Massage has been proven to offer stress relief and aid relaxation. It reduces tension in muscles and provides physical and psychological help with tension and anxiety. The effects can be felt immediately. Just a single 60-minute massage can provide a host of benefits to the body and mind.
What Is Stress
Saying we feel stressed, tense or anxious are common terms that people use, but what do they actually mean and what are their causes?
Well they are basically all ways to describe things that cause a fight-or-flight response in people, but fighting or running usually aren’t suitable for daily life. So we just have to keep it to ourselves when we get stuck in traffic or deal with difficult people at work. But the body still releases hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to send blood to our muscles and increase heart rate. If the source or the stress or anxiety is brief and infrequent this isn’t really a problem. For example, if you’re driving and have to slam on the brakes you might just feel your heart beat in your chest a little harder. But in a few minutes the feeling passes and your body returns to normal.
If the stress is a regular occurence however, it can have damaging effects upon the body. Instead of fighting we hold tension in the muscles of the shoulders, neck and jaw. Instead of fleeing we hold it in the muscles of our legs and lower back. Over time, tense and shortened muscles become the natural posture, holding on to the emotions that caused it in the first place.
How Massage Helps With Stress Relief And Relaxation
Stress relief comes when the muscles are allowed to relax, releasing the tension and anxiety that could have been held there for months. It has been proven that massage can provide stress relief and bring relaxation(1).
But stress and anxiety doesn’t just affect the muscles. The fight or flight response can also keep your internal organs in a chronic state of heightened alert. This can cause high blood pressure, problems with the gut such as ulcers or worsening of IBS symptoms. Also, an area of the brain called the Amygdala, which is linked to the fear response, can become chronically overactive. This is due to stress which can in turn lead to conditions such as anxiety, depression and insomnia.
A good massage therapist can improve blood flow and lymphatic drainage, which in turn helps boost the immune system.
What Type Of Massage For Stress Relief And Relaxation
A Swedish massage is most commonly used for stress relief and relaxation, usually involving the whole body. Though this is up to you. Each area receives specific attention as the massage progresses. Long effleurage strokes warm up muscles, improve blood flow and relax areas of tension. If problem areas are found, such as in the neck or shoulders, slightly deeper petrissage massage can be used. But again this is up to you. The goal is stress relief and relaxation rather than fixing chronic aches and pains. But this is often a beneficial side effect of the treatment.
Many people prefer a deep tissue massage though this is usually restricted to certain areas rather than the whole body. It can be especially useful if you know in which muscles you typically store your tension. Concentrating the work on relaxing just these problem parts can provide you with serious stress relief. Your lower back and glutes are common places where stress can cause problems that deep tissue massage treats effectively.
So it could be that your aches and pains aren’t a sign that you are getting old, they are a sign you are stressed and need a massage!
Book A Mobile Massage
If you would like to book a mobile massage in York please contact me on 07713 250352 or email david@massageinyork.co.uk. Includes sports massage, deep tissue massage and Swedish massage. For more information on booking click here
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