Do you remember the last time you had a massage or other form of body therapy?
More and more people understand the practical importance of massage techniques in disease prevention and health promotion programs.
Today, massage is no longer seen as a form of luxury. According to surveys conducted among consumers of massage, about 90% of patients see massage as a useful therapy for health and wellbeing. And two-thirds of them believe that massage should be introduced into the compulsory medical insurance program.
Although therapeutic massage may be one of the most popular body treatments, there are other methods. For example, chiropractic, reflexology, and acupuncture.
Today, everyone can get a massage. And it is not necessary to visit a specialist. Your mobile phone can replace the hands of a professional and stretch your body. To do this, you just need to install a special application. Which one? Read this article.
What is Body Massage Therapy?
Body Massage Therapy is manipulative and body-based methods, forms of complementary and alternative medicine that are based on the relationship between your body structure and functions. They include practical touches on one or more parts of your body.
These methods often focus on the lymphatic and cardiovascular systems as well as the bones, joints and soft tissues. The main goal is to help you achieve the desired physiological effects.
Massage therapy and weight loss
Although a healthy diet and regular exercise will always be the basis for weight loss or control, you can consider a massage or other body therapies as part of a weight loss program.
Medical clinics are increasingly recommending this treatment for various ailments or conditions. Below are some of the main benefits that massage therapies can bring to your health – and ultimately achieve your weight loss goals.
Address stress
The stress and elasticity test is one of the most popular assessment options. Most of us live with higher levels of stress. So it’s no wonder we want to know if cortisol levels (stress hormones) affect our weight loss goals as well as our overall health.
Cortisol is known to initiate the body’s internal response to stress. When this hormone passes normal levels, it can accumulate or remain chronically elevated. Which, in turn, leads to an increased craving for sweets, higher blood sugar levels and an increase in waist circumference.
Both massage and reflexology have been found to reduce cortisol levels and increase a person’s ability to cope with stress. Both therapies stimulate the body’s parasympathetic “relaxing” nervous system.
Reduce inflammation after a workout
Chronic inflammation can interfere with achieving goals and have a negative impact on health and body weight. Most often it reduces the body’s ability to get rid of accumulated fat. Many people make the mistake of often working out too hard and not achieving proper recovery.
If you work out at the gym for a long time, you can resort to massage or chiropractic sessions. As a result, you will help the body fight inflammation, which can develop with damage to the skeletal muscles from exercise. Massage therapy works on a cellular level similar to anti-inflammatory drugs. And this type of therapy is shown even for those with bone and muscle injuries.
Improve the quality of sleep
Due to frequent stress, chronic pain or incorrect lifestyle (not going to bed on time) you can damage your metabolism and normal weight.
Massage treatments are often associated with better sleep, contributing to deeper and less disturbing sleep through pain relief and relaxation. Massage can also directly affect the production of serotonin (a hormone that affects the mood). As a matter of fact, it is essential for melatonin (the sleep hormone).
Reduce pain
Many people regularly experience a variety of pains due to sedentary lifestyles and sedentary work. Some of us may have back pain and some of us may have whole-body pain. Massage therapy of the body can have a positive effect on these feelings, including chronic lower back pain. One study showed that patients receiving massage are twice as likely to report both a significant reduction in pain and improved body function. As well as reduced use of anti-inflammatory drugs.
Although lower back pain is one of the most common reasons people need a massage, they too often wait until the pain is severe. It is best to use massage as an effective preventive measure that can support people’s activity, mobility and ability to progress towards health and fitness goals.
