Health benefits of massages

Even though many associate massages with rest, studies have shown that they can benefit our health. Massages are manipulations of soft tissues in the body that lead to general improvements in health, relaxation, sleep, or specific physical improvements like alleviating pain or stiffness.

The most common reasons people get massages include help with pain, injury recovery, lowering stress, and relaxation.

There are many forms of massage, usually lasting between 15 and 90 minutes. During a standard massage, the practitioner usually gathers information through touch and pays more attention to areas where they feel greater stiffness or tension.

Some of the most popular massage forms are:

• Swedish massage aims to relax the body and mind; it includes the whole body and focuses on general well-being. The person lies on the table while the practitioner slowly works through different muscle groups. It helps reduce blood circulation stress and relieves pain and muscle tension. Therapists use long strokes, kneading, deep circular motions, vibration, and tapping.
• Deep tissue massage, also known as deep or targeted massage, aims to release muscle “knots” that create tension and pain. These knots are abnormal accumulations of connective tissue that, if neglected, can damage normal functioning and can often be associated with pain, physical discomfort, stiffness, stress, and headaches. Therapists use techniques that create deeper pressure and precisely work on areas of tension and pain to reach deeper layers of muscle and tissue.
• Sports massage is usually used by athletes to prepare their muscles for intense physical stress during exercise or a sports activity or for muscle recovery. The massage is energetic and directed towards speeding up the recovery process and improving blood flow.

You shouldn’t expect the tension and discomfort accumulating for years to be removed after one session. Getting rid of chronic stress and knots requires an integrated approach. This means a combination of therapeutic massages, exercise, stretching, posture, and movement.

Unfortunately, scientific evidence regarding the therapeutic effects of massaging is limited. It is difficult to understand how massaging functions, the most effective amount, and how it can affect specific health conditions.

Still, some positive effects have been noted in research, such as relaxing the nervous system and reducing the secretion of stress and pain hormones, which reduce pain and improve the immune system. The impact of sports massages on muscle recovery, the effect of massages on knee pain in osteoarthritis, and the impact of massage therapy on lower back pain were also determined.

If you are considering massage as a form of therapy, seek advice from your doctor or qualified medical professional first to determine the specifics of your situation. Massages aren’t a substitute for medical treatment.

This text is intended for informational purposes only. If you experience any symptoms, it is recommended that you seek advice from your doctor or a qualified healthcare professional.

Massage therapy. (2024, June 17). NIH News in Health. https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2012/07/massage-therapy

Vickers, A., Zollman, C., & Reinish, J. T. (2001, September 1). Massage therapies. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1071543/#sec3