Do you ever have trouble finding just the right gift for the person who has everything?   One suggestion is something that will not only be unique for the person who has everything but will benefit him or her as well.  That gift is the gift of therapeutic massage.  I have written in the past about the need for humans to deal with and reduce stress rather than carry it around and hope it will go away.  In addition to my regular chiropractic adjustments, one of my favorite ways to reduce stress is to have full body massages.  This idea is foreign to many but as massage becomes more readily available to us it would be helpful if more people understood what it is and how it can be beneficial as part of a regimen of natural health care.  I was surprised to learn recently that when some people hear the word “massage” they think of massage parlors that were actually just covers for brothels in days past.  Therapeutic massage is as far from a brothel as is a doctor’s office, and I thought I would share some information on the subject with you.

Massage has been used for thousands of years as Chinese medical texts document.  Many different methods of massage were used to loosen muscle tissue and to relieve pain.  The techniques that most massage therapists use today are based on the principles of Swedish Massage which was developed in the late 19^th century by a Swedish gymnast named Per Henrik Ling.  The system developed by Mr. Ling is a systematic application of pressure and motion on the muscular and ligamentous tissues in the body in an effort to relieve tension in these areas.  While that seems simple enough, there is much more that happens as a result of getting a massage than meets the eye.

 A tremendous amount of research has been done on the effects of massage on the body.  Massage can relieve muscle tension related to stress as well as muscle soreness from overworking.  A trained massage therapist can locate stress points in the body and work them out so that the body’s response to stress and muscular soreness is much more palatable.  Sometimes massage therapists work on trigger points, which are areas of the muscle where blood is not flowing properly and knots form.  This sometimes doesn’t feel great at the moment but a tremendous sense of relief is the result of a good trigger point session.  If you get a deep tissue massage to work on really stubborn areas, the body might feel a little bit sore as a result.  Drinking plenty of good, clean water will help to rinse away any toxins that might cause this soreness.

Massage has been shown to stimulate the flow of the lymphatic system, and this eases the elimination of toxic substances that would otherwise tend to build up in the body.  There are entire massage techniques which are built solely on the different methods of aiding lymphatic drainage.  This helps the immune system work more efficiently.  Increasing lymphatic circulation can also reduce edema (swelling) in certain instances.  With less edema comes less pain.

When you get massaged, you go into a state of deeper relaxation than normal.  As you become more relaxed, you tend to breathe more deeply. Having deeper respirations increases the body’s rate of oxygenation and thereby promotes a clearer mind and a more restful state.  The body’s  healing processes are sped up if the body is resting.  That is why one of the cornerstones of good health is the assurance that you get plenty of rest.

Massage also promotes the release of chemicals called endorphins in the body.  Endorphins are hormone-like chemicals produced in the brain that have a close functional relationship to morphine.  This makes the brain a factory for its own pain-control substances.  The other phenomenon associated with endorphins is that they serve an antidepressant function.  Heavy exercise also produces endorphins and results in the infamous “runner’s high.”  Massage is a way to experience the pain-relieving effects of endorphins without the vigorous output on your part.

The potential benefits of massage are numerous, and can be more completely explained by a trained massage therapist.  Always ask about a therapist’s education, certification, and licensure.  Although Georgia doesn’t have strict licensing requirements for massage therapists, graduates from approved schools can take a national certification test which is standardized and assures you that basic knowledge about specific techniques is mastered.  With many natural aids to healing available to us, we can bring about a better state of being and thereby make our world a little bit better place to live.  Treat your body and your spirit well.