Therapeutic Massage
In an attempt to understand how and why massage therapy is as effective as it seems to be, scientists and medical researchers from around the world have been studying it for decades. Some characteristics of massage therapy have been conclusively resolved with apparent consensus among the learned scholars, while other characteristics remain as inexplicably mysterious as ever. For instance, they all agree that when a certain amount of pressure is applied to a soft tissue such as a muscle, some changes occur within the affected muscles. They also all tend to agree that massage therapy promotes relaxation and reduces the stress which often leads to deterioration or worsening of certain physiological conditions.
Those characteristics of massage therapy which have not yet been explained by conventional science, gave rise to a number of theories and postulates. You will note that they are all prefaced with the word "might" to indicate uncertainty as they described possible health benefits of massage therapy:
* Might provide stimulation that may help block pain signals transmitted to the brain and this is called the "gate control theory" of decreasing or alleviating pain.
* Might promote better health by stimulating the lymphatic system to increase the flow of lymph, which is the secretion that carries disease fighting cells through the body.
* Might re-route the client's nervous system away from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic. In doing so, the fight-or-flight reaction of the sympathetic nervous system with its increased heart and breathing rates along with tightened muscles of distress are shunned in favor of the rest-and-digest reaction of the parasympathetic nervous system with its lowered heart rate, slowed breathing and relaxed muscles.
* Might be instrumental in effecting beneficial changes in the body by preventing fibrosis through the process of breaking up scar-like tissue
* Might arouse the body to discharge chemicals such as serotonin or endorphins which area known to give people the feelings of wellbeing.
* Might improve sleep patterns which is essential to pain control and healing processes.
* Might contribute to the overall mental and physiological health by the intimate interaction between the client and the therapist.
The following are specific cases and their reported benefits whether they are understood or merely observed with bewilderment:
* Students at a New Jersey Medical School who were given massage therapy before an exam displayed less anxiety, lower respiratory rates, a substantial increase in white blood cells and an enhanced immune system.
* Cancer patients at the James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio experienced less pain and decreased anxiety after receiving massage therapies than those who did not get such treatments.
* Studies at the University of South Carolina show that women who recently lost a child were less depressed after massage therapy.
* The National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that massage therapy improved weight gain in infants who were premature or those who were exposed to HIV. They also determined that massage therapy expedites recovery in patients who had abdominal surgery.
* Researchers at the University of the Miami School of Medicine's Touch Research Institute discovered that massage therapy decreases high blood pressure, relieves migraine headaches, and generally increases alertness and performance in the workforce.
* Many additional studies confirm that massage therapy reduces heart rates, lowers blood pressure; increases blood circulation and lymph flow; relaxes stiffened and tense muscles while stimulating weak and inactive muscles to compensate for lack of movement due to an illness or an injury; speeds up the healing process after surgeries, disease and injuries; improves the range of vision; increases endorphins; reduces anxiety, tension, depression, pain and itching in burn patients; and Autistic children exhibit calmer and more predictable behavior.
So, is massage therapy beneficial? Yes! Massage therapy is beneficial on, oh, so many levels. The mechanics of the process may not be clear just yet, but the outcomes are undeniable by anyone's standards.
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Chiropractic Therapy If you are anything like me, you probably prefer staying away from providers of conventional Western medicine as ... read more
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Foot massage Some 2,500 ago and during Lord Buddha's time in ancient India, a physician named Jivaka Komarabhacca developed a ... read more
Happy Me This is for all of you out there who are like most of us too busy and too ... read more
Head Massage Its origins stem from an Indian remedial and grooming practice which had been and continues to be part ... read more
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Japanese Shiatsu Literally translated from Japanese, "Shiatsu" means "finger pressure" and it was incorporated into the Japanese culture approximately 1,500 ... read more
Korean Massage The Korean Martial Therapy, also well known by its acronym KMT, had been recognized for its effectiveness in ... read more
Medical Massage Massage Therapy is just one persuasion from a wide array of other very effective and closely related persuasions ... read more
Office Massage Massages in chairs or simply in sitting positions have always had their place among most ancient and traditional ... read more
Orthopedic Massage Occasionally referred to as an orthopedic massage, Clinical massage is an entire array of manipulation techniques designed to ... read more
Pediatric Massage Countless studies and pediatric research have shown that massage therapy is supremely beneficial for a wide variety of ... read more
Personal Massage Are you aware of having a personal massage therapist, actually two of them, available to you and ready ... read more
Pre Birth Massage Who better deserves and needs a good massage therapy than a mother to be? I cannot think ... read more
Safe Massage By and large, massage therapy that is performed by a properly schooled and well experienced massage therapist who ... read more
Senior Therapy With the baby boomers aging and with the help of higher technology and greater innovations in medicine and ... read more
Sports Massage Describing it in a nutshell, the Sports Massage is a specialty massage technique that was created and developed ... read more
Swedish Massage The Swedish Massage, which was conceived by Henri Peter Ling, a Swedish physiologist at the University of Stockholm, ... read more
Therapeutic Hand Massage From the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep, we all work with our ... read more
Therapeutic Massage In an attempt to understand how and why massage therapy is as effective as it seems to be, ... read more
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