DEFINITION OF THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE:
Massage is the systematic manual application of pressure & movement to the
soft tissue of the body-the skin, tendons, ligaments, fascia (the membrane
surrounding muscles & muscle groups). It encourages healing by promoting
the flow of blood & lymph, relieving tension, stimulating nerves, &
stretching & loosening muscles and connective tissue to keep them elastic.
TOP 10 BENEFITS OF THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE:
- Massage reduces waste products such as lactic acid & carbonic acid
that build up in muscles after activity and cause cramping, discomfort, and
irritability. It also enhances the immune system and aids recovery from soft
tissue injuries by increasing blood circulation to injured areas.
- Massage dilates or opens up blood vessels, improving the circulation and
relieving congestion. Massage also increases the number of red blood cells,
especially in cases of anemia.
- Massage acts as a
“mechanical cleanser” pushing along the lymph and hastening the elimination
of wastes & toxic debris. Massage helps to eliminate edema (or dropsy) of
the extremities through lymphatic massage.
- Massage increases the blood supply and nutrition to the muscles without
adding to their load of toxic acid, produced through voluntary muscle
contraction (such as exercise). Massage thus helps to overcome harmful
“fatigue” products resulting from strenuous exercise or injury.
- Massage improves
muscle tone and helps prevent or delay muscular atrophy resulting from forced
inactivity. Massage relaxes muscle spasms and relieves muscle tension.
- Transverse massage (a therapeutic massage technique) separates muscle
fibers, undoing or preventing the formations of adhesions. Massage stretches
connective tissue, improves its circulation and nutrition so that it breaks
down or prevents the formation of adhesions, and reduces the danger of
fibroids.
- Massage can compensate, or at least in part, for lack of exercise or
muscular contraction in persons who because of injury, illness, or age are
forced to remain inactive. In these cases, massage helps return venous blood to
the heart and so eases the strain on this vital organ.
- Massage may have a
sedative, stimulating, or even exhausting effect on the nervous system,
depending on the type and length of massage treatment given.
- Massage increases
the excretion (via the kidneys) of fluids, nitrogen, inorganic phosphorous,
and salt in normal individuals, however, in individuals convalescing from
bone fractures, massage encourages the retention of nitrogen, phosphorous,
and sulfur which are necessary for tissue repair when damage is present.
- Massage improves the general circulation and nutrition of tissues. It is
accompanied or followed by an increase interchange of substances between the
blood and tissue cells. Heightening tissue metabolism.
- Massage improves the circulation and nutrition of joints and hastens the
elimination of harmful particles in the synovial fluid. It helps to lessen
inflammation and swelling in joints, thereby alleviating pain.
Alison Duke ~ Holistic Bodywork Practitioner
since 1992
Shop 3/51 Hackney Street, Kalbarri. Western Australia 6536
Telephone: (08) 9937 1153 ( within Australia )
Telephone: 61 8 9937 1153 ( outside Australia )
Postal Address: P.O. Box 386, Kalbarri WA 6536
Email: seashores@bigpond.com
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