Here’s the beauty of bodywork: its benefits are compounded when massage is utilized as a frequent therapy. The more you get, the more it does.
Taking part in this form of regularly-scheduled self-care can play a huge part in how healthy you’ll be and how youthful you’ll remain with each passing year. Budgeting time and money for bodywork at consistent intervals is truly an investment in your health. And remember: just because massage feels like a pampering treat doesn’t mean it is any less therapeutic. Consider massage appointments a necessary piece of your health and wellness plan, and work with your practitioner to establish a treatment schedule that best meets your needs.
In response to massage, specific physiological and chemical changes cascade throughout the body, with profound effects. Research continues to show the enormous benefits of touch—which range from treating chronic diseases, neurological disorders, and injuries,to alleviating the tensions of modern lifestyles. Consequently, the medical community is actively embracing bodywork, and massage is becoming an integral part of hospice care and neonatal intensive care units. Many hospitals are also incorporating on-site massage practitioners and even spas to treat post-surgery or pain patients as part of the recovery process.
Research shows that with massage:
- Arthritis sufferers note fewer aches and less stiffness and
- Asthmatic children show better pulmonary function and increased peak air
- Burn injury patients report reduced pain, itching, and
- High blood pressure patients demonstrate lower diastolic blood pressure, anxiety, and stress
- Premenstrual syndrome sufferers have decreased water retention
