There are several reasons that people of all ages seek a massage. Those reasons are personal to each individual. This is what I would say when someone asks me that question.
There is no direct answer to this question. Rather it can be broken down into a number of reasons and therefore a number of answers.
- Fix any structural issues – Areas like the neck, shoulders, lower back, hips, knees and ankles. If one area of the body is struggling, it can have a knock-on effect to other parts of the body. Everything is connected by muscle and soft tissue.
- The want and need to feel mentally and emotionally calm and soothed. The profound healing of massage is to enable the body and mind to harmonise itself back into balance. To create an equilibrium.
- To reconnect with yourself again through the body. Touch offers you a chance to focus your mind on the actual feeling of wellbeing.
- The purpose of massage is to allow the bodies own natural and deep reservoirs of energy to rebuild again.
- To unblock the flow of energy throughout the body. Massage stimulates the body to detox. Unwanted toxins are expelled through the lymph nodes. This allows the return of calm and tranquillity within the body.
Sports Massage or deep tissue massage – why is this encouraged?
Any person will understand the benefits of stretching. To compliment stretching the following would be said of sports or deep tissue massage.
Post event massage – to help calm and relax the muscles and to assist in the removal of waste products, which is the build-up of lactic acid within the muscles. This is known as DOMS – deep onset muscle soreness and it can last for up to 72 hours. Massage also assists in the recovery of the muscle post event.
During a training programme – to help to prevent tightness and to prevent little niggles becoming an injury. This should be carried out weekly during a heavy training session.
General Muscle tightness – there are several reasons for muscle tightness. These can include:
- Physical activity
- Injury
- Overuse of the muscle
- Occupational demands
- Psychological stress
- Emotional stress
- Lifting a child
If left untreated, muscle tightness can cause chronic pain, limited range of movement and reduced performance.
General maintenance – To help reduce the risks of injury and maintain healthy muscles. It also helps to reduce muscular tension and maintain flexibility.
The benefits of a monthly maintenance massage keeps the body and mind in tune with each another. You become more able to pick up on your stress and emotional levels.
It also helps with the following:
- Breaks down muscle adhesions – which are the knots you feel in your neck and shoulders through tension.
- Improves muscle elasticity.
- Aids in the repair of strains and sprains – soft tissue massage helps to ease pain
- Prevents a niggle becoming an injury, soft tissue massage is essential to keep joints flexible. It allows ligaments and tendons to heal quicker.
- Assists in the removal of waste products. Blockages can be massaged away.
- Improves the drainage of these waste products. Toxins are moved more quickly to the lymph nodes, assisted by an increase in water intake.
- Improves general health and wellbeing.
It is easily seen from the above that to answer the question -why is massage encouraged – is not a straightforward answer. Hopefully it has given you good insight into the why, behind the question.
If you would like a massage, whether for wellbeing or sport related injury, then please do contact me to make an appointment. I would love to see you. I am based in Reigate. I can come to your home or I work from the Reigate Natural Health Clinic