Acupoint Massage Therapy: The Benefits

ByC M Leong

Day to day living in modern times does not always recognize massage therapy as a primary mode of healing. A lot of times, people - Westerners mostly - view this practice as a mere indulgence, perhaps even a luxury on vacation or when they really had a stressful day.

Only a handful of people realize that the tension-releasing effects of this traditional Chinese practice is rooted in a long history of treating various ailments. Massage therapy is actually an accepted mode of healing in Eastern cultures for centuries now. And the fact that it is still around, being practiced more than ever in even the most remote countries, should tell contemporary society something - maybe the awesome staying power it has displayed so far indicates there is something worth studying in massage therapy. After all, it is easy, soothing and inexpensive, with a whole host of interesting benefits.

This procedure is a greatly effective treatment for those experiencing a lot of physical discomfort. It is actually pretty common for patients to succumb to massage therapy if they want to relieve their pain. Even in the most modern hospitals, their physical therapy treatment for patients looking to rehabilitate their injuries consists mainly of massage-type processes.

As adults grow even older, blood pressure becomes a lot difficult to manage. Regular massages can help with this as well. Research has shown that massage therapy may have a hand in reducing hypertension, which is a common problem among older folk.

The fact that massages result in complete relaxation and rejuvenation also plays a huge part in health and general wellness. It keeps you energized and ready to face the day, but also, massages keep your stress levels down. This is very significant because stress kills cells that are specifically important for immunity (which is why we find ourselves more susceptible to all kinds of sickness whenever we are stressed). Because massages keep us from feeling stressed, it indirectly causes our bout of good health too.

And of course, what is more important than being happy and staying that way? Good health aside (of course that will make anyone joyful), getting massages is an incredibly effective way to attain happiness - it is biologically proven. According to studies, a light massage is enough for the body to release a significant amount of oxytocin, the hormone that's associated with feelings of contentment.

These are only a few of the endless advantages of accepting massage therapy as a viable alternative to medical treatment.

CM Leong invites you to discover more about acupoint massage and acupoint slimming massage information. He also has other a lot more articles that are tailored specifically to health's issues.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

View the Original article

10 Key Benefits of Therapeutic Massage

Massage therapy is not a procedure reserved to suffering people. Perfectly healthy people can get a massage, because the primary role of massage is to prevent disease and maintain the body in shape. As a prophylactic approach, Massage therapy aims to prevent and combat disease or illness caused by the accumulation of professional, physical and intellectual fatigue.

Massage is a manual or mechanical procedure applied to the skin and the deep tissue layers, for therapeutic purposes. Massage therapy can be part of complex treatments of disorders, and injury rehabilitation and along with physiotherapy can reduce pathological sequelae of certain diseases. The benefits of massage are numerous, but in this article we will list only 10 of them.

1. Massage improves blood and lymph circulation

Massage helps to activate circulation, the mechanical manipulation on the body, literally pumps the blood and lymph improving its movement. The lymphatic system acts as a carrier of waste in our body. Poor lymph circulation, or poor blood circulation, can be restored to normal operating levels by massage.

2. Massage stimulates and soothes the nervous and endocrine systems

If vigorously executed in a lively pace, massage will have a stimulating effect on the nervous system. By applying stimulating massage procedures, we encourage an optimal operation of the psychomotor functions.

Slow, gentle, and soothing massage maneuvers are particularly effective against excessive straining, mental tensions, pain, anxiety and stress. The relaxation effect and the removal of fatigue are obtained by relaxing the nervous and endocrine systems, balancing the levels of stress hormones, and releasing more hormones that induce wellness. The massage manipulations stimulate the production of endorphins, the brain chemical that produces feelings of happiness, and reduce stress hormones such as adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine.

3. Massage increases joint mobility and flexibility

Usually, the articulations suffer of poor blood circulation, and articulation injuries are the hardest to heal because of that. Massage manipulations have a great vasodilator effect, and improve the blood circulation in joint capsules. This way injured articulations, tendons and ligaments, will benefit from an increased blood flow, more blood means more nutrients, more oxygen, faster healing and generally more healthy joints.

4. Massage increases muscle elasticity and contractility

Any form of massage helps to increase blood supply, consequently oxygen flow and nutrients to your muscles. This improves flexibility, muscle contractility and delay anoxia and accumulation of toxins which triggers glycolysis. By delaying anoxia and glycolysis we improve the muscle's metabolism improving its efficacy and functioning.

5. Massage reduces muscle tension

Everyone knows that massage relieves pain and muscle contractures. The relaxing techniques have a relaxing effect, and the final outcome is the reducing of the muscle excitability and contractility. This is explained by the fact that massage increases blood circulation in muscles, and naturally produce natural opiates that relieve pain, encourage the muscle to relax, and eliminate the muscle contraction.

6. Massage improves skin's condition

Certain massage techniques, produce hyperemia (redness), which allows the skin to regain elasticity and firmness thus preventing the physiological tendency of elastic fibers to progressively load with calcium, a process named keratinization. Skin's look, feel and health are improved by the enhanced exfoliation of the horny tissue. The exfoliation furthermore stimulates the replacement of the skin.

7. Massage helps to detoxify the body and improve immune system

By applying certain massage maneuvers the transport of fatty acids and cholesterol is improved, the nutrients exchange and the toxins elimination is stimulated, and the immune system is encouraged by stimulating the lymph nodes. Acting on the skin and sweat glands, massage increases fluid elimination and decreases stasis.

8. Massage reduces fat

Massage is known to facilitate lipolysis, (the breakdown of lipids), leading to losing fat mass. Body rubs maintain and develop connective tissue flexibility, combating excess fatty deposits under the skin and preventing them.

9. Massage promotes faster healing of soft tissue injuries

By increasing the quality of dermal collagen and elastic fibers, bodywork helps partial or total resorption of scar indurations.

10. Massage improves digestion

Massage effects are seen in improving digestion, diminishing of constipation and bloating and general easier elimination. Massage can have very fast action on an indigestion by either direct maneuvers on the digestive system, or by reflexogenic zones manipulation.

Dorian is a Complementary Medicine specialist who publishes articles about massage therapy. He writes about Massage techniques and particularly about hair massage.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

View the Original article

Sports Massage: New Study Shows Positive Benefits of Massage Therapy Treatment on Athletes

ByPenny Q Jones

A new scientific study shows that sports massage provides anti-inflammatory and pain-reducing benefits. Offering healing relief for pros and recreationists alike, massage therapy now has empirical evidence illustrating its advantages for the treatment of athletes.

Anecdotal and experiential evidence have long shown that massage therapy can provide healthful benefits to both amateur and professional athletes. Until recently, there has been little scientific research performed to confirm these findings. However, with a new study published in the February 1 edition of Science Translational Medicine (online), there is now empirical data supporting the long-held belief that massage techniques can provide relief following strenuous physical activity.

This study, a collaboration between the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario), involved a comparative analysis of muscle biopsies performed on several male athletes, with samples taken prior to exercise and following exercise. Using one leg as a control, the other leg was massaged; both legs were then biopsied after 10 minutes of massage treatment and again following a 2.5-hour rest period.

Utilizing genetic analysis, the researchers found an increase in the biogenesis of mitochondria (energy-producing parts of a cell) as well as a decrease in inflammatory cytokines. As the study contributor who performed the genetic analysis, Buck Institute Dr. Simon Melov, noted, massage therapy's pain reducing benefits may hinge on the same mechanisms as traditional anti-inflammatory medication.

Since the advent of therapeutic massage, people have known that the treatment can create pain relief as well as relaxation, but it hasn't been well understood precisely why. This new research from the Buck Institute is helping to shed light on just why seeing a massage therapist feels so good.

Particularly with situations of muscle exhaustion and athletic stress, the body is generating a great deal of inflammatory cytokines, which can lead to the muscle soreness you experience a day or two later (delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS). By using sports massage treatment to suppress those inflammatory responses, you can help to reduce that muscle discomfort.

So the next time someone tells you that massage is relaxing but not physically beneficial, or someone tries to claim that the pain-relieving aspect of sports massage is all in your head, refer them to the Buck Institute study. With clear evidence that massage therapy works to reduce inflammatory cytokines and boost the creation of mitochondria in muscle cells, we now know for sure that massage treatment is scientifically beneficial to your body following intense exercise. Additional research will be needed to expand our understanding of how and why massage provides healthful benefits beyond sports treatment, but for now, there is finally empirical data to support massage therapy's pain relieving results.

Penny Jones is an avid runner and a massage therapy enthusiast. She is also an online marketing professional for Prospect Genius, offering affordable search engine optimization for local businesses.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

View the Original article

Scientific Health Benefits of Massage

ByPenny Q Jones

From muscle aches to serious health issues like high blood pressure and depression, massage treatment offers a number of proven benefits. Get the relief you seek with treatment from a qualified massage therapist.

Everyone knows that getting a massage feels great. But there are actually numerous health reasons why you may want to visit a massage therapist for treatment. Many people argue that the pain-reducing or health-inducing benefits of massage treatment are all psychosomatic; however, recent scientific research has shown otherwise. These studies have covered everything from empirical data illustrating massage's effect on inflammation following exercise to evidence suggesting massage therapy can be effective at reducing blood pressure in prehypertensive women.

Muscle Pain
Muscle relaxation and pain relief are among the reasons that people have long sought massage treatment. However, it's only recently that we've discovered just why massage can help, particularly with exercise-induced muscle aches. As reported by a study from the Buck Institute (in collaboration with McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario) in the February 1 issue of Science Translational Medicine, massage reduces inflammatory cytokines in muscle cells and helps foster the creation of mitochondria (the energy-producing parts of a cell). The study's analysts point out that this reaction is actually quite similar to the way basic anti-inflammatory medications work to relieve pain.

Blood Pressure
Stress-reduction and relaxation are two of the most commonly cited reasons for getting a massage, but this relaxation goes beyond just mental health and into the realm of physical health. Several different studies have shown that massage therapy can reduce blood pressure in both women with prehypertension and hypertension. One Dillard University study presented in 2010 indicated preliminary positive results in lowering blood pressure in hypertensive African American women through therapeutic chair massage intervention. Another study, published in February 2011 by the Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research illustrated lowered diastolic and systolic blood pressure in prehypertensive women following ten 10-15 minute Swedish massage sessions.

Depression
We know that massage can make your body feel better, but it can also provide the same benefits for your mind. Massage therapy has long been used to treat depression, operating under the understanding that human touch is stimulating and healing. However, there is now ample scientific data supporting that opinion. A compilation of studies reviewed by researchers at I-Shou University in Taiwan in 2010 indicates that massage can provide "potentially significant effects" for treating depression. By inducing the body to release oxytocin and through other physiological processes, massage can reduce the symptoms of depression.

So the next time you want to improve your health as well as get some deep-down relaxation, you may want to turn to your local massage therapy center.

As with all complementary health care treatments, make sure you consult with your doctor prior to seeking massage treatment. Be open and honest with your massage therapist regarding any relevant health history, your reasons for seeking treatment, etc. to ensure you receive the safest, most beneficial massage therapy session possible.

Penny Jones is a massage therapy enthusiast and an Internet marketer for Prospect Genius, a leader in online advertising for local businesses.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

View the Original article