Proactively caring for your health with massage therapy may help reduce costly doctor visits and use of prescription and over-the-counter medications. Those with already existing health conditions can continue to reap benefits in the following ways:
- Abdominal Surgery: After massage is introduced, patients of abdominal surgery recover more quickly.
- Alzheimer’s: Customized massage around the neck and shoulders has reduced pacing, irritability, and restlessness in patients of Alzheimer’s.
- Arthritis: Massage is beneficial in reducing symptoms associated with arthritis.
- Asthma: Massage is beneficial in reducing symptoms associated with asthma.
- Back Pain: Deep-tissue massage is effective in treating back pain.
- Burns: Massage is beneficial in reducing symptoms associated with burns, including a decrease in itching.
- Carpal Tunnel: Massage reduces symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Fibromyalgia: Deep-tissue massage is effective on fibromyalgia.
Firbo patients receiving massage also have less pain, depression, anxiety, stiffness, fatigue, and sleep problems.
- High Blood Pressure: Massage is beneficial in reducing symptoms of high blood pressure and premenstrual syndrome.
- Labor Pain: Massage during labor appears to reduce stress and anxiety, relaxes muscles and helps block pain.
Some medical professionals believe massage also reduces tearing, shortens labor, reduces the need for medication and shortens hospital stays.
- Oncology: After massage therapy is introduced, oncology patients show less pain, fatigue, nausea, anxiety and depression.
- Osteoarthritis: Deep-tissue massage is effective in treating osteoarthritis.
- PMS: Massage is beneficial in reducing symptoms associated with premenstrual syndrome.
- Postsurgical Pain: Massage therapy is effective in reducing postsurgical pain.
- Premature Babies: Those babies receiving massage therapy gain more weight and have shorter hospital stays than other premature babies.
- Soreness: Massage can reduce sports-related soreness and improve circulation–good to know when you may be exercising more to reduce stress.
- Strokes: With massage therapy, stroke patients show less anxiety and lower blood pressure.
(Source: American Massage Therapy Association)
