Do you like to lead a healthy lifestyle and invest in your well-being? A professional massage is the ideal complement to pamper yourself and to round off all your efforts of the week.
Do you like to lead a healthy lifestyle and invest in your well-being? A professional massage is the ideal complement to pamper you and to close with a golden clasp all your efforts of the week, the fortnight or the month. Today we will reveal the main benefits of integrating professional massage therapy into your lifestyle, but first we will explain exactly what it is and how it differs from those pleasant massages you give yourself or your partner at home.
What exactly is massage or massotherapy?
Did you know that people from almost every culture give and receive massages from each other? Massage consists of manipulating, through different techniques of pressure and friction, the skin, muscles, tendons and in general the superficial tissue of the body.
And why exactly do we do it? Because not only does it feel great in the moment, but it has many proven benefits for physical and mental health.
Differences between self-massage and professional massage
Also the self-massage or massage that your partner can give you is very beneficial and relaxing! The difference with a professional massage would be the same as, for example, between a delicious home meal and the food in your favourite restaurant. You like both, but in the restaurant it is prepared by a chef who is dedicated exclusively to that and is able to exploit the flavours and taste of the food to the full.
Similarly, a professional masseur is someone who has specialized training and whose technique is focused on maximizing the therapeutic benefits of each session, working each muscle group properly and reaching deeper layers of tissue. In addition, he or she has the necessary knowledge to protect your health at all times and avoid any type of injury.
Benefits of professional massage
There are countless types of massage, but regardless of their particular applications, they all share a number of general benefits that we list below:
1.- Decreases stress
Stress, with our modern lifestyle, is virtually impossible to avoid. It is unpleasant enough in itself, but when it builds up and we don't release it, it can become the trigger for a host of problems, such as digestive disorders, contractures, migraine, insomnia, and even depression.
How is it that massages help to reduce stress? It turns out that the repetitive stimulation of muscle groups helps us to focus on the pleasant sensations of the here and now, and that decreases cortisol levels because it promotes physiological mechanisms that are its direct antagonists.
And we don't say it, it's a fact supported by controlled studies, like this one.
2.- Strengthens the immune system
This is another benefit of massage that is directly related to stress reduction. When we are stressed, our body is concentrating all its energies on responding quickly and immediately to the demands or dangers of the environment. If the stress is sustained, the immune system has no time or resources to fight infection and heal the body.
The massage, especially the one that works the whole body, takes us to a state of relaxation that is ideal for the immune system to be properly activated again through detoxification and cleansing of the lymph nodes.
3.- Reduces inflammation and stimulates tissue healing
A professional massage, among other things, relaxes muscles, promotes tendon and ligament flexibility and improves circulation, which is a key factor in allowing tissues to oxygenate and regenerate properly, especially after an injury.
For this reason, massage therapy is an auxiliary treatment that is often recommended to speed up recovery from post-operative periods, however, it is very important to consider that in these cases it should always be an expert who performs them, because otherwise - due to lack of technique and experience - we could obtain the opposite result.
4.- Combats fluid retention
The work of pressure and mechanical friction on the tissues promotes that the liquids accumulated by inflammation or bad circulation can be adequately mobilized, so the massage, especially lymphatic drainage, is widely used to attack this symptom.
5.- Increases self-esteem and emotional tranquility
It has been proven that during a massage the body secretes serotonin and dopamine, that is, endorphins that promote a state of tranquility and happiness. But on top of that, it turns out that we often forget that, as mammals, physical contact with other members of our species is a fundamental part of mental health. And it doesn't have to be specifically about brotherly or erotic contact; the same physical effects of a hug or getting "lice" can be obtained from a professional massage.
You already want to give yourself a professional massage, don't you? Order in-home massage today with Zen to Go.