People often discount the importance of post-surgery rehabilitation. It is common for people to reduce movement for fear of causing themselves pain, but not moving can actually make recovery take longer. The process of post-surgical rehab allows the body to re-learn its natural movements and keep scar tissue and fascia from building up and restricting movement. Adding massage therapy into your rehabilitation regimen, when your doctor feels you are ready, can get you back to feeling better much faster.

Massage therapy plays two main roles in post-surgery rehab. First, it helps improve joint movement and flexibility by warming up stiff muscles from surgery. Second, it helps increase the circulation of blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body into tissues and vital organs that have been affected by surgery. Overall, this helps accelerate the recovery process.

​When visiting a massage therapist after surgery, make sure to be clear about your particular surgery and how your body is feeling. It is also helpful to have recommendations from your physician as to any restrictions they suggest for that stage of your healing. This will ensure that your massage therapist knows which muscles to target and what movements may need to be avoided. It is also helpful to work with a massage therapist who has experience with injury and surgery recovery. I have worked with clients recovering from hip replacement, rotator cuff repair and knee surgeries.

​Twenty-one studies conducted from 1991-2009 showed statistically significant improvements in physical and psychological relaxation among the older participants. These results were experienced from either a three-minute back massage or a 10-minute hand massage. 
 
Geriatric Massage is a particular type of massage therapy, specifically designed to benefit the elderly. Each technique is tailored to a specific health condition.
 
Benefits of Geriatric Massage include:

• Improvement of the patient’s length and quality of sleep
• Alleviation of headaches and other physical pain
• Slowing down partial loss of mobility lost due to arthritis, etc.
• Aiding in healing from injury and illness

 
In a short session, patients will see improvements in their blood circulation and muscle tension. The stress relief that results from massage alone can be extremely beneficial for patients mentally and physically.
 

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a very serious condition that is surprisingly the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. The condition develops slowly and unfortunately has no cure. Luckily, there are ways to treat COPD and make it manageable to live a stress-free life.

A person with COPD has a large amount of mucus in their lungs, massage treatments help dissolve and sometimes even eliminate most of the mucus build up in the lungs, which is the main complaint from patients with COPD.

Massaging the area of the lungs will increase blood flow to the area and ultimately provide relief.

Massage therapy is known to be the sole medical modality capable of eliminating protective tension in the respiratory muscles, restore elasticity of the soft tissue, and help maintain elastic recoil during respiration.

The ultimate goal for massage therapy in COPD patients is to address the soft tissue of the thoracic cage layer by layer. This eliminates tension build up in the respiratory muscles and in the end provides instant and long-term relief to patients who are suffering.

For those with cancer, the daily routine consists of days filled with scheduled treatments and medications. What they might not know is that relaxation can be used as a treatment.

Massage therapy has started gaining popularity for cancer patients in the recent years and has even developed the name oncology massage. The main purpose for these massages is to assist cancer patients in coping with other cancer treatments they have daily.

Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy can leave a patient with side effects such as nausea and fatigue. Specifically for cancer patients, the massage techniques that are used are meant to target relief for these two symptoms.

Like other massages in general, cancer patients feel more uplifted after a massage, which helps them cope mentally and keeps them more at ease while undergoing daily treatments.

Generally massages help in reducing stress, reducing anxiety and relaxing the muscles. All of which benefit cancer patients on their road to full recovery.

Arthritis is a condition paired with constant pain, and it takes a good amount of treatment for that pain to go away. Massage therapies can reduce the amount of pain, and with repeated use can even get rid of the pain.

Relaxation is the one thing that can help to break the cycle of constant pain and stress. Massage therapy is the key to this relaxation.

Massages work for patients with arthritis by focusing on improving the following: pain tolerance, flexibility, stiffness, handgrip, joint functions and overall range of motion.

While massages cannot instantly relieve the pain, massage therapy provides temporary relief and later on, with repeated treatment, can assist a patient in mentally being able to deal with their pain and live a more stress free and relaxed life.

A complaint heard by a majority of arthritis patients is a lack of deep sleep. Massages can put a patient so much at ease that after a while deep sleep comes naturally and with deep sleep, comes significant improvement.

Massage therapy can give patients the sense that once again they are in control of their lives. They will be able to control their pain, be able to function better and ultimately feel better.

One of the great things about massage therapy is that it’s beneficial for people of all ages. From infants to the elderly, massage has been found to enhance general health and welfare. This is especially true in children, where health is crucial to their growth.

In fact, children still experience the same pain and stress that adults do, and massage therapy can play an important role in its relief. It promotes a strong immunity, which reduces the effects of stress on a developing child. It also stimulates the release of endorphins, which brings about sleep and the overall feeling of well-being. 

The nurturing touch if massage therapy also helps set the foundation for a child’s growth into a well-adjusted adult. It stimulates mental and physical development, as well as brain growth. It also improves sound posture by fostering body awareness, which will limit incorrect stress and strain on the developing skeletal and muscular systems.

Studies also show that massage therapy helps children with disorders or diseases. It helps the body and mind of children with ADHD by calming them and by decreasing fidgeting, which results in better behavior and more attentiveness. It also helps children with cystic fibrosis breathe more easily. 

Massage therapy is ultimately beneficial for relaxation, stress reduction and physical development for children, which promotes an easier and healthier transition into young adulthood.

When many people think of getting a massage, they imagine going to a salon, receiving a generic treatment, and leaving generally unaltered. The truth of it is, massage therapy can be individualized to meet any person’s needs, which can make it very beneficial for everyday life.

Day-to-day we all experience physical stresses that many of us tend to brush off or ignore. After a long day of sitting at a desk, mowing the lawn, or running errands, many people have aches and pains that they hope will just go away. In reality, tension can build up and become a chronic source of discomfort.

What most people don’t realize is that this buildup can be easily reduced by something as simple as getting a massage. By targeting your individual problem areas, massage therapy relieves tense and knotted muscles and leaves your body feeling strong, healthy and energetic.

Ignoring aches and pains is a bad idea in more ways than one. Not only are you neglecting your physical health, but you may also be increasing levels of anxiety and depression. No one enjoys feeling overworked and tense, but not everyone realizes that those feelings are strongly linked to mental distress. Maintaining your physical health through massage therapy can diminish these oppressive feelings and make you a healthier, and therefore happier, person.

It is important to reduce physical discomfort and maintain your health so that you are ready and able to take on your daily grind. Just as an athlete needs to stretch before exercising, you must relieve your body before building up more stress. Consider massage therapy an investment in your well-being – the more you take care of your body, the happier you will be.