Making time for self-care can feel like a selfish act, especially when people in your life might rely on you to give them your full attention, such as your family and employers. However, taking time for yourself can be important to continue serving others. As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup.
Massage therapy can be an excellent way to rejuvenate the mind, body, and soul, and it’s a service many chiropractic clinics provide. If you’re unsure if massage therapy is right for you, you might like to consider it for some of the following reasons.
Lower Your Stress Levels
If you see massage therapy listed among the chiropractic services at your local clinic, consider requesting it if your stress levels are elevated. Stress can take a physical and mental toll on your body, and massage therapy might relieve that stress and possibly even associated symptoms, such as tension headaches.
Before booking a session, it helps to check in with how stress is actually showing up for you. Common signs include tight shoulders or a stiff neck, trouble sleeping, jaw clenching, fatigue, or a racing mind that makes it hard to focus. If you’re unsure whether what you’re feeling is stress-related or something else, sites that let you check your symptoms online can be a useful first step before deciding whether a massage, a doctor’s visit, or both make sense. Left unaddressed, chronic stress can affect more than just your mood; it can contribute to muscle tension, digestive issues, elevated blood pressure, and a weakened immune response over time.
According to the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), some people can experience a drop in their heart rate, blood pressure, and salivary cortisol levels after a 10 to 15-minute chair massage. As a result, massage has been shown as a means to possibly reduce stress physically and psychologically.
Manage Pain
While many people visit spas for massage therapy to relax, it might also be how you relieve pain and discomfort associated with an accident, injury, or illness. According to a 2014 study published in the Annals of Family Medicine, one hour-long therapeutic massage two or three times weekly for one month relieved chronic neck pain better than no massages, fewer of them, or shorter massages.
You might find that therapeutic massage relaxes your painful muscles, joints, and tendons. It might also stimulate competing nerve fibres, impacting the pain messages to and from the brain. As massage therapy can involve various degrees of pressure, you can choose light, firm, or hard to suit your unique needs.
Boost Your Immunity
Some people are continually battling illnesses. If someone in their family catches a virus, they can’t help but come down with it. While massage therapy might not be able to prevent all illnesses, research suggests it might boost the strength of your immune system, potentially improving your body’s virus-fighting abilities.
One study found that twice-weekly massages led to immune system changes, increasing proinflammatory and TH-1 cytokine production. However, more well-controlled studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Improve Your Physical Fitness
If you love physical activities like running and cycling, you’ve undoubtedly already seen the value in attending chiropractic appointments to increase blood circulation and accelerate healing. However, massage therapy might also be another service you consider to improve your physical fitness. The AMTA states that sports massage can potentially speed up recovery, improve conditioning, enhance athletic performance, and maintain peak performance.
The AMTA also noted that exercise and athletic participation massage might reduce muscle tension, promote relaxation, decrease delayed onset muscle soreness, and prevent injuries if received regularly.
Massage therapy can be about more than taking time for yourself and relaxing. You might also enjoy it for its potential to help with your physical fitness, boost your immunity, manage pain, and alleviate stress.
