Stress

Stress is a frequent component in today's fast-paced world that can have a negative impact on a person's health and well-being. Massage therapy has proven to be a means by which stress can be significantly reduced physically and psychologically. 

Massage gives us the means to face a continuous day of work and daily pressures. 

For the vast majority of us, rigidity and pain are a way of life that we have become accustomed to, and that we often do not realize that our muscles are tense until the moment we receive a massage. 

Massage can mean a journey towards understanding ourselves, in which the feeling of being relaxed and in harmony with ourselves will be revealed to us. 

At the same time we experience the pleasure of feeling that our body can breathe and move freely.  

Over the last five to ten years, the American public has become aware of the importance of health improvement and disease prevention. The concept of this trend has been coined as “wellness.” Wellness includes the elements of enhanced quality of life, and improved physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. A wellness program is a multidisciplinary approach to life. 

There is much research that validates that massage therapy is an important component of a wellness program: 

• Massage has been shown to increase range of motion and flexibility as well as to improve measures of anxiety, depression, vitality, and perceived stress. 

• It can also increase feelings of wellness, calm, relaxation, and a sense of belonging. 

• In a study of the effect of massage therapy on patients receiving Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT) it was concluded that those who received massage therapy had a better quality of life.  These patients rested more easily, had less depression and anxiety and were more able to communicate with loved ones during this crucial treatment. 

• Massage helps overcome the feelings of fatigue. 

• Massage has positive side-effects in addition to those that affect the musculoskeletal system. 

• Massage coupled with aromatherapy and music significantly reduced emergency room nurses’ anxiety levels. 

• Adolescents had an increased sense of well-being after receiving massage. 

• Massage increases a sense of well-being and decreases stress in older adults. 

• Massage reduces nausea in chemotherapy patients. 

• Caregiver[s] reported an improvement in physical and emotional states after chair massage. 

• Massage in combination with mental training (in a stress management program) has a positive effect on women’s health.