Top 10 Benefits of Massages

What is massage?

Massage is a general term for pressing, rubbing and manipulating your skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Massage therapists typically use their hands and fingers for massage, but may also use their forearms, elbows, and even feet. The therapy may range from light stroking to deep pressure.

Different types of massage

Swedish massage

This is a gentle form of massage that uses long strokes, kneading, deep circular movements, vibration and tapping to help relax and energize you.

Deep massage

This massage technique uses slower, more-forceful strokes to target the deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue, commonly to help with muscle damage from injuries.

Sports massage

This is similar to Swedish massage, but it’s geared toward people involved in sports activities to help prevent or treat injuries.

Trigger point massage

This massage focuses on areas of tight muscle fibers that can form in your muscles after injuries or overuse.

Benefits of massage

Massage is generally considered part of complementary and alternative medicine. It’s increasingly being offered along with standard treatment for a wide range of medical conditions and situations.

Studies of the benefits of massage demonstrate that it is an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain and muscle tension.

While more research is needed to confirm the benefits of massage, some studies have found massage may also be helpful for…

• Anxiety
• Digestive disorders
• Fibromyalgia
• Headaches
• Insomnia related to stress
• Myofascial pain syndrome
• Paresthesias and nerve pain
• Soft tissue strains or injuries
• Sports injuries
• Temporomandibular joint pain