Massage
In the West, we use massage for a lot of things: soothing sore muscles, unwinding after a long week at the office, setting the mood for love. Treating a medical problem doesn’t always come immediately to mind when we think about reasons to get a massage. In fact, most people don’t require much of a reason. Massages feel good. They’re relaxing. Reason enough. But think about it: the nice feelings associated with massage have to come from somewhere, and they aren’t magically projected through the massage therapist’s fingertips. Actually, they come from inside us, as the body responds to the manipulation of its tissues. Nerves get excited, chemicals come pouring out of the brain, and we get to find out what general well-being feels like. And that’s nice, but the really great news is that the same physiological changes that make us feel blissed-out during and after a massage can also be powerful tools for promoting overall health and treating the symptoms of certain disorders.
The history of massage in America is very short compared to the thousands of years it’s been a part of medical practices around the world, but our doctors are gradually catching on. Many now recommend massage for its ability to work in tandem with conventional Western medicine against an assortment of physical and mental disorders.
Benefits of Massage
Pain relief is probably the most common motivation for getting a massage. Massage therapy is a no-brainer remedy for sore, stressed-out muscles or a tense, knotted-up back. But what many people don’t know is that massage can soothe more than just muscle and back pain. That’s because massage works partly by stimulating nerves, which notify the brain that it should step up its production of endorphins and other chemicals that function as natural painkillers. These chemicals flood the entire body, relieving pain not just in the area being massaged but almost everywhere. So, massage can also be used to relieve headaches (even migraines), fibromyalgia, post-surgical pain, menstrual cramps, and labor pain.
Another well-known use for massage therapy is stress reduction. It seems obvious that lying in a quiet, dimly lit room with your eyes closed while someone rubs the tension out of your muscles with sweet-smelling oil would be relaxing, but massage works on a deeper level than that. Humans are social animals, and being gently touched by another person, even one you don’t have or want a personal relationship with, is naturally comforting. Plus, the chemicals the brain produces when nerves are stimulated by massage do more than just relieve pain; they also create a sense of mental well-being that can last long after the massage is over. In fact, the increased levels of serotonin that follow a massage can improve sleep quality and help alleviate insomnia, which is associated with low levels of serotonin. Anxiety and depression have also been linked to insufficient serotonin, so massage is capable of regulating our moods in powerful ways.
Massage also lowers blood pressure, at least in the short term. Studies have consistently shown that massage prompts an immediate reduction in blood pressure, but it’s less certain whether regular massage therapy is effective as a long–term supplementary treatment for hypertension. Given that massage has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, both of which can raise blood pressure, it doesn’t come as a surprise that massage could indirectly affect blood pressure levels. But massage may have a more direct impact on blood pressure as well. Scientists have learned that massage stimulates the vagus nerve, which performs many functions in the body, including the regulation of heart rate and blood pressure.
Because massage seems to boost the immune system, getting regular massages is one way to maintain day-to-day health. Studies have revealed that massage therapy increases the number of natural killer cells in the blood. Since natural killer cells are central to the body’s ability to destroy cells that are cancerous or infected with viruses, it’s the more killers the merrier when we’re trying to fend off or recover from almost any disease—from the common cold to breast cancer. Massage is even being investigated as a way to strengthen the immune systems of people living with HIV, and so far it looks like a promising way to help them fight infection and live longer, healthier lives.
Increasingly, massage is finding its way into treatment programs for recovering addicts. Massage is uniquely suited to reducing the symptoms of withdrawal because of the way it impacts brain chemistry. At the same time that it boosts levels of dopamine, which is associated with pleasure and largely responsible for the high produced by many addictive drugs, massage suppresses the release of cortisol, a hormone linked to stress. This means that a massage can simultaneously reduce the anxiety of withdrawal and reward the brain with a dopamine rush from a healthy stimulus. Clinical reports suggest that therapeutic massage can help patients overcome addictions to everything from nicotine to heroin.
Infant Massage
The practice of baby massage has been gaining popularity in recent years, and clinical studies—mostly with premature babies—have confirmed its medical validity. The clearest scientific evidence shows that infant massage promotes weight gain and increases immunity, but anecdotal evidence suggests that it can do much more. The list of benefits reported by parents who regularly massage their babies features a number of things that adults often experience when they get massages, including improved mood, sounder sleep, and a decrease in digestive problems like gas. Because parents usually perform infant massage themselves, the opportunity for bonding is another good reason to try baby massage. Of course, it’s a good idea to take a class in infant massage first, to learn the proper technique and minimize the risk of injury.
Amber Luck
Things to Consider
Safety is one of massage therapy’s greatest assets. Adverse effects are very rare and usually limited to minor things like bruises, but if a massage is done seriously wrong, side effects can be as severe as nerve damage or internal bleeding. Some people are at higher risk for injury during a massage because of pre-existing conditions that render the body ill-equipped to absorb the physical pressure involved. That’s why anyone with deep vein thrombosis, a bleeding disorder, osteoporosis, or even just a fever should probably steer clear of massage therapy.
I could also recommend that you only receive massages from licensed massage therapists, but since my (completely untrained) fiancé usually acts as my masseur, that would make me a hypocrite. There is this, though: while an amateur massage is unlikely to hurt you and will provide some of the same benefits as a professional one, a trained massage therapist can almost certainly give a more effective massage.
Products for Massage
Massage oil or massage cream is often used to reduce friction between the massage therapist’s hands and the skin being massaged, to facilitate a smoother, more controlled massage. Massage oil can serve double duty if it has an aromatherapeutic scent or contains an exfoliant to slough away dead skin.
Aromatherapy is the use of essential plant oils to treat infection or—more commonly—to produce a desired psychological effect, especially relaxation or invigoration. If essential oils are used during a massage, they’re usually found in the massage oil or in a candle burning nearby. The most common aromatherapy oils for massage include lavender, eucalyptus, and mint.
Massage stones are smooth rocks of basalt that can be heated in hot water, then positioned at specific energy points on the body or held by the masseuse during a massage. The idea is that the heat of the stones relaxes the muscles more quickly and deeply than massage alone. A variation on stone massage involves cooling the stones to relieve inflamed muscles.
Electronic massagers are primarily for do-it-yourselfers. They typically either vibrate or move in ways meant to simulate a massage therapist’s hands. Electronic massagers are available in numerous forms, ranging from simple hand-held devices to shiatsu pads that can be attached to a chair or the seat of a car.