Massage Therapy – Overview
Massage, as a method to relieve pain, has been practiced in many cultures across the world throughout human history. In massage therapy, the soft tissues of the body—such as the muscle, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and skin—are rubbed and kneaded by the massage therapist. The amount of pressure and movement is applied as required by the massage therapist. A part of integrative medicine, massage therapy can be used for many medical conditions. As you will discover at your trusted massage therapist in downtown Toronto, massage therapy benefits both mental and physical well-being, making it an essential part of a good health and wellness routine.
Self-Care Rituals
The stress of daily life can lead to one feeling constantly anxious. Stress impacts our mind and body and leads to the development of serious conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, and asthma. It’s important to have a self-care routine that helps reduce stress, and builds up our body and mind so that we can cope with the challenges of a full day and a busy life. It’s time to discover the power of a personalised health and wellness routine. These would include a series of activities that support you in achieving your best mental and physical health. Your self-care rituals can include activities like exercise, meditation, conversations with friends, and massage therapies. Massage therapy for health plays a key role in self-care rituals. It is not a special luxury or just an enjoyable activity. Massage is a calming part of a health and wellness routine that brings many benefits to body and mind.
Benefits
There are strong benefits of massage therapy. Here’s how it helps…
- Improves immunity
Massage therapy for health plays an important part in preventing sickness and disease. It increases the lymphocytes in the body, protecting us from harmful bacteria and viruses. Through massage therapy, the toxins are also drained from our lymphatic system, allowing it to function properly again. This can provide relief from the symptoms experienced in conditions such as chronic venous insufficiency, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis. - Increases calmness, reduces stress
The hormone cortisol in our body increases when we are under stress. If cortisol levels remain high for an extended period of time, it can lead to health issues such as high blood pressure, heart issues, weight gain, and anxiety. Among the health benefits of a massage, it helps reduce the amount of cortisol in our body, thus protecting us from potential health risks. - Protects mental health
Our mental health can be impacted by our busy life, competitive workspace and disturbing world news. Therapeutic massage can play a key role in strengthening our mind and keeping mental health issues at bay. Regular massage therapy can help relieve stress, and treat anxiety, depression, and seasonal affective disorder. - Induces physical activity
Among the many benefits of massage therapy, it can promote healthy habits. It empowers us to stay physically active. Lack of energy, injury and illness can prevent us from moving as much as we ought to. This lack of physical activity negatively impacts our overall health. Therapeutic massage can help by relieving muscle tension, increasing circulation, and reducing pain. It makes it easy for us to exercise regularly and could even boost athletic performance. - Reduces pain and drug dependence
Those suffering from chronic pain are not only unable to engage in physical activity, but can also suffer from mental health issues. Therapeutic massage is recommended, together with other treatments treating the source of the pain. Massage therapy, which incorporates long strokes as well as tissue manipulation, improves the flow of blood. This helps the loosening of tight muscles associated with pain. The body’s own painkiller – endorphins are released, helping alleviate pain naturally. The health benefits of a massage cut the need for pain medication, and promote healthy habits.
Find the Right Massage Therapist
The key to successful massage therapy lies in finding the right massage therapist in downtown Toronto with the skills you require. Here are a few suggestions…
- Be aware of your goals and the status of your health, as they will help you determine the skills you are looking for in a massage therapist. Identify whether you want to:
- Reduce stress
- Reduce muscle contractions or tightness
- Live without chronic or acute pain
- Improve your work performance
- Enhance your general health and wellbeing
- Improve your ability to participate in sports
Also, think about why you want to see a registered massage therapist; whether…
- A licensed medical professional suggested you try massage
- You are managing any conditions your doctor is not aware of but hope that massage might alleviate
- You know someone who has similar conditions to yours and has benefited from massage therapy at a trusted health and wellness clinic
- Avoid choosing a massage therapist based only on advertisements. Instead, also get recommendations from friends, your primary healthcare provider or a medical specialist to locate a trusted massage therapist in downtown Toronto. Also check professional associations which generally check the qualifications of the therapists they list. You can also check out massage schools, local fitness/health clubs, spas, wellness centres, and chiropractic offices which list a registered massage therapist.
- Keep in mind your personal preferences to include or eliminate potential therapists or massage therapy styles. These include whether you would be comfortable with a male or female registered massage therapist, as well as the location of the downtown Toronto massage therapy centre.
- Contact your downtown Toronto massage therapy centre to find out more about the therapy offered, the style or techniques used, training and certification, years of experience, specialty areas and experience with particular conditions, etc.Find out about fees, duration of the sessions, special package rates, whether the massage might be covered by insurance, making an appointment, cancellation policy, clothing during the session, etc. at the health and wellness clinic.
Conclusion
To incorporate massage therapy into your regular wellness routine and healthy habits, contact your trusted massage therapist in downtown Toronto. You can reach us online or by phone to schedule a consultation at our health and wellness clinic. You will be guided on your massage therapy options by our team of experienced massage therapy experts.