You can agree that unexpected life changes, such as a divorce, losing a loved one, getting married, early retirement, or a new job, can be stressful. The same also goes for financial problems, unemployment, pressure at the workplace, family challenges, health issues, or just too much negative energy, especially from social media and friends.
Since such moments are almost unavoidable, the best we can do is manage the stress levels, and one way to do this is through massage therapy. Regular massage therapy treatments can help lower your stress levels, especially when done by a certified professional. Below are the top benefits of regular massage therapy for stress management:
1. Muscle Relaxation
The lack of repetitive body motion, perhaps from prolonged sitting, little to no physical activity, or too much bed rest, could cause your muscles to stiffen up, which could stress you physically and emotionally. However, the gentle manipulation that comes with regular massage therapy treatments can help bring about relaxation effects.
Massage therapy manipulates tensed muscles to improve flexibility, motion, and elasticity, which means little discomfort. Techniques like deep tissue massage, trigger-pointing, and heat stone massage have proven over the years to be effective in countering discomfort, improving muscle relief, and enhancing post-workout recovery.
2. Improved Circulation
Regular massage therapy enhances blood circulation. Blood rich in oxygen delivers oxygen and nourishing elements into the cells of the tensed muscles, minimizing effects like pain, body fatigue, and stress-related weakness.
Massage therapy improves blood circulation, keeping blood pressure and heart rate in check. Once you learn to visit San Diego massage providers regularly, you won’t have to worry about high blood pressure or elevated pulse.
3. Stress Hormone Suppression
Mental stress happens when the stress hormone (otherwise known as cortisol) is secreted. During stressful moments, the brain’s hypothalamus stimulates and forces the kidney’s adrenal glands to release cortisol. Once that happens, cortisol circulates in the blood to assert its adverse effects, including pain, muscle tension, and depressing feelings.
Massage therapy, however, helps suppress the release of cortisol and counter its effects on the body. Instead of releasing cortisol, the body releases the feel-good hormones discussed next. Ultimately, you feel calm and cheerful instead of feeling anxious and overworked.
4. Feel-Good Hormone Release
Regular massage therapy treatments can help with not only suppressing the stress hormone cortisol but also boosting the release of mood-enhancing hormones or neurotransmitters like endorphin, dopamine, and serotonin. These hormones just make you feel good.
Endorphin, for example, has anti-anxiety effects, while serotonin prevents feelings of depression. On the other hand, dopamine gets you motivated and more assured. Ultimately, these hormones elevate your mood and make you happy even when things aren’t 100% okay.
5. Better Sleep Quality
Stress can deprive you of quality sleep. It’s generally challenging to try and catch sleep when you’ve troubled thoughts, your heart is racing, or you are struggling with body pains. Instead of taking sleeping pills, which may have severe health implications, go for massage therapy.
Regular massage therapy improves blood circulation, which relaxes your heart rate, muscle relaxation, which brings about physical and mental calmness, and anti-stress hormone secretion, which culminates in better sleep quality.
Types of Anti-Stress Massage Therapy Treatments
Different massage therapy techniques suit different types of stress alleviation needs. Here are the most common ones:
a) Deep Tissue Massage
The deep tissue massage technique relieves the deep-lying layers of the body’s soft tissue from stress. This technique stretches the muscle fibers, skillfully loosens, and relaxes to relieve physical pain. As a result, the method is best for managing severe injuries, chronic pain, and vast discomfort.
b) Swedish Massage
Swedish massage involves long strokes on the muscles and circular motions, bringing about profound relaxation effects. By manipulating the tensed muscles, physical and mental stress is reduced. This technique suits those seeking a gentle but effective de-stress and relaxation solution.
c) Aromatherapy Massage
Most San Diego massage providers offer aromatherapy massage as one of their top-recommended massage therapies, and the reason for this is apparent. Aromatherapy massage, which involves gentle messaging of the body with essential oils, effectively calms the nerves and uplifts the mood.
d) Lymphatic Drainage
Sometimes, following an injury, muscle overuse, or surgical procedure, metabolic waste builds up around the lymphatic vessels, leading to muscle fatigue, weaknesses, and swelling, which can be physically and mentally stressful. Lymphatic drainage involves gentle tissue manipulation to drain the metabolic waste from the lymphatic vessels to improve circulation and muscle relaxation.
e) Trigger Pointing
Trigger-pointing targets trigger points (points on your body where stress builds up in the form of muscular knots). The effects of trigger points include headache and muscle ache. In trigger pointing, firm pressure is applied by the thumb and fingers to the muscle knots to loosen them and improve blood flow, which brings about relaxation.
Other Massage Therapy Techniques for Stress Relief
Other effective stress management massage therapies include Thai Massage, Reflexology, and Hot Stone Massage. Thai Massage involves yoga-like stretches and pulls that improve blood circulation, body motions, and flexibility.
Meanwhile, Reflexology focuses on massaging the feet to relieve tension and improve reflexes. Conversely, Hot Stone Massage involves placing hot stones onto the stressed muscles and body parts to relieve them from pain and tension.
Book Your Massage Therapy Treatment Appointment with Beauty Kliniek!
We at Beauty Kliniek are all about offering the finest beauty and spa services. We offer the best massage service San Diego, where you can enjoy different relaxation massage therapies to calm your nerves, relax your tensed muscles, and improve your general well-being.
Our team of massage experts understands what massage therapy suits your stress management needs, and we tailor the program to match it. We are committed to helping you achieve your stress management goal, which we believe is possible with professional massage therapy.