Beneficial Effects of Massage

With exams at the academy next week for professional massage, students are revising hard and getting in as much massage practice as they can. One of the most common questions I am asked by students and the general public concerns the benefits of massage beyond the obvious improvements to circulation and lymph drainage and relaxation. The following answer to a recent question via my website covers the subject in more detail.

My friend tells me that after a massage she feels like the weight of the world has lifted from her shoulders and she feels much healthier physically, as well as mentally. In fact she says she feels empowered to sort things out that she had been avoiding. She also reports that her headaches are much reduced in severity for at least two weeks afterwards. Is she imagining it or is there a scientific basis for her results?

No, she is not imagining it, there are real physical and mental benefits. To touch a person in pain whether physical or psychological is a powerful, primitive healing instinct. There are definite psychological benefits in overcoming our conditioned inhibitions to offer or receive touch. The tactile actions of massage stimulate the cardiovascular system, assisting it to transport oxygen and nutrients around the body. This eliminates toxins and waste products. Massage strokes can help to breakdown waste products trapped in muscles and joints, therefore reducing stiffness which improves flexibility.

The friction of hands on the skin, which is the largest organ of the body, directly affects the nervous system. Depending on the strokes used and the needs of the client, massage can either stimulate or soothe the nervous system. Some massage professionals subscribe to the “Pain Gate Theory” which considers that massage blocks the nerve impulses which cause pain. At the same time the massage stimulates the production of endorphins which help to increasing feelings of well-being and contentedness. Localised massage can assist in reducing the occurrence and pain levels associated with problems such as migraine and headache.

An American report from The Pain Evaluation and Treatment Centre in Pittsburgh in 1994, published evidence supporting this theory said: “77% of patients treated with massage for headaches experienced a lower frequency of headaches and were able to reduce their pain relieving medication significantly.” It is notable, however, that they found that the benefits reduced when regular massages were discontinued. Another American Journal, Psychotherapy, whilst reporting similar results, found that major issues in psychotherapy where patients suffered from chronic headache problems were “the superego & excessive expectations” and “inappropriate guilt, shame or disappointment”. Close, confidential and neutral contact with an outsider, such as a masseuse, can facilitate the release of such feelings in one of two ways. Either by verbal means (talking it through) or the “letting go” of the feelings in the form of releasing tension.

The value of verbalising and letting go of the problem with the support of the therapist should not be underestimated. In the first half of this century Willhelm Reich, a psychiatrist and disciple of Freud, declared that the “release of muscular tension known as Character Armour could heal psychological and emotional problems”. The self indulgence, warmth and pleasure of a massage for most people induces a feeling of calm and well-being. Arguably this has a physical effect in strengthening the immune system. On an emotional level, an effective massage creates “space” in which the mind and body can “switch off” from the hectic and competitive world. This has a powerful mental and physical restorative effect. Most commonly the effects are described as “balancing” with the systems of the body and mind working together to engender a feeling of “well being".

Julie Foster
MD Potions and Possibilities Ltd
http://www.potions.co.uk/
+44 1394 386161

You can order from my range of massage and carrier oils, from the online shop.