Hello and welcome to part two of my blog about the benefits of regular massage. We are also in the second week of the second national lockdown. How is it going for you?
Drop me a message If you need any advice with any muscular pain or niggles you are experiencing.
Last week I listed some of the benefits to be had with massage, and did you know that massage can have a build up effect? Yep, that’s right, the more you have it, the more you feel the benefits. You will experience the benefits fast too, as the body adjusts to receiving the care it needs and it will respond accordingly.
Benefits of Regular Massage
- Reduced blood pressure: the heart slows down, and the body relaxes.
- Resolved aches and pains: more blood flow to the muscles aids their recovery.
- Better skin condition: the skin responds well to being massaged & I use a high quality moisturising liquiwax by Songbird Naturals songbirdnaturals.co.uk .
- Faster recovery from intense workouts and activities: reducing DOMS and tight muscles.
- Maintain sporting condition in deload and recovery weeks: athletes treat sports massage as a workout because of the movement the muscles get during a massage.
- Increase joint range of motion: joint range of motion is controlled in the main by the muscles which move it, if the muscles are tight and uncooperative, your joint will be too.
- Improve mobility and flexibility (which aren’t the same, read about it here https://astralfitness.co.uk/mobility/ ): increasing the elasticity and function of your muscles will aid your overall mobility and flexibility.
- Heal scarring after an accident, injury, or operation: When collagen lays down in preparation to heal a hole in your skin, it does so haphazardly. Massage can improve the direction of the collagen and reduce the ‘stickiness’ of the scarring and enable the skin and muscle to move more freely.
- Increase serotonin flow and production: touching the skin is like touching an extension of the brain, and it likes being touched. When done properly, massage creates the feel-good hormone serotonin, which can have lots of positive effects on not only your body, but your mind, too.
- Understand how to aid and prevent pain in the future: this is my favourite part of sports massage, and something I am very passionate about, teaching you how to be pain free in the future. In an ideal world, massage would never be needed to resolve pain issues, and I am very happy to help you understand the whys of your pain, and how you can go about living your life to avoid it again in the future.
Mental Health Benefits of Massage
And there are often other benefits to be had, such as towards things like your mental health. I have helped many clients with their anxiety and depression with the power of massage. As I am not a diagnostician, I can not tell you what it is you are suffering with, but I can help you to forget about the outside world for a little while and leave my treatment room feeling a little bit lighter and ready to face the day again, with extra serotonin floating around in your blood stream too.
Next week I will talk to you a little further about the mental health benefits of massage, and why they are not to be overlooked.
Thank you for taking time to read again this week, and I will see you on the other side of lockdown.
Chloe