You likely know that massage therapy feels good. The benefits of massage, though, go way beyond the simplicity of “this feels good.” In particular, different types of massage have a wide range of benefits that you might not be aware of before feeling the effects of massage firsthand. In particular, you‘ll find that a few particular health benefits shine through during and after a massage.
1. Relieving Tension
Amidst the health benefits of massage, some of the most substantial improvements clients see are physical changes. For instance, you might turn to massage therapy because of an existing health condition or industry. Whether you’re facing a type of chronic pain or an acute injury, you may depend on specific massage techniques to ease your discomfort. As the Harvard Business Review puts it, “Massage used to be considered an indulgence, but it’s now recognized as a legitimate therapy for some painful conditions.” Researchers in recent years have paid particular attention to the ways that regular appointments with your massage therapist can relieve painful muscles, tendons, and joints.
With physical pain or tension, the effects can be far-reaching. Chronic pain patients find their life plans are flipped entirely on their heads. With more acute issues, like lower back spasms, the short-term stress can be more than enough to have lasting emotional or psychological effects on your mental health. By relieving the physical tension even just a bit, you’ll begin feeling better all-around—all because you booked an appointment with your massage therapist.
2. Promoting Relaxation
Physical relief isn’t the only beneficial effect of massage. The psychological benefits are just as powerful, if not more so than their physical counterparts. Over time, emotional stress can have just as significant an impact as physical tension, causing symptoms like headache, chest pain, fatigue, and more. As you make progress with your chosen type of massage, you’ll decrease your emotional stress. Then, you’ll see you’re losing all the physical discomfort that comes with it, too. You’ll begin to feel calmer and less overwhelmed, with each massage helping you take down stress and feel happier and healthier, even if your official reason for massage therapy is something else entirely.
3. Enforcing a Healthy Lifestyle
You might be surprised to learn that another of these benefits has a less tangible connection to the time you spend on the massage table. In fact, you’ll see these effects as they impact the rest of your life. Just like your physical strain can cause emotional distress and vice versa, the impacts of massage therapy can affect your life between appointments. With newfound pain relief, you have a new lease on life, which will help you regain control of the other areas of your life. Similarly, relieving your psychological distress can give you the motivation you need to keep moving forward, tackling anything else that comes your way. Then, each of these changes compounds, offering all the more potential to make even more progress over time.
Without a doubt, a bout of massage therapy will help you unwind simply because it feels good. At the same time, though, your massage therapist will bring you some distinctive health benefits, too. Experts agree that the physical health benefits are impressive, reducing physical pain or tension. Your mental health, too, will benefit from various massage techniques as you relieve stress and the psychological and physical symptoms that come with it. This sort of cycle, then, turns toward the rest of your life. When you’re basking in the benefits of an hour with your massage therapist, you’re more likely to make healthy choices in the remainder of your life, feeling better and improving your life one habit at a time.