Did you know that the word ‘massage’ means deep relaxation and relief from stress? According to research, deep touch and massages can help in easing off chronic pain, and healing muscle tension. This is the reason why the massage therapists focus not only on the site where the pain arises, but they follow a holistic approach, that focuses on the entire body and how it affects the soft tissue.
However, research also shows that massage therapy is only effective for muscle soreness and stiffness, any pain caused by the joints in the body, or spinal cord injury, cannot be treated with a massage therapy. Most people visit the massage therapist when they have sports injuries or occupational injury. Moreover, backaches caused by pregnancy can also be eliminated through massage.
Most people these days suffer from low back pain, which can be so intense that tolerating it really is a big deal. Massage therapists claim to produce excellent results for low back pain. In fact, most people visit chiropractic to get rid of low back pain, and almost about 75% of the people buy a whole-body massage chair due to constant pain. If it wasn’t for the back pain, massage therapies would be out of business now.
How Effective Is Massage Therapy For Chronic Pain?
Back pain and menstruation pain are common, and so are painkillers. Many times’ people just gulp down over the counter medicine for getting rid of back pain or any injury pain. But, a painkiller will only eliminate the pain, it does not help in getting rid of the root cause. When we take painkillers, our body stops sending pain receptors to our brain, thus we do not feel the pain anymore; However, does it treat the problem itself? NO! So, this is where a good massage therapy comes into play.
Massages soothe the body pains by working on the root cause itself. Plus, they improve the flexibility of the joints, and remove the muscle stiffness, as well as releasing endorphins; that are the hormones that act as natural painkillers in our body. Why take an external painkiller, when a massage can release the natural ones from our body?
Let’s look at a scenario. A young athlete suffers a severe knee injury, and he is unable to walk by himself. Pain killers are out of the question here because they will only help ease off the pain, and nothing else. He then visits a professional massage therapist so that he can walk again. A massage will not only treat the root cause, but it will also create a sense of well-being in the athlete as well by releasing endorphins through the massage.
Who Needs a Massage Therapist?
As mentioned earlier, massage therapy will work for patients with arthritis and low back pain. This is because the muscles that are weak and tight, are stretched through this. If the treatment is taken regularly, the patients become aware of their bodies, and with time, their posture improves, and this is what reduces the future injuries.
Some people suffer from tired and sore muscle pain. These people, particularly, find relief from a massage. It is also a safe treatment for pregnant women; a regular massage during the pregnancy can help with quick and easy delivery at the end.
Other than this, women who had previously undergone surgery for breast cancer suffer from the lymphatic system drain, and massage has proved to reduce this discomfort and boosts the healing process.
Benefits of Massage Therapy
Massage therapies are becoming more and more popular as a certified treatment for alleviating the different types of body pain. Some recent researches show that massage therapies have many other potential health benefits as well, like;
• It increases the flow and circulation of blood that brings the nutrients the muscles need. This, in turn, helps in easing the soreness of the muscles caused by physical injuries like a muscle strain.
• People suffering from muscle tension can also find relief with massage therapy. Reduced muscle tension can improve the flexibility of the muscles, and thus, an improved sleep is guaranteed.
• A good massage will improve your mood because the ‘feel good’ chemicals are released from the body. This chemical goes by the name of, ‘mood enhancer’ because it fights against depression and anxiety.
The best way to beat back pain or any other pain management is a massage therapy. You can either visit a massage therapist regularly or buy yourself back massage chair or whole body massage chair.
