How Massage For Stress Can Help You

By Adriana Noton

A massage for stress-relieve, even if administered by yourself will go great lengths to alleviating stress, which is the number one cause of stiff and sore neck muscles, painful shoulders and backache. Stress is the leading cause of palpitations, hyperventilation, increased blood pressure and various types of headaches. The Hellerwork massage is often used as a preventative massage for stress.

Over more than 120 years, massage for stress has been proven to aid mind, soul and body by creating a peaceful and calm sense of well-being and relieving the tension that builds up daily.

Anxiety and hyperventilation are reduced with massage. White blood cells increase and therefore show an enhanced immune system. Cancer patients benefit from therapeutic massage which reduces anxiety and pain, as was found by the James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute.

The University of South Carolina found that therapeutic massage helped women who experienced the loss of a child were not as depressed. Massage also helps to improve weight gain in infants that are HIV-exposed and is also beneficial to the recovery of abdominal surgery patients.

Massage for stress is very beneficial. Blood pressure is often decreased and the heart rate is decreased in those suffering from hypertension. It also helps to alleviate migraines and aids improved alertness and performance.

A massage cannot build the strength of muscles, but it can revive muscles left dormant as a result of no exercise, which is often the case after illness or injury. All sportsmen swear by a weekly sports massage.

Research on autistic children proved that massages helped them behave less erratically. Premature babies benefited from massage and gained weight more quickly. Burn patients experienced less pain, itching, tension and anxiety when they were massaged.

Office workers who received massage for stress reported better performance, less stress and higher alertness. Doctors report that stress is the cause of up to 90% of ailments that bring people into the physician's office. People miss the old school tough of a caring doctor or nurse.

The physical benefits of a good therapeutic massage include: stress relieve, muscle relaxation, healing of injured muscles, flexibility of joints, easier and deeper breathing, improved posture, reduced eye-strain and reduced blood pressure.

Benefits of massage for stress include many mental benefits such as increased body-mind awareness, mental alertness and peace of mind.

Giving yourself a massage twice a week will work wonders to help release tension. Invest in a foot spa or soak both feet in a hot tub, infused with a drop of peppermint oil which boasts anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties and aids circulation. Relax by thinking happy thoughts and breathing slowly and deeply. After twenty minutes, use a soft warm towel to pat the feet dry gently. Start your massage by gently squeezing the calf muscles to relieve muscle tension. Rotating the ankles five times in both directions will ease joint stiffness. Stroke the anklebones softly and use a press and release motions on the soles of the feet and on the thumb pads to help relaxation and circulation.

Therapeutic massage is a must for those who have suffered illnesses and injury and massage for stress is essential for everyone. - 32513

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