Benefits of Massage
Massage is a type of physical therapy that benefits all body systems. There are many types of massage and it was used as an ancient tradition for healing dating back over 5,000 years ago practiced by doctors in China, Egypt, and India.
Currently, many health professionals prescribe massage for pain, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and many other conditions. Ask your doctor for a prescription and see if your insurance allows for massage.
Depression has increased significantly in children and adults ranging from 17-25+, especially after the pandemic. Due to the increase in depression rates people are having a hard time finding a therapist to talk to because they are so overwhelmed, many doctors are just pushing medications instead of being able to find the root cause and addressing it. Massage can be an integral part of the prescription without horrible side effects. It even helps stimulate social behavior.
Seasonal depression is also something many of us suffer from with the change in weather and decreased amount of daylight. Its difficult to wake up to darkness and come home to darkness leaving you feeling like you have to go straight to bed when you get home. Getting a massage on your way home from your day is a great way to help with feeling blue. Massage will also help you fall asleep at night if you are a worrier.
Moderate pressure massage has been proven to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression in children and adults. It stimulates the vagus nerve which reduces cortisol levels(stress fight or flight response), putting you in a resting state. which in turn breaks the cycle of pain. Massage also enhances immune system response by increasing killer T cell production. Killer T cell function is known to ward off viral infections. We recommend lymphatic drainage to rid your body of toxins and reduce inflammation. Massage is great after doing a cleanse to help with die-off and get rid of toxins faster from your body.
When we receive a massage, the brain is awakened to the soothing touch. It triggers the release of serotonin and dopamine our natural feel-good hormones and it decreases cortisol the stress hormone. This is very important for people that suffer from depression or anxiety and PTSD. Many organizations for our Veterans offer massage as part of their recovery program after combat and it shows to have a beneficial effect on stress responses and insomnia.
The benefits of massage offer us an alternative to help with seasonal depression or year-round depression. Look for a therapist near you by asking around, word of mouth is the best way to find a great massage therapist. If you don’t have anyone to ask try the local massage board in your state. If you are in Pima county I am available for massage send me a message or email.
