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What is massage therapy?

A massage therapy or a massage treatment consists of a manual manipulation of the soft body tissue such as tendons, ligaments, muscles, and connective tissues. This therapy provides an enhancement of a person’s health and overall well-being. The variations and types of massage are also known as modalities and those are dozens of types invented around the world.

Throughout history, the massage as a therapy was invented in order to help people heal faster or simply relax and enjoy their daily activities.

Nowadays, with the increase of the demand for massage, many places such as spas, yoga studios, chiropractic offices and hotels offer a wide range of massage therapies. But also according to studies, people have said that the most popular places for a massage are their home and office setting too, as they want to relax fully in the comfort of their own home.

Swedish massage, sports massages as well as reflexology are just some of the most commonly found at these places.

Furthermore, before choosing a massage treatment for you, you should know that according to the Association of Bodywork & Massage Professionals there are more than 250 types of massages offered around the world.

While they all offer different benefits depending on your preferences and needs are, there are only 2 fundamental categories out of which all those massage types originate.

These are the rehabilitative types of massages and the relaxation types of massages, and they all have the same underlying methods, to alleviate some sort of pain and stiffness.

These can be done as a massage on the entire body or to the different parts of the body separately as a back massage, arms, legs, neck, and head massage or on the palms.

The most commonly offered one is the back massage and the whole body massage.

• The rehabilitative types of massages go by different names and they can be known as: Medical, therapeutic, deep tissue massage or clinical massage therapy. These are the more professional types of massages as they require more knowledge and practice as well as care during the treatment, and are offered mostly in hospitals, clinics, and professional chiropractic offices.
• The relaxation types of massages have different names and outnumber the rehabilitative ones. They are offered in salons, spas, wellness centers and resorts and don’t require a professional care as much, which is why they can be widely offered almost everywhere.

What are the benefits of massage therapy?

When analyzing the studies done on all sorts of massages throughout the world, researchers have discovered that 92% of the people who underwent the studies have reported that they found that the massage is a very efficient way of reducing any sort of pain in the body.

And even up to 33% of those massage clients have reported that they felt a reduction of stress and fatigue after the massage session.

Other types of benefits include the prenatal massages that are also called pregnancy massages done on the mother which have good sides for the fetus too.

Furthermore, here is a full list of massaging benefits you will get if you have regular massage therapies:

• Treating lower back: The reason why this issue is first on the list is that it is the most common one that people suffer from. There were 14 clinical trials and studies that confirmed that people with acute and chronic low-back pain found major relief by using any kind of rehabilitative or even relaxation type of massage therapy.
• Treating arthritis, joint pain, bursitis, and more: All people who suffer from any of these health issues should try any form of rehabilitative massage because it has been found that it effectively reduces the pain and unlike medications, massages provide long-term results and benefits.
• Treating high blood pressure: According to studies published in the Journal of Preventative Medicine, people with high blood pressure are able to lower it and treat it and keep it under control successfully if they get therapeutic massages regularly.
• Treating depression, fatigue, and anxiety: When feeling stressed, under anxiety or depressed, and suffering from fatigue and are constantly tired, you are a great candidate for a massage therapy. It is now scientifically confirmed that depression can be sometimes induced because of chronic pain somewhere in the body. So when treating this pain with massage, the symptoms of depression usually disappear within a few weeks’ time.

Treating diabetes and hormones: Instead of the common medicinal treatments and pills, people turn to alternative therapies to balance hormonal changes and even diabetes. Besides the other alternative methods such as hydrotherapy, yoga, acupuncture and similar, professionals now treat these health issues with massage very successfully as a part of the entire treatment.

Does massage therapy hurt?

Massages are not made to hurt any more than needed. Depending on your condition you may feel mild discomfort but it should be a pain that you won’t be able to stand.

Lower and upper back therapeutic massages tend to hurt the most since most people tend to have injuries in those places.

However, if done right and by a trained professional, massage should relieve pain, not cause it.

How often should I have massage therapy?

It depends on the severity of your problem. Your therapist will tell you how often you should have a massage, but if it’s for relaxing properties then once a week is ideal.

How long is massage therapy session?

Massage therapy sessions last anywhere from 40 to 60 minutes. Less than that isn’t beneficial enough and more than that can cause pain or even mild bruising.