Enjoy the many wonderful massage therapy aspects

These days, there’s a variety of massage therapy aspects that cater to the many health-related issues you may be experiencing.  But of course, you don’t need to have health problems to benefit from it.  A good massage will revive your senses and provide true relaxation.  Also, it physically prevents many of those health concerns before they set in – it enhances your wellness.

All around the world, massage therapy is considered a complementary and alternative medical practice.  Therefore, a good massage therapist will work all of your body’s soft tissues.  Those include your muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and your skin itself.  Now, continue reading to uncover the many health benefits you will receive from the abundant massage therapy aspects that will benefit your health.

For pain, massage therapy has you covered.  Regardless of the type of massage you choose, you’ll receive wonderful pain relief throughout your body.  Each type of massage targets your soft tissues differently.  But the benefits cover many types of pain that are just waiting for the right touch for relief.  Some examples of pain you may be experiencing include lower-back pain, neck and shoulder pain, pain from osteoarthritis of the knee, and headaches.  Below, see what the science says for each type of pain:

A number of studies of massage for headache relief looked at different types of massage for different types of headaches.  A 2016 study using over 60 participants with migraine headaches evaluated both lymphatic drainage and traditional massage.  Performed once per week, the treatments spanned eight weeks.  The frequency of migraines had decreased in both groups.

In a 2015 study, over 50 people with tension headaches received one of two treatments.  They either received massages at myofascial trigger points or an inactive treatment called a detuned ultrasound.  These treatments were performed twice per week for six weeks.  Both those who received massage therapy and those who received the inactive treatment had a decrease in the frequency of headaches.  There were no differences between the two groups except for the obvious – those who received massages left each session more relaxed.  See the NCCIH’s sheet on headaches to learn more.

A 2013 review of 12 studies using over 700 participants found that massage therapy was helpful for both neck and shoulder pain.  Then, a 2016 review of four studies conducted in the United States using over 500 participants was performed.  It found that massage therapy provides effective neck-pain relief if massage sessions are long enough and frequent enough.  This is indeed great news for your upper body!

Back in 2016, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality evaluated nondrug therapies for low-back pain.  They examined 20 studies that compared massage therapy to other interventions and found evidence that massage was helpful for chronic low-back pain.  The agency also reviewed six studies that compared different types of massage.  Although, it found insufficient evidence whether specific types of massage were more effective than others.  That means, it’s a great idea to try each of them to find the best one for you.

25 studies reviewed back in 2015 using 3,096 participants revealed something amazing.  Both acute and chronic lower-back pain improvements occurred after massage therapy.  After that, clinical-practice guidelines were issued by the American College of Physicians back in 2017.  Those included massage therapy as a beneficial option for treating acute and sub-acute lower-back pain.

Although there has only been a small amount of research about massage therapy to relieve pain from osteoarthritis of the knee, it suggests there are confirmed benefits in relieving this type of knee pain.  Of six studies evaluating massage therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee using over 400 participants, five revealed that it provided confirmed pain relief.  Two of the studies showed pain relief involved the use of essential oils with aromatherapy massage.  Check out NCCIH’s sheet on osteoarthritis for more information.

Among the many types of massage therapy techniques, Swedish Massage, also called Classical Massage, targets your soft tissues in an amazing way. Because of that, Swedish Massage is the most common massage-therapy technique. To describe it, Swedish Massage involves long, soft, kneading strokes covering all of your body.  On top of that, it includes light, rhythmic, tapping strokes, on your top muscular layers while moving your joints with those muscles.

Created by a Swedish fencing instructor named Per Henrik Ling during the 1830s, Swedish Massage has been around for quite a long time.  The reason he had created this style of massage was to relieve the pain from his elbow injury. Per Henrik Ling reportedly cured himself using tapping strokes around the affected area while moving it back and forth.  Once he perfected the technique, he named it after his nationality.

Swedish Massage aims to promote relaxation by releasing muscle tension. This technique is gentler than deep tissue massage. Also, this technique is well suited for people who are interested in both relaxation and tension relief. And since it relieves pain so effectively, it’s very widely used, which is why it is so popular.

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