When Massage Therapy treatments are provided by a Registered Massage Therapist there are a lot of benefits for a large variety of conditions. Massage therapy can enhance your overall well-being. It can help with a number of musculoskeletal conditions associated with stress, overuse injuries, persistent pain issues, and as preventative care.
Major benefits seen are:
- Decrease Pain
Pain can occur for a variety of reasons. Various tissues can be the culprit — muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and even fascia can play a role in pain. Regular massage treatments can decrease trigger points (commonly known as knots) in your muscles, break up fascial restrictions and remodel scar tissue.
- Increase Range of Motion (ROM)
Range of motion is defined as is the capability of a joint to go through its complete spectrum of movements. If you’re feeling restricted in movement due to pain or lack of flexibility, massage can help! Massage helps by relaxing the tissues and increasing their flexibility and therefore your range of motion.
- Decrease Scar Tissue and Fascial Restrictions
Regular treatments – particularly after an injury – can help to remodel scars to allow for maximum function of the tissues. Fascial restrictions are areas of tension and tightness in the body’s fascia. Fascia is naturally very flexible, but this fascia can become tight and rigid with injury or stress – no longer properly moving. Fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs — it is EVERYWHERE in our bodies.
- Increase Joint Health
Using gentle joint mobilizations can help to increase synovial fluid within your joints. It can also increase range of motion by stretching a stiff joint capsule and its surrounding muscles, ligament and tendons.
- Decrease Depression, Anxiety and Stress
Massage Therapy is clinically proven to decrease anxiety and depression. Massage decreases stress hormones, and increases hormones that improve mood. Massage can increase your ‘parasympathetic nervous system’ while lowering your ‘sympathetic nervous system’ firing. The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is responsible for homeostasis and the body at rest, and is responsible for the body’s “rest and digest” function. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) controls the body’s responses to a perceived threat and is responsible for the “fight or flight” response.
- Improved Circulation & Overall Tissue Health
An increase of circulation during a massage treatment can increases overall tissue health. In order to heal damaged tissues there needs to be fresh nutrients and oxygen in the area — carried via our blood vessels. There is no need to be concerned about massage therapy if you have any type of blood pressure, heart or circulation condition, just tell your RMT and they can modify the treatment for your specific needs.
Massage Therapy can be beneficial for a large number of conditions including (but not limited to):
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- Anxiety and Depression
- Arthritis
- Asthma and Emphysema
- Cancer
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Dislocations
- Edema
- Fibromyalgia
- Headaches
- Inflammatory Conditions
- Insomnia
- Lymphedema
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Muscle Tension and Spasm
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Pregnancy and Labor Support
- Sciatica
- Scoliosis
- Sports Injuries
- Strains and Sprains
- Stress and Stress-Related Conditions
- Stroke
- Tendinitis
- Whiplash
