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Swedish Massage Swedish massage is the most commonly offered massage technique, utilizing a firm pressure on the muscles. It involves a series of long yet gliding strokes. A Swedish massage may involve the use of various oils, especially essential oils, to reduce friction as well as for their aromatherapy benefits. Swedish massage is given to increase blood circulation, easing the tension in the body’s muscles and improving the muscles’ flexibility. It stimulates the skin as well as the nervous system to soothe the nerves, reducing both emotional and physical stress. In fact the massage is a staple in most stress management programs. A Swedish massage is given to help with increasing the flow of oxygen in the blood, releasing toxins from the body’s muscles flushing the lactic acids, uric acids,…

Can Massage Help Your Back Problem? For most of us, the answer is probably 'yes', since massage is non-invasive and considered very low risk for most people. In addition to physical benefits, certain types of massage have been shown to help psychologically via relaxation and increased production of 'feel good' chemicals that the body naturally produces (endorphins)--helpful for people with both acute back problems and chronic back pain. This newsletter describes why massage may be right for you. Benefits of Massage Massage therapy is becoming more widely accepted in the medical community as a credible treatment for many types of back pain and/or as an adjunct to other medical treatments. Research shows that massage therapy has several potential health benefits for back pain sufferers, including: Increased blood flow and circulation,…

Stress is an inevitable part of life. It is almost impossible to take away all the stress and anxiety we may feel on a day-to-day basis. Research suggests that more than 90 percent of illness results from stress alone. Decreasing physical and emotional stress is optimal to improving overall health and well-being. A 60-minute massage can lower cortisol, a hormone that’s produced in response to stress, by an average of 30 percent. And when cortisol levels decline, serotonin — one of the body’s anti-pain mechanisms — increases by an average of 28 percent after receiving a massage. By lowering cortisol and increasing serotonin, you’re boosting your body’s ability to fight off pain, anxiety and feelings of sadness. The emotional balance massage provides can be just as vital and valuable as…

Luckily, massage can counteract the imbalance caused from sitting, which means you can keep your desk job-as long as you schedule a regular massage. Desk workers, beware. More advanced forms of postural stress “show up as pain or weakness in the low back and gluteals caused by prolonged periods of sitting.” It eases muscle pain Got sore muscles? Massage therapy can help. “Massage increases and improves circulation. Just like rubbing your elbow when you knock it on a table helps to relieve the pain,” says Tanason. A 2011 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that massage therapy is as effective as other methods of treatment for chronic back pain. It soothes anxiety and depression Women diagnosed with breast cancer who received massage therapy three times a week…