Throughout the world, and across more or less the entirety of human civilization, massage has been recognized as a relaxing and luxurious practice. We associate massage with pampering and we place a corresponding value on the skill itself. Despite virtually all of us understanding what a massage is, and perhaps even understanding the purpose of them, few of us have actually taken the plunge and paid for a massage.
There are a variety of factors which keep people from taking the final step and actually seeking out the services of a masseuse. One of the most common is a simple matter of time. Some people don’t have the time in their busy schedules to indulge in a relaxing massage, as much as they might like to.
For other people, it is a lack of understanding of exactly what the practice entails and what its purpose is. Some people don’t understand the scope of what massage therapy is capable of, nor the kind of experiences that people are chasing when they seek out a massage. Beyond the immediate relaxation that receiving a massage provides, there is a wealth of evidence to suggest that receiving regular massages can provide both short and long-term benefits.
The following are a selection of just some of the reasons why treating yourself to a massage can be a great experience and can benefit both your physical and your psychological health. Even if you’ve never given any serious thought to getting yourself a massage in the past, there’s no time like the present!
Counteract all That Sitting
It is a seemingly inescapable fact of modern life that we all spend a significant portion of our time sat down, moving very little if at all. While we might not usually consider it, sitting still for extended periods of time can cause a great deal of postural stress, especially in the long term. Many masseuses find that their client’s stress most commonly manifests in the shoulders and the neck.
Many workers falsely assume that because they are stuck sat at a desk all day, they are somehow immune from the stresses and strains placed upon their bodies by their jobs. But even if you are assuming more or less the same position every day and then barely moving, you are still going to be putting more strain on some areas of your body than others.
Relieve Muscle Pain
Managing chronic pain in patients presents a unique challenge to physicians. Our very best substances for fighting pain are opioids. The reason that these substances, such as morphine, heroin, codeine, and numerous variants thereof, are so effective is that they can exert the same effects as the body’s own natural painkiller – endorphin.
While opioids are great painkillers – in fact, they are for all intents and purposes the only painkillers that we have – they come with their own problems. The most prominent problem is that long-term use is associated with the development of tolerance and subsequent addiction. The current opioid epidemic which is ravaging the United States is the tragic manifestation of the damage that opioids can cause.
Clearly, we are in need of new approaches to managing pain, especially in long-term cases. We are increasingly finding that psychological interventions can be of tremendous use here. For example, meditation and mindfulness are both increasingly being used to help patients manage pain that has not responded to pharmaceutical treatments.
Massage falls somewhere between a physical and a psychological treatment. The truth is, we don’t really know how massage works in terms of the long-term beneficial effects that he has. Quite how or why massage is able to offer such strong and sustained changes in patient’s symptoms is not known, but we believe that there is a physical and a psychological component.
Ease Anxiety and Depression
Much like chronic pain, chronic mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression can have a serious effect on an individual’s quality of life. Also, much like with chronic pain patients, while our pharmaceutical treatments are effective for a great many people, there is also an issue with the ways that these medications are sometimes marketed, both to doctors and patients. The result is a lack of trust between pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and patients.
When this kind of lack of trust develops it becomes harder for everyone involved. Doctors have a harder time trusting the data they are given, patients have a harder time trusting the drugs they are prescribed, and pharmaceutical companies, well, they are largely unaffected it seems.
Massage provides a useful alternative for those individuals who are unable to tolerate the side effects of pharmaceuticals. Again, the precise mechanisms by which massage can produce the benefits that it does is still something that we do not know with any certainty.
People who have jobs which keep them on the road for extended periods of time can often find that they become depressed and lonely while they are away from other people. For these individuals, massage services such as WINKS London can prove invaluable.
Improve Sleep
A lack of sleep is associated with a lower mood and with worse overall physical health. There are many factors which can affect the quality of the sleep that we receive, among these, is stress.
Massage has been proven to be an effective means of reducing stress and relieving the kind of physical and emotional tensions which can prevent us from ever truly relaxing. It is this tension that keeps us up at night. When we are unable to sleep, our minds inevitably wander, and we find ourselves becoming stuck on the same thoughts.
Having a massage just before going to bed will put you in the most relaxed state possible and increase your chances of falling asleep at the earliest opportunity. Massage cannot take away the stresses and strains of modern life, but it can help to minimize the disruption that they cause you.
Massage is an excellent way of unwinding, letting off some steam, and doing something beneficial to your overall health and wellbeing while you’re at it.