Experts estimate that upwards of 90 percent of disease is stress-related. And perhaps nothing ages us faster, internally and externally, than high stress. Massage is an effective tool for managing this stress, which translates into:
- Decreased depression and anxiety
- Enhanced sleep quality.
- Greater energy.
- Improved concentration.
- Increased circulation.
- Reduced fatigue.
- Improved flexibility and range of motion
Massage and Bodywork can specifically help address a number of health issues including:
- Alleviate low-back pain and improve range of motion.
- Assist with shorter, easier labor for expectant mothers and shorten maternity hospital stays.
- Ease medication dependence.
- Enhance immunity by stimulating lymph flow—the body's natural defense system.
- Exercise and stretch weak, tight, or atrophied muscles.
- Help athletes of any level prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts.
- Improve the condition of the body's largest organ—the skin.
- Increase joint flexibility.
- Promote tissue regeneration, reducing scar tissue and stretch marks.
- Pump oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation.
- Reduce post-surgery adhesions and swelling.
- Reduce spasms and cramping.
- Relax and soften injured, tired and overused muscles.
- Release endorphins—amino acids that work as the body's natural painkiller.
- Relieve migraine pain.
- Lessen depression and anxiety. Increased serotonin (mood stabilizers) and endorphins (happy stimulator for the brain).
Massage is touted as one of the first treatments available for depression. However, with the advances of science and technology in the 1940s and beyond, the treatment of massage for depression soon became replaced by drugs and more scientific therapies. While massage is still a viable option, it lacks the same caliber of attention in comparison to pharmaceutical treatments.
The Touch Research Institute in Miami has conducted the majority of studies investigating massage for depression. These studies have shown that massage reduces depression and anxiety and leads to a decrease in the levels of stress hormones in the bodies of participants. A study into the effects of massage for depression and anxiety conducted by Field in 1998 suggest that increased activity of the parasympathetic system may be the cause of these changes.
When you are depressed, your brain produces less neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, endorphins, and dopamine - the feel-good hormones. Serotonin is responsible for the transmission of nerve messages and helps to sustain feelings of well-being. Masage releases both serotonin and endorphins. The serotonin acts as a calming mediator for the body while the endorphins act as a happy stimulator for the brain. As well as increasing production of these feel-good hormones, massage also helps lower cortisol, the stress hormone. Also, therapeutic massage releases tension and promotes relaxation, which leads to an immediate and significant decrease in cortisol, sometimes by more than 40%.