Via Massage – Massage Therapy in Gainesville
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Massage Therapy – A Long History of Healing

Ancient Greek massage therapists

The history of massage dates way back thousands of years. It was first carried out many years before the birth of Christ by the ancient Egyptians and Chinese. The first massage books to be recorded in English were published in 1949. But for thousands of years prior various cultures resorted to this therapy as the main focus of their healing arts. For instance, the Hindus employed healing touch as an integral part of Ayurvedic medicine. This was regarded as the basis of holistic medicine. It was a combination of relaxation, meditation, and aromatherapy. The practice was common back in 1500 and 500BCE, although it is believed to have originated among the Hindu community around 3000BCE or earlier. The Egyptians, in 2500BCE, show that massage was also part of their practice in medicine. Their culture also pioneered the practice of reflexology, a tradition that continues to be practiced to this day and which has enjoyed a resurgence i popularity in recent years.

What Are The Benefits of Massage?

• Helps with “vicious cycle” issues. For example sometimes, headaches may arise due to clenching of the jaw. In cases like these, massage can be very helpful in relaxing the jaw muscles. This reduces the tendency to clench thus alleviating the associated headache.
• Tones the skin. The tension of the organ and adjoining muscles is reduced, leading to a toned and healthy skin. Increased circulation associated with remedial massage encourages cell regeneration, nutrients supply, as well as toxins elimination. A massage also encourages sebum production, which improves skin suppleness and increases moisture. This results in a soft, radiant skin.
• Boosts immunity. Massage improves the flow of lymphatic fluid, which results in a boost in the functioning of the immune system. Stress hormones also decrease in the body, leading to the efficient functioning of a person’s immunity.
• Improves concentration. Massage boosts body relaxation, mental clarity, and heightens alertness.
• Helps correct certain body problems. Injury, postural, and joint issues are assessed and treated during a remedial massage. Also, this form of healing stimulates blood supply, assisting in the elimination of toxins from the muscles. This helps reduce pain and provides a sense of general wellbeing.
• Posture improvement. Too often the body experiences muscle tension, especially in the lower back, neck, and shoulders. Tension in these areas can greatly affect your posture. Adding massage to your treatment regiment helps lengthen both your body and muscles to ensure that you achieve a balance in postural alignment, which improves your posture.
• Reduces stress. Massages are relaxing! Stress and anxiety treatment programs often recommend this massage mainly because of this reason.
• Increased joint mobility. Massage can ease muscle tension and pain. It also allows increased blood flow which alleviates pain and soreness. Also, it helps greatly with toxin elimination and the oxygenation of cells. When muscle movements are no longer hindered by joint stiffness, mobility is increased. Once stiffness is reduced, the joints, supported by the muscle, can move with greater ease.
• Other health disorders. Some studies have shown that massage can be greatly helpful with other health disorders such as arthritis, insomnia, headaches, high blood pressure chronic pain, constipation and others.

What Conditions Does Massage Help With?

While massage therapy is mostly known for assisting in stress reduction, there are other numerous conditions can be treated. Some of these include:

Massage Applied to Achy Hands

• Arthritis Arthritis is a medical condition where patients experience inflammation and stiffness in their joints. Eventually, patients can experience a loss of flexibility. Massage helps to relieve inflammation by promoting blood circulation; it helps to remove toxins that are building up in the blood. Also, it can allow the patient to regain a wide range of motion by reducing stiffness. Thus, it supports other therapeutic interventions that may be put in place by doctors.
• Headaches Headaches are one of the most common conditions that people experience. From chronic migraines to regular headaches, you can find relief by getting the right massage therapy. Our job as massage professionals is to target strained muscles and the impingement nerves. This helps to relax the tension on the upper back, neck, and scalp helping relive your headache.
• Tendon and Muscle Injuries Tendon and muscle injuries are quite common for athletes and those who work out on a regular basis. Most of these injuries are as a result or extreme twisting and turning and may lead to chronic pain. Deep tissue massage promotes blood flow to the injured areas, allowing healing to occur fast thus assisting in the elimination of pain.
• Pregnancy During pregnancy, the body experiences some very critical changes. Sometimes, a woman suffers extreme pain and injuries due to the expanding uterus. Massage can be very beneficial during the second and third trimesters to help relieve the pain.