If you’ve had a good massage in the past, you might not need too much convincing for why booking a professional massage therapy treatment is worthwhile.
But let’s have a brief look at some ways that massage therapy may be really beneficial for you.
Benefits of massage
Remedial massage can provide short-term relief for back, neck and shoulder pain. This can be enough to help your body resolve the issue (alongside of your preferred self-care methods done at home), particularly for complaints that have only been around for a short amount of time.
For longer-term or chronic complaints, massage can often help by decreasing the intensity of pain and improving freedom of movement so that you can do the activities (including any exercise prescriptions!) that help build your strength and quality of life.
For sports, athletes and other active people, massage therapy can be useful for managing niggles, small injuries and general exercise tension from training and competing. A routine massage is a good way to help off-load muscle tension and incorporate time and space for body awareness and recovery. If you’re hoping for a deeper massage treatment then plan it at least two days before any important events or competitions. Otherwise, a less intensive approach will be more beneficial. Post-event you can book in as required.
Some research has found that massage therapy can provide pain relief and improve physical function for arthritis in hands and knee osteoarthritis.¹ ²
Remedial massage works as a supportive therapy alongside physiotherapy for post-operative care and injury rehabilitation. It helps to modulate pain, decrease muscle guarding, enable a more comfortable sleep, and potentially improve range of movement.
For migraine sufferers and tension headaches, massage can potentially help decrease how frequently they are experienced for an individual.¹ Headaches can occur for many reasons though and it is a good idea to check with your GP if you are experiencing headaches out of the normal.
For fibromyalgia, research shows that consistent massage may be helpful to improve pain, anxiety, depression, and quality of life.¹
Anxiety reduction is one of the most well-established benefits of massage therapy. Studies have shown reduction in depression, stress, and trait anxiety across various populations. A regular pattern of massage therapy can be very beneficial to improve mental health and general wellbeing.
Often quality of sleep is improved after a massage treatment which is important for tissue healing, fatigue, mental health, and productivity. Massage helps to switch the state of the nervous system from sympathetic (fight-or-flight mode) to para-sympathetic, which lowers blood pressure and heart rate, and allows you to better relax, digest and unwind.
Last but not least on this non-exhaustive list is pregnancy massage. A comfortable, supportive, pregnancy massage can help manage common pregnancy aches and discomforts through to the end of term and in the “fourth trimester” of post-natal.
References and Sources
- Massage for health: What the science says, December 2018
- Benefits of Massage, Arthritis Foundation, 11 June 2022
- Massage and Mental Health Infographic, AMT
- Benefits of massage Therapy, Mayo Mayo Clinic, 22 March 2022
To book with our experienced and accredited massage therapists – call us on 5539 8830
