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Massage – an ancient therapy

Posted: October 30th 2008 By editor1       under: Beauty, Hair and Skin Care    Tags: , , , ,

Overview

Massage is a “hands-on” technique in which skin, soft tissues and skeletal muscles of the body are influenced to improve health and well-being. Varieties of massage range from gentle stroking and kneading of muscles and other soft tissues to deeper manual techniques. Massage has been practiced as a healing therapy for centuries in nearly every culture around the world. It provides relieve to stressed muscle, reduce strain, and evoke feelings of calmness. Although massage affects the body as a whole, it particularly influences the activity of the skeletal muscle, circulatory, lymphatic, and nervous systems.

The use of massage for therapeutic purposes has presented 4,000 years ago in Chinese medical literature and continues to be an important aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine. With the passage of time, development has made in the field of massage and new forms of massage such as Swedish massage, massage London, Tantric massage etc, have been introduced. Now, a significant number of doctors are practicing this manual technique.

Massage magic

When a practitioner massages soft tissue, electrical signals are transmitted both to the local area and throughout the body. These stimulate circulation, help heal damaged muscle, clear waste products via the lymphatic system, boost the activity of the immune system, reduce pain and tension, and induce a calming effect. They may also enhance a general sense of well-being by stimulating the release of endorphins (natural pain-killers and mood elevators) and reducing levels of certain stress hormones.

Caution

In most cases, massage is considered relatively safe without any risk factor involved. Mild pain or other negligible side effects are generally caused by an extremely vigorous massage technique.

During pregnancy, women should receive massage with caution. If you are pregnant, be sure to find a therapist specifically trained to perform massages on pregnant women.

Even though massage is a useful technique to help regulate blood sugar over time, if you have diabetes you should check your blood sugar after a massage session because it may be too low just following a treatment. Plus, if you have diabetes and you are receiving massage on a regular basis, you should check your blood sugar frequently to evaluate for any changes over time.

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