Massage has the power to influence dopamine and serotonin levels and can increase energy.
Breaking muscle barriers with physical touch.
I believe that human contact, and massage in particular, is critical for optimal human health. We know that infants raised without nurturing physical contact are more likely to grow up with mental, emotional, social, and physical disorders. When you bang your knee or elbow against a wall, the first thing you do is rub it with your hand. Physical touch can break through barriers internal and external, physical and emotional.
I’ve been performing massage for over fourteen years. I have amassed tens of thousands of hours of hands on experience fixing and healing people from all walks of life. My patients/clients range from 8 year olds with leg length discrepancies, Lyme disease, and muscle imbalances to scholarship high school athletes with chronic tendinitis; from housewives and business professionals with nagging back pain to weekend warriors looking to stay viable and improve their performance; from retired bodybuilders who have all but destroyed their bodies, to 80+ year old women with hip issues. All of them helped by a combination of intelligently applied bodywork and correct strength training.
My style of massage therapy emphasizes the therapeutic aspects of deep tissue bodywork over relaxation based massage. The work is uncomfortable, sometimes even painful, but extremely effective at healing and repairing bodies that are malfunctioning. I personally have received over 700 hours of massage, and it’s potency is what inspired me to add this skill-set to my training toolbox. Providing massage services has been the best decision I’ve made. It has helped me to change so many lives through the marriage of massage and strength training.
Reducing pain and increasing sports performance with massage.
Massage as it relates to injuries and pain is effective at removing muscle knots, trigger points, and sprains/strains. Most knee, lower back, upper back, and shoulder pain can be traced back to muscle imbalances and spasms. This is also accurate with regards to tendon pain that won’t seem to resolve, or seems to keeps resurfacing.
Massage can increase sports performance in remarkable and varied ways. It has the ability to remove fascial adhesions and scar tissue. These issues inhibit the percentage of muscle fibers firing at any given moment. Massage offers an immediate and observable increase in speed, strength, and mobility. This directly translates to performance both during training and competition.
Relaxation massage, or massage for general health, exhibits a curative and healing effect. It influences dopamine and serotonin levels and regulation. It also increases blood flow to muscle and organ tissues in the body – including the brain – and a marked energy increase.
Massage therapy for illness.
Lastly, massage therapy is indicated in the coordinated treatment and management of many illnesses. From manual lymphatic drainage for injuries and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia, to increasing limb sensation and tonicity/competency in Transverse Myelitis (TM)/Multiple Sclerosis (MS)patients.
The range and scope of properly applied, intelligent hands on manual therapy simply cannot be overstated. It can and should be a part of every physical program.