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The Amazing Benefits of Massage Therapy

In the understanding of holistic health, massage therapy is one of the best known modalities. The term “massage” itself actually encompasses a wide array of different types of massage, ranging from Swedish massage (the most common type), to massages that have a more targeted and specific purpose, like a sports massage, which is aimed at helping athletes recover.

No matter the type, the benefits of massage really come down to one thing: pressure, which results in a calming and slowing of the nervous system,” says Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine. And that slowing of the nervous system leads to other physiological effects, too, like a decrease in heart rate, lowered blood pressure, and changes in EEG patterns (electrical activity in your brain), says Field.

Here are some of the other benefits!
Relieve Anxiety
If you suffer with anxiety, one study suggests that a massage can actually help significantly reduce your symptoms. “What we think is going on is it’s decreasing the sympathetic tone that we see with people with generalized anxiety disorder and increasing this sort of parasympathetic response,” says Dr. Rapaport, who led the study.

And equally great news? Those effects of massage on decreased anxiety can actually be long-lasting!  Up to 18 months.

Sleep More Soundly

Have trouble sleeping or suffer from insomnia? Massage can actually help you sleep more deeply. “Sleep is all related to how much activity there is in the nervous system,” says Field. And when you get a massage, your nervous system itself actually slows down due to the pressure.

Plus, when you’re getting deeper, more restorative sleep, she says, that in turn reduces your levels of substance P (a neurotransmitter for pain), which reduces overall pain.

Fight Fatigue
No matter what the cause of your fatigue is, one easy solution is  a massage. In fact, one 2018 study led by Dr. Rapaport found that breast cancer survivors who received weekly Swedish massages experienced a reduction in their fatigue, a particularly debilitating effect of the disease. To get the best effects, based on Dr. Rapaport’s study, try getting a massage once per week.

Aid Certain Health Conditions

Your body has two different immune responses: Th1 and Th2, and they need to be in balance in order to have your immune system working optimally, says Field. “If the Th2 gets in excess of the Th1 system, then you have autoimmune problems,” she says.

But during massage, you’re slowing down stress hormones to help maintain this balance, she says. In turn, this can help make autoimmune conditions like asthma, type 1 diabetes, or dermatitis, more manageable through things like decreased pain or fatigue.

Boost Focus

Because a massage slows your nervous system, your heart rate is effectively slowed down, too. During a massage, your pressure receptors stimulate vagal activity, which stems from a nerve in your brain that leads to several different branches of the body, including the heart, says Field. So when you’re undergoing the pressure of a massage, it could decrease your heart rate, as well, which ultimately will improve your focus.

Heal Injuries
Soft tissue constriction in the muscles and ligaments can build in daily life. Those restrictions can, over time, lead to problems like joint decay or other ligament problems, so by actively massaging out those soft-tissue restrictions, you’re not only helping your current injury, but also helping prevent against other problems down the road.

Here at Soul Body Ojai, we specialize in offering a wide range of massage therapy modalities and have therapists available every day of the week.  Check out these profiles to find your perfect healing practitioner: