Massage Therapy Provides More Than Just Relaxation

While a lot of the individuals who visit our Arlington, WA clinic realize that massages can be relaxing, letting you forget about your minor (and major) stressors for just a minute, very few know that massage therapy provides many other benefits as well.

A number of scientific studies have found that partaking in massage treatments can provide you with pain relief that lasts for months, if not longer. For instance, in one piece of research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, experts in Seattle studied over 400 subjects who were experiencing persistent lower back pain. Some of them were asked to participate in structural massage, others were given relaxation massages, and the rest of the people received usual care.

The subjects who engaged in massage therapy were less bothered by their symptoms when interviewed at the 10, 26, and 52-week marks. They also found that the benefits were experienced for 6 months or even more. So, if you’re feeling pain in your lower back, or other regions of your body, massage therapy may be able to offer some much needed assistance.

If you have a serious medical condition that keeps you in a continued state of pain, massage therapy can possibly help lessen your discomfort. As indicated by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), massage therapy has been found to effectively minimize pain on top of some other symptoms commonly experienced by people diagnosed with cancer, fibromyalgia, diabetes, asthma, and HIV/AIDS, just to name a few.

In addition to helping you physically, when you get a massage at our Arlington, WA clinic, you may also lessen your risk of depression, anxiety, and other all-too-common mental health conditions. When your body feels healthy, so too does your mind, which means better moods and a happier disposition.

If you’re ready to experience these benefits -and more- call Dr. Ernst at (360) 659-8464 in Arlington, WA to schedule your first massage therapy session today!

References:

Cherkin, DC, et al. (2011, July 5). A comparison of the effects of 2 types of massage and usual care on chronic low back pain; a randomized, controlled trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 155(1), 1-9, doi:10.7326/0003-4819-155-1-201107050-00002

Massage therapy for health purposes: what you need to know. (2014, February). National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). Retrieved from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/massage/massageintroduction.htm