Benefits of Swedish Massage

If you haven't had a lot of massage experience I would suggest that you start off with a Swedish massage which works mostly on soft tissue on the body. The strokes are long and the pressure applied will be gauged by a competent therapist, although you can always ask your massage therapist to give you more or less pressure. A good Swedish massage will leave you feeling relaxed, well rested, mentally positive and de-stressed but in addition to this, swedish massage has various medical benefits such as:

Muscle Tension

We have all experienced this condition either for a prolonged period of time or a short while and the causes are varied. Oftentimes we know the reason, for example we've been sitting too long in front of the computer and our shoulder muscles have been held in the same position for a while and they contract, and with the tightness comes pain. Or maybe we have been exercising at the gym, or we have been gardening, or if we are anxious about something our muscles automatically contract because we are going into the flight or fight mode, there are too many scenarios too mention but the result is tight muscles and pain. Swedish massage will work on the soft tissue and straighten the muscle fibres, relieving the pain. For chronic muscle tension a few massage treatments may be required, but you should feel some improvement after one session.

Anxiety

Is this a 21st Century problem? It seems that anxiety and panic attacks are all too common these days. Our body and mind are connected and what affects one will affect the other so massage is the perfect tool to relieve anxiety because by relaxing our physical body we produce anti stress hormones (dopamine and seratonin) which reduce our anxiety. Cortisol is a stress hormone which does not reduce as we get older, in fact it increases, ages us, and suppresses our immune system, so it is important that we try to stay as relaxed as possible, in all situations. Massage is a tremendous aid for this.

Reduces cellulite

Although cellulite is not a life threatening condition it is still a very real problem for many people, especiall in the summer when we tend to uncover our legs! Massage will help, although more than one treatment will be needed, because the manipulation will help to break down the fatty deposits, and the body will naturally dispose of it through the lymphatic system, which incidentally is also stimulated through massage so it's a win win result.

Insomnia

This is a condition which affects, to a varying degree, 1 in 3 people in the UK. Worry and stress are contributing factors, as well as pain,

or respiratory conditions, all of which can be helped by massage. Many clients become so relaxed during massage that they fall into a peaceful sleep on the massage table, and non-insomniacs also report a better quality of sleep after a massage.

These are just some of the benefits of massage and if you were taking a seperate pill for all of the conditions then you would taking a lot of pills!