Coping with Chronic Health Conditions: Tips

3 Surprising Health Benefits Of Massage

28 May 2015 by Freddie Cox

A massage is a great way to relax after a stressful week, and it won't surprise you to learn a massage can help alleviate back pain, neck pain, and even headaches. What may surprise you is the health benefits of massage can actually go much deeper than just relaxing sore muscles and relieving tensions. Massage can also be used to help you achieve a healthier weight, control serious health conditions, and promote healing from certain injuries.

Check out a few of the amazing benefits of massage you never would have suspected.

Weight Loss

If you've been struggling with your weight, you may want to consider looking into weight loss massage. Part of the reason massages can help you lose weight is because of the stress relieving properties of a good massage. When you reduce your stress level, you also reduce the amount of the hormone cortisol in your system. Cortisol is associated with a buildup of adipose fat. In short, your stress level helps to keep you overweight, and relieving stress through massage can help you burn fat.

That's not the only way massage can help you reach your goal weight. Massage also helps your circulatory system work more efficiently. That means your blood moves more easily through your body, delivering nutrients and disposing of toxins and waste where needed. When your circulatory system is working effectively, your whole body is healthier, and it becomes easier to burn the calories you don't need and retain the nutrition your body does need.

You'll build more muscle and shed more pounds when your circulatory system is in good working order. If you've plateaued and just can't reach your weight loss goals, a massage might be just what you need to kick your body back into gear.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a dangerous health condition that can put you at risk for heart attacks or strokes. Hypertension is commonly treated with drugs and certain dietary and lifestyle changes. While massage isn't a replacement for these widely accepted treatments, it can be used as a complementary treatment for high blood pressure. Massage can't interact with any prescribed medications, and it's a non-invasive treatment, therefore it's suitable for almost any patient who experiences hypertension.

Several studies have shown hypertensive patients experience decreases in their blood pressure and heart rates after a massage. Massages also helped to curb feelings of depression or hostility in hypertensive patients. While the occasional massage may only result in short term effects, a regular massage regime may have long-term beneficial effects on high blood pressure.

Burns

Healing burns is a tricky business. You might not normally think of a massage as an effective way of treating a serious burn. However, research has shown massage can have a clear effect on the healing process of burn patients.

A study of more than one hundred and forty burn patients demonstrated the effectiveness of massage at promoting healing in burn scars. All patients were given standard burn rehabilitation treatment, and an experimental group also received massage therapy along with the standard treatment. The experimental group showed decreases in scar thickness and improvement in skin elasticity. Researchers concluded burn rehabilitation massage therapy is effective in decreasing the pain experienced by burn victims and reducing the scars left by the burns.  

Massage therapy can be a lot more than just a way to relax. It can be a powerful tool that will help you improve your mental and physical health and well-being. If you've been looking for a safe and non-invasive way to improve your health or heal your body, massage therapy may be just what you've been looking for. Click for more information.

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