Healing Benefits

The healing power of human touch is a positive experience that many people enjoy through therapeutic massage or bodywork. The effects of a good massage go much deeper than the skin’s surface. Massage can:

• Help improve circulation of the blood and lower blood pressure.
• Act as a detoxification system by propelling toxic waste products through the lymphatic system.
• Help to improve muscle tone and prevent muscular atrophy resulting from inactivity or illness.
• Reduce emotional stress and promote a sense of well-being.

How can something as simple as this hands-on therapy have so many positive benefits? A tense or painful muscle is one which is often chronically contracted. In an acute situation such as recent injury, the muscle can be in actual spasm. This contraction or spasm decreases the flow of blood to the muscle, which leads to a decrease in the nutrient and oxygen supply to the cells of the muscle and related nerves. A chronically contracted muscle will build up lactic acid, a sign of fatigue. This oxygen shortage and lactic acid buildup irritates the nerve cells, which perpetuates the contracted muscles. Massage can help remove the lactic acid and other metabolic waste products from the cells and reverse this process, interrupting the vicious cycle of pain-spasm-pain.

There are a multitude of massage styles which are beneficial, depending upon the individual’s needs and preferences. There are many different types of massage offered at Longboat Massage, each with its own healing attributes and benefits.