not have perfect posture or move in the physiologically ‘correct’ way. But that is because we are all human. The way someone walks could be causing their hip muscles to hurt, but because someone can’t easily change the way they walk and maintain that change they can’t address that pain source. Someone would also be causing tight neck or shoulder muscles because of how they write. These things are habits second nature to people, and are nearly impossible to break or change. This is why regular massage therapy to periodically relieve those hypertonic, overworked muscles is so important. 

As I've explained, massage therapy isn’t just to relax someone. It has many positive health benefits, and as such, it’s just an added bonus that it is so relaxing.