Massage has been long recognized as an effective means to alleviating and palliating pain. In addition to relieving pain, massage therapy provides a myriad of benefits:
- Providing muscular relaxation
- Decreasing stress
- Enhancing immune function
- Improving blood circulation
- Overall promoting health and wellness
Most of all, the improved circulation to the injured tissues expediates the healing process. Specifically, the improved blood flow relaxes the muscles, reduce spasms and remove scar resulting from injury or illness.
Increasingly, the benefits of massage therapy have been expanded, via a number of research studies, to include:
- Lowering heart rate and blood pressure
- Increasing blood flow
and lymph flow
- Improving range of motion
- Increasing endorphins and enkephalins (the body's natural pain killers)
While it
may not increase muscle strength, massage therapy does
simulate weak and inactive muscles and hasten the recovery
process.