The Benefits of Massage

• Massage manually moves blood and lymph throughout the body.
• Massage will recycle red and white blood cells. This means the older cells will be broken down and the new cells will be able to work more efficiently. This leads to improved function of muscles, organs and immune system.
• Massage will flood the tendons and ligaments with blood. These structures generally have a poor blood supply, which is why they take 6-8 months to heal. By giving them extra blood massage will flush out any debris and bring nutrients to the area.
• Moving blood and debris makes massage reduce inflammation. This makes massage good for any condition ending in "itis" ex. arthritis, tendonitis, and bursitis.
• Increased circulation also flushes out the organs. The food we eat, liquids we drink, and supplements we take all get processed in our organs. Most of the time sediments are left behind. These will hinder the way the organs function and their health later in life. It is important to flush them out to keep everything working 100%. This will also help your body's ability to absorb nutrients.
• Massage will help break up scar tissue. This will lead to increase range of movement and promote faster more efficient healing.
• Massage also has an effect on the nervous system.
• The touch will help stimulate sensory nerves. Numbness caused by nerve damage or impingement can be stimulated through touch. If there is hypersensitivity in one area then that area needs to be avoided. However, working the surrounding areas will help relax the body and therefore relax the hypersensitivity.
• Massage is relaxing. When the body and mind are calm the body is better able to heal itself.
• Massage improves sleep. While we sleep our bodies heal itself from the damage provided by everyday life.
• Sometimes nerve pain is caused by muscle spasms. ex. piriformis syndrome/false sciatica. Massage helps relive the muscle spasms and in turn the pressure on the nerve.
• Massage has also been found to work well in conjuction with certain cancer treaments. For more info check Mesothelioma.com

Massage and muscle recovery:

When a person is working out or just working hard the muscles need energy. They produce energy with aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen) cellular respiration. A by-product of making energy without oxygen is lactic acid. This builds up in the muscles and sometimes collects in spots. The lactic acid will hinder the way the muscles functions by blocking the messages sent from the brain. If you have ever wanted to do one more rep but your body didn't move. That is why! The lactic acid was blocking the message. Massage will "milk" these by-products out of the muscle and the blood stream will pick them up and bring them to be excreted through urination. That is why it is important to drink plenty of water after your massage. You need to help flush your system. Think of your massage like an oil change for your car. Your car has an oil filter but you still need to flush the system to insure years of trouble free performance.

Think of your massage like an oil change for your car. Your car has an oil filter but you still need to flush the system to insure years of trouble free perfomance.