Physical Massage Therapy and Stress
Physical Massage Therapy has shown to boost the body's ability to heal, as well as relieve stress. Massage therapy has been employed to treat a variety of conditions. Benefits from Massage therapy vary from relieving stress and anxiety to easing the pain of arthritis, migraine or fibromyalgia (A chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points that occurs in precise, localized areas, particularly in the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips; also may cause sleep disturbances, morning stiffness, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, and other symptoms). People who suffer from chronic pain may also benefit from massage therapy such as those with lower back pain, neck pain and sports injuries. While the benefits appear to be plenty, the expertise of the massage therapist plays a crucial role in the benefits enjoyed by the receiver.
It’s a wonder to think tension or stress could mean serious health trouble, isn’t it? But here is the bitter truth to drive the wonder away: Tension can build up in the muscles, causing a decrease in blood circulation and nutrient delivery to tissues. When stress and tension subsist over a long period of time it silently creeps over to affect many systems of our body leading to heart disorders, memory loss, gastrointestinal disorders and decreasing immune system!! A massage therapist without a certification would probably add to your stress accumulation than relieve you of it. Hence, it becomes a first check, as in all forms of remedies to look for a certified Massage Therapist to perform a physical massage therapy.
Physical massage therapy by its very medium of touch work on muscles, tendons and ligaments to decrease muscular tension, increase removal of metabolic waste and thereby promote nutrient delivery to healing tissues. As the muscles improve in tone, so do the nerves that supply them to the spinal cord and back to the brain. The nerves provide stimulus for movement and feeling and are extremely sensitive and alert to the atmosphere inside and outside the body.
The American Medical Association recommends that massage therapists receive training in a massage therapy institution that has been accredited by the Commission of Massage Therapy Accreditation. It is equally important to make sure that they have this accreditation and are Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCTMB).
A certification in massage therapy ensures that the therapist has expert information on anatomy and physiology, as well as hands on training in specific or various massage techniques. A Massage therapist therefore can diagnose the health and disease and thereby decide upon the befitting technique to be employed to relieve the massage receiver of his problem. This is important because for a massage to work, it needs to be utilizing the correct technique.
