Unfortunately, few insurance companies cover massage unless it’s prescribed as part of physical therapy for an injury or another health issue. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3002882 and it’s clear there’s much more to massage than just ahhhh.ĥ. Massage therapy attenuates inflammatory signaling after exercise-induced muscle damage. DOI: 10.4040/jkan.2015.45.4.587, and lower inflammation in muscles damaged by exercise, Crane JD, et al. Effects of foot-reflexology massage on fatigue, stress and postpartum depression in postpartum women. Over the long term, they glue together, hardening and losing their ability to function,” he says.Ī massage therapist works to knead out knots and isolate muscles from one another, which brings back range of motion - you know, that “Wow, my shoulders are freeeeeee!” feeling that comes once you roll yourself off the massage table an hour later.Īdd to this the potential to reduce muscle spasms, help with depression, Choi MS, et al. “When muscles are tired, they grab on to other muscles around them for support. In other words, it calms the sympathetic nervous system, which is often high-strung due to super-busy schedules and other life stressors.īesides chilling you out, a proper massage is also like spring cleaning for your muscles, says Lewis. It’s what licensed massage therapist Gina Flores, founder of Essential Body Wisdom, calls “lowering the reticular alarm system.” Yes, bringing your body and mind to a state of greater calm is a massage therapist’s objective. Massage is for so much more than just relaxation This helps you feel good both during and after your session.ģ. It’s to apply just the right amount of pressure to kick-start that relaxation response, loosen and lengthen your muscles, and release tension rather than add to it. The goal isn’t to turn muscle fibers to putty. If you’re feeling real pain during or after your massage, talk to your therapist about adjusting their technique. “But apply a slower force, and the molecules easily slip apart, allowing the muscles to open, soften, and separate.” In less scientific terms, it means that too much force will make muscle molecules cling together and almost harden, says Wil Lewis, a massage therapist in NYC and Denver. This property is called thixotropy (try saying that three times fast). Gritting your teeth under the pressure of too-intense massage only adds to your body’s tension, further hardening those muscles that desperately need to soften.ĭigging into muscles is like that science experiment in elementary school where you combined cornstarch with water: The more you prodded the substance, the more it hardened, but when you stopped, it turned to liquid. Unfortunately, many people misconstrue pain and soreness as evidence that a massage is working. Given that a session of bodywork costs about as much as a five-class pass to a boutique fitness studio, you’re gonna want to feel results. Misconceptions about massage are rampant, and we’d like to take care of that for you right now.ġ.
We should look at it as one more way we can take care of our health, just like going for a run or eating an energy-boosting snack. With all these benefits, massage shouldn’t be considered just an indulgence.
The effect of massage therapy on the quality of sleep in breast cancer patients.
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