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| What is Massage Therapy? |
The practice of massage therapy is the assessment of the soft tissue and joints of the body. Soft tissues include the skin muscles, ligaments, tendons, connective tissue and membranes. It treats and prevents physical dysfunction and pain of the soft tissues and joints.
Massage therapy develops, maintains, rehabilitates, or augments physical function, and relieves pain. Massage therapy treats problem specific areas as well as the whole metabolism, by normalizing the circulatory, lymphatic, muscular, and nervous system. Massage therapy can exert a stimulating effect or soothing effect on the nervous system. It can improve circulation to various tissues and organs. For example, it can aid in digestion by temporarily increasing vascularity to digestive organs; it can also improve circulation through muscle, improving healing and recovery to damaged tissue. Massage has also been shown to improve the movement of blood and lymph to the heart, allowing the heart to beat more efficiently.
- Massage improves blood circulation, which aids in recovery of muscle soreness from physical activity.
- Massage relaxes muscles for an improved range of motion. The muscle relaxation also helps with insomnia.
- Massage leads to increased endorphin levels.The increase of endorphin levels is actually one of the greatest benefits of massage therapy. Endorphins are the chemicals the body produces that make you feel good, which is very effective in managing chronic pain.
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