Massage Tulsa is the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body to relieve stress and pain. It also helps to maintain healthy muscles.
Massage should be done slowly and with care to avoid overworking the muscles. The person receiving the massage should drink plenty of water afterward to flush toxins from their system.
Research has shown that massage lowers heart rate and increases relaxation, decreasing overall stress levels. This is probably due to the stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system and the release of feel good hormones such as endorphins and serotonin. When you are more relaxed, your body is better able to handle physical and emotional challenges.
Massage has also been shown to increase the levels of these neurotransmitters in people who are depressed and prone to anxiety. In addition, a study in the journal “Psychophysiology” showed that massage decreases cortisol levels and boosts positive emotions such as happiness, calmness and self-worth.
Adding therapeutic massage to your health routine will not only make you feel great now, but it will help you stay healthy far into the future. Stress causes many physical problems including high blood pressure, headaches, insomnia, gastrointestinal disorders and chronic fatigue. Regular massage can significantly reduce these symptoms and prevent them from recurring.
Stress can affect all areas of your life and is an important factor in both emotional and physical well-being. The fight-or-flight response that occurs when you are stressed can cause a variety of issues including high blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias, gastrointestinal upset and autoimmune diseases. In addition, prolonged stress can result in erectile dysfunction in men, and increased risk of miscarriage and low birth weight in women.
A study in the journal “Psychophysiology” found that a simple, non-sophisticated, back-stroking massage significantly increased HRV (relaxation responses), which helps to manage and alleviate stress. The results from this experiment were comparable to those obtained from more intensive, professional massage techniques.
Even a light touch to the skin can activate the parasympathetic nervous system and cause the body to relax, which is why we use aromatherapy during your session to encourage the relaxation of the mind and body. The scents that are released from the oils can help to further increase your feelings of well-being and relaxation, further reducing your stress levels. This is why massage is widely used to promote relaxation and relieve stress. It is the perfect way to pamper yourself and get your body and mind back on track!
Relieves Pain
The physical touch and pressure involved in massage stimulate the release of several important feel-good hormones, including dopamine and oxytocin. These hormones send a message to the brain that inhibits pain signals and helps to reduce inflammation. They also help to increase blood flow, which is essential for healing and keeping your muscles nourished.
Many people with chronic health conditions or injuries develop tense muscles. This is due to increased stress, comorbid health conditions, decreased activity levels, and deconditioning of the muscles. The tense muscles can cause increased pain and slow down the healing process. Massage therapy breaks down the pain cycle by releasing endorphins and increasing circulation, as well as helping the muscles relax and move freely again.
When the muscles are tense they block blood flow, which causes the tissue to become inflamed. This inflammation can then lead to the muscle fibers tearing, which is what causes the pain. This pain can then repeat over and over again, creating a vicious cycle. Massage helps break this cycle by increasing circulation, relaxing the muscles, and removing the build up of toxins in the body.
A study comparing a group that received regular massages with a control group found that those who had massage therapy had lower levels of pain. The massage group also reported a higher level of functioning, and better overall quality of life, than the control group.
Another way that massage relieves pain is by interrupting or overwhelming the nerves that signal pain in injured tissues, called nociceptors. The trick is to activate the right kind of nerves to do this – stimulating cutaneous nerves (responsible for skin sensation), proprioceptors (which report the position of joints so that you can balance), and mechanoreceptors, which respond to pressure. Massage is able to do this by gently rubbing and pressing against the tissues.
Massage can also help improve the function of organs, as they share neurological pathways with muscles, bones, and nerves. When the muscles, bones, and nerves are tense, they can inhibit the function of the organs, which in turn can intensify or worsen the pain. Massage improves this dysfunction by reducing the tension in the muscles, bones, and nerves and increasing blood flow to those areas.
Relaxes Muscles
Tight muscles restrict movement and increase stress levels. This can lead to muscle injury during exercise or activity. Massage reduces tightness to improve function and prevent injury.
The mechanical response caused by massage causes muscle tissue to soften, which helps them relax and increase their flexibility. Massage also increases circulation in the area being worked on, which allows fresh oxygen and nutrients to flow into the muscles. This allows the muscles to heal more quickly and prevents lactic acid build up, which can cause muscle soreness and fatigue.
When a muscle is tight, it can lead to poor posture. This can then create muscular imbalances that can pull bones out of alignment and strain other muscles. During massage, the body stretches the muscle fibres both lengthways and transversely, which helps to correct posture and balance the muscles.
Tight muscles often develop knots, which decrease the elasticity of the muscle and increases the feeling of pain and restriction. Massage increases the temperature of the tight muscle, which breaks down the adhesions and restores elasticity. This decreases the feeling of pain and restriction, improving the elasticity of the muscle, and the flexibility of the area around the joint.
Massage stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure, and reduces sweat production. It also reduces the synthesis of inflammatory chemicals that can damage muscles and other tissues.
Muscle manipulation during massage encourages the body to release hormones such as dopamine, which have a calming effect on the nervous system and help the body to relax. This is a natural way to deal with stress and can be beneficial for people who suffer from anxiety or depression, as well as reducing symptoms of PMS such as mood swings and cramps.
A common belief is that massage can break down “trigger points” (knots in the muscle) and scar tissue, but this has not been proven scientifically. Tests have shown that trained therapists cannot reliably locate these spots and that scans are not able to detect them either, so the changes in muscle tension and pain experienced during massage are probably due to a change in nerve signals rather than from breaking down adhesions or scar tissue.
Maintains Healthy Muscles
Many athletes, coaches and health professionals have long held the belief that massage improves muscle recovery. In fact, researchers found that massaging injured muscles after vigorous exercise helps them recover stronger and more quickly than unmassaged muscles. This is because massage creates mechanical pressure that can squeeze inflammation-causing cells out of the tissue, and increase circulation and oxygen supply to the muscles — allowing them to repair themselves more rapidly.
Tight muscles cause pain and limit movement. As the tension in these muscles decreases with massage, the surrounding muscles loosen and the skeletal structure is more balanced. This improves posture and allows the body to resist gravity more efficiently.
The skeletal system also requires good blood flow to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the bones and eliminate waste. If the blood flow to the bone is impeded, the body has to work harder to support the weight of the skeleton which can lead to muscle tightness and joint stiffness. Massage increases the blood flow to the skeletal system which helps the bones move more freely and maintains healthy muscle balance.
One of the reasons it feels so good to have a massage is because it relaxes muscles, tendons and ligaments. This also helps release tight joints and prevents them from locking up or becoming stuck in a fixed position. The elasticity of the muscles and tendons also improves with regular massage which is why so many people benefit from this therapy.
Vigorous exercise can result in tiny tears in muscle fibers, triggering an immune response that repairs the damaged tissue. But intense workouts can often cause a buildup of lactic acid, which can reduce a person’s capacity for consistent physical activity and increase the risk of injury. Massage has been shown to reduce this buildup of lactic acid, increase range of motion and restore strength and flexibility to weakened muscles.
It has also been found that massage can transfer the beneficial adaptations to muscle size and strength in a previously trained limb when it is applied to the contralateral limb following an injury. This is useful in clinical settings where a patient may not have the ability to exercise the injured limb. Researchers speculate that massage enhances this cross-transfer by altering the expression of genes involved in cell signaling and regulating muscle growth.