The Benefits of Muscle Massage

Muscle massage may be just what you need if you’re looking for a way to relieve stress and improve your health. Not only does it relieve tension, but it also helps lower stress hormones and boosts endorphins. Another big perk of massage is that it helps boost muscle recovery after exercise. This is unlike other traditional remedies for sore muscles, which reduce inflammation but can block muscle repair and growth.

Reduces Stress

Massage effectively reduces stress by lowering the heart rate, increasing relaxation and releasing feel-good hormones such as endorphins. This increases the body’s ability to cope with stressful situations and gives you the mental strength to deal with challenges that may arise in your life.

During the massage, an increase in muscle temperature is stimulated by friction against the skin, which encourages improved blood flow to the treatment area. This increases tissue elasticity allowing muscles to stretch fully without restriction or pain.

Tight muscles can cause pain and restricted movement, making normal activities difficult. Getting a massage to help with this issue can reduce the stress of preparing for an event, sport or exercise, as it allows a person to move freely with reduced chances of injury.

Massage can also release knots and adhesions, which form when a build-up of waste products or tension in the muscle causes a small piece to become hardened and irritated. The muscle fibers can realign themselves to their original form and reduce tightness by relieving these knots and adhesions.

Reduces Inflammation

Massage helps to reduce inflammation through both physical and chemical mechanisms. It increases blood flow to muscles, which helps to push out stagnant fluid and remove metabolic wastes that can lead to swelling.

The increased blood flow also allows for increased oxygen and nutrients to be delivered to muscles, which speeds up the recovery process. It also ensures that cellular exchanges occur, which helps to break down waste products and eliminate them from the body.

Research published in the journal Science suggests that a Swedish-style massage can switch on genes that reduce inflammation. It also activates genes that promote the creation of mitochondria, structures that are energy factories in cells.

The research found that a 10-minute massage reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines are chemical messengers that help your immune system regulate things like fever, pain and inflammation. They also control the production of endorphins, which are chemicals that give you a sense of well-being.

Increases Endorphin Levels

The touch of a massage therapist increases the feel-good neurotransmitters endorphins, serotonin and dopamine in your body. These hormones have many benefits, including reducing stress, improving sleep and increasing self-esteem. They also help prevent depression, increase energy, and promote weight loss. In addition, they decrease pain and inflammation and have been known to help ease childbirth.

These effects are due to the release of endorphins, which work to inhibit pain signals from reaching the brain. The pituitary gland and hypothalamus produce the endorphins in your system. Another benefit of massage is that it increases your immune system. This is because your blood circulation improves, and toxins are removed from your body.

Studies have shown that people who receive regular massages are more likely to avoid colds, flu and other health conditions. This is because the pressure applied to your muscles relaxes them and reduces cortisol levels, suppressing your immune system.

Reduces Pain

Massage can help ease pain due to an injury. When an injury occurs, your body sends inflammatory cytokines to your injured tissue to protect it and slow its healing. Symptoms of inflammation include pain, swelling and reduced blood flow to the area.

By increasing blood flow to the affected muscle, massage helps to flush out waste products and move more nutrients to the damaged tissue. Good circulation allows your muscles to heal quickly, avoiding the need for NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and allowing you to get back into the game faster.

The massage also causes an increase in endorphins, serotonin and dopamine levels. These feel-good hormones are circulated through the bloodstream and give you a sense of relaxation, stress reduction, and a boost in mood and motivation.