The Benefits of a Good Massage

 

 

 

Pain relief

One of the best known benefits of a good message is pain relief. People suffering with pain due to musculoskeletal injuries and other causes have found various types of massage techniques as a major benefit. In one study even cancer patients self-reported symptomatic relief of pain after having a regular massage.
Other types of therapy include acupressure or pressure point massage, and is often reported to be more beneficial than the classic Swedish massage in relieving back pain.

State / Trait Anxiety

A transient measure of anxiety in a given situation a.k.a. State/Trait anxiety. It can be either a short term 'state' or a long term 'trait' and is often experienced in the anticipation of threatening situations. It is also closely related to the personality trait of neuroticism and may be conscious or unconscious. Some techniques of massage have shown to reduce the experience and onset of state anxiety.

Reduced blood pressure and heart rate

Regular massage has shown to reduce blood pressure and also slow the heart rate down. Even a single massage can be effective with temporary effects.

Attention span

It has been reported that after a massage, a person's EEG patterns indicated enhanced performance and alertness on mathematical computations. This is put down to the effects perhaps being mediated by decreased stress hormones.

Other

Other benefits of a massage includes the stimulation of the immune system by increasing the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) in ones body. These results are more so observed in aromatherapy massages.