With accumulating stress and growing spa outlets, a massage can no longer be considered as an indulgence rather it is an essential element for vigour and well-being. It acts as a remedy for pain and inflammation and also relieves stress and anxiety. A full body massage in Chennai is valued for many of its characteristic features, the most prominent one being hands-on healing. It relaxes and calms the nervous system and acts as an influential therapeutic tool. According to several pieces of research, massage therapists are the most frequently visited complementary medicine providers. Thus a massage is no longer addressed as a spa treatment instead it is a key to healing the body’s worn-out cells.
Squeezing the shoulders, crushing the neck, sitting for long periods, and driving in peak hour traffic produce various forms of severe muscle tension in the body. This results in the development of chronic muscle tension which can further lead to spine problems. Continuous muscular and skeletal tension can lead to constrained blood circulation and impaired nutrient transport to various organs and tissues of the body. As the connective tissue around the muscles becomes progressively condensed and less movable, it deleteriously affects posture and breathing. Constant episodes of low-grade routine stress result in chronic hormonal, biochemical, and neurological disorders.
Massage comes in as a savior to interfere with such stress-inducing patterns to restore the body’s natural state of balance. A massage can be therapeutically defined as the handling of soft tissues of the body in order to provide physiological effects. It plays a significant role in alleviating anxiety. In conservative medicine, the efficacy of a massage and its functions towards the reduction of stress is portrayed. A convincing number of clinical trial data proves that a massage can lower the body’s level of stress hormone cortisol thereby contributing to relaxation.
A massage also plays a vital role in relieving lower back pain. Apart from stress, if something could drive people to a massage therapist, it could only be severe pain. Several clinical studies have demonstrated that a massage is a promising remedy for lower back pain. Pain can be termed as an alarm system in a body. Developing acute pain after an injury indicates something wrong. But a chronic back pain signals the possibility of a malfunction in the body. Though a massage cannot act as a cure it definitely reduces the intensity of the pain.
There are several theories that are put forth on how a massage interferes with the body’s pain loop. The gate control theory suggests that the pain signals that travel to the brain are muted by contending stimuli. In simpler words, pain is transmitted through small nerve fibers whereas a massage arouses large nerves. Larger nerves transmit messages to the brain more quickly than smaller ones. Thus, the tranquil feeling of massage triumphs over the pain. Massage coupled with core exercises offers enhanced and lasting relief for lower back pain.
The trigger point therapy acts as an effective remedy for headaches. A trigger point radiates pain due to firmly contracted muscle tissue. Trigger points located at the shoulder and neck transmit pain to the head resulting in headaches. On decreasing, the activity of trigger points headaches can be alleviated. In such instances, a massage around the neck and shoulder interrupts the trigger points, separates the contractile proteins, relaxes the cells, and alleviates headaches.
Sleep deprivation is demonstrated to be one of the major contributors to inflammation, pain, and lowered immunity owing to an imbalance in biochemical parameters of the body. The association between pain and lack of sleep is vicious in nature. Healing occurs only when the body is at optimum rest. A massage promotes undisturbed sleep patterns in people with chronic disorders. It relieves pain, induces relaxation, and contributes to a deep sound sleep.
Massaging arouses the parasympathetic nervous system which instills the rest and relaxes mode against the sympathetic fight or flight mode causing stress. A massage offers dual benefits by alleviating physical and mental stress or to offer a peaceful healing sleep pattern. It was also discovered that depression is exclusively reactive to a massage. On massaging the body increases the production of serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin to elevate the mood and reduce depression. It also lowers blood pressure by triggering the parasympathetic nervous system to restore balance and emotional ease. The first instinct towards a hurt was to rub, similarly, a massage in a hotel has its worth for every penny spent.
