4 Ways Massage Benefits You and Improves Your Health

Massages are great to help you relax and ease tense muscles, but did you know massages can also help to improve your overall health?

Can massage improve my health?

Massage benefits you both physically and mentally. The physical manipulation of your muscles helps heal and soothe your body in the area worked on and your nervous systems response to touch benefits your whole body, including your mind.

Massage has a direct positive effect on many areas of your body, from your cells to your skin, your muscles, your circulation, your lymphatic system and your nervous system. Massage also has an indirect positive effect on many areas of your body including your skeletal, digestive, respiratory and urinary systems. These direct and indirect positive effects help to improve your overall health.

The full list of benefits from having massages is extensive, and it’s great to know you can enjoy many of the benefits from just one massage. If you have regular massage (every 4-6 weeks or less) you will start to notice even more, longer lasting benefits.

Here are 4 ways that massage improves your health from just one session:

1. Massage helps boost your immune system and detox your body.

An unhealthy diet, a sedentary lifestyle and emotional stress, amongst others, are all factors that can lead to exhaustion, ill health and low immunity. This is because all those factors restrict your blood flow and therefore reduce the amount of fresh oxygen and vital nutrients that reach your cells. This can cause the nutrients in your body to deplete, which is what leads to the exhaustion, Ill health and low immunity.

Massage stimulates both parts of your circulatory system – your blood flow and your lymphatic system. This can help boost your immune system by carrying vital nutrients and fresh oxygen around your body to where they’re needed and detox your body through the removal of waste products. While your blood is pumped around your body by your heart, your lymphatic system relies on movement in your muscles to pump it around.

What is your lymphatic system?

Your lymphatic system runs parallel to your bloodstream. It helps detoxify your body by carrying waste products to your lymph nodes, which act as filters to prevent harmful substances from entering your bloodstream, and is an important part of your immune system.

How does massage help boost your immune system and detox your body?

Massage stimulates both the blood and the lymphatic systems through touch and manipulation. When you remove pressure from an area after holding it for a short time, fresh blood rushes to the area, replacing the old stale blood and bringing with it fresh oxygen and vital nutrients. Working deeper into the tissue helps to further oxygenate poorly circulated areas. These vital nutrients keep your body strong and healthy, making it more effective when fighting against disease.

Your lymphatic flow is physically pushed around your body by the sweeping techniques used during a massage. A lymphatic drainage massage uses specific, gentle rhythmic techniques to effectively help move the lymphatic system around the body, removing excess water and toxins.

Indirectly, massage boosts your immune system and detoxes your body by helping your muscles relax and repair, helping your body prepare for movement and exercise. Exercise increases your circulation, moving your blood and lymphatic systems around the whole body, removing waste products and bringing with it all the fresh oxygen and vital nutrients needed.

Emily recommends a lymphatic drainage massage for detoxifying and boosting your immune system most effectively.

2. Massage helps muscles relax and repair better.

The main reason people choose to book a massage is because they either have a physical pain that they want soothing, or they simply want to switch off and relax. In both cases the aim is to relax the muscles.

There are many factors in a massage that contribute to muscle relaxation and repair.

How can blood flow help muscles relax and repair?

As mentioned above, massage stimulates blood flow to the area worked on by applying and removing pressure, which starves and then rushes the area of fresh oxygenated blood. This rush of fresh blood raises the temperature in the area which increases tissue elasticity, allowing your muscles to relax and expand their range of movement.

The fresh oxygen blood brings is key to muscle recovery as it helps support cell growth and protein synthesis. Vital nutrients like amino acids are also important for protein synthesis and muscle repair, while vitamin C and Zinc create collagen which helps form tendons and soft tissue. These are all examples of the vital nutrients that your blood carries around the body.

What is Protein Synthesis?

Protein synthesis, simply put, is the process in which a cell makes protein. Without protein synthesis our bodies aren’t able to make components like hormones, enzymes, and new muscle.

How else can massage help muscles relax and repair?

Your massage therapist can detect tense, sore, knotted and restricted muscles by feeling and assessing the texture and quality of the muscles being worked on. We know the right areas to work on to encourage your muscles to relax, and effective techniques to help them repair, helping you feel better.

Endorphins – the pain relieving happy hormones – are released during a massage. Endorphins relax the body and mind, reducing pain, discomfort and tension. As your discomfort is eased, the relief you feel psychologically can help stimulate your recovery process.

Finally, your therapist can use specific techniques that effectively relax muscles and help them to recover. Techniques can include breathe work and movement while manipulating/massaging muscles, which releases muscular tightness, affecting the shallow and deeper layers of the muscles. Trigger point release is another effective technique, as trigger points in the muscles create pain and tension as well as headaches, neck and jaw pain, low back pain, nausea, numbness and dizziness.

Emily would recommend a deep tissue massage for relaxing and repairing muscles most effectively.

3. Massage can help improve feelings of stress, anxiety and depression.

It has been estimated that stress is the cause of 75% of disease. In the short term, stress is a lifesaving reaction as a response to perceived danger, pushing us to cross the road faster and get out of harms way, or to perform to the best of our abilities. In the long term, if a person continues to feel stress in response to external factors but does nothing to either remove the cause of stress or to respond to it differently, the stress reaction can be damaging. The body remains in a state of alert and eventually this will have a physical effect on the systems concerned.

What causes stress, anxiety and depression?

Stress is the body’s response to demands or challenges, and it can be triggered by various factors. The body has always had to respond to stress – thousands of years ago humans needed to hunt for their food, protect themselves from wild animals and secure shelter. Nowadays stress factors are likely to be more intangible such as work insecurities, relationship difficulties and traffic jams. The body still reacts to stress in the same way as it did thousands of years ago. The body perceives danger and enters the flight or fight mode.

Anxiety, marked by excessive worry or fear, stems from a mix of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. It can be influenced by genetics, brain chemistry imbalances, or personality traits. Trauma, chronic stress, and significant life changes, such as starting a new job or moving, can also trigger anxiety. Social pressures and lifestyle choices, like high caffeine intake or substance use, can further exacerbate the condition.

Depression, characterized by persistent sadness and loss of interest, arises from a blend of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. It can be influenced by genetics, neurotransmitter imbalances, and hormonal changes. Psychological triggers include trauma, chronic stress, and negative thinking patterns. Social isolation, life stressors like financial difficulties or relationship problems, and substance abuse can further contribute to or worsen depression.

How does stress, anxiety and depression affect us?

Stress can cause several systems to shut down and the body then works to conserve energy to enable movement and escape. Adrenaline rushes into the body to warn of impeding danger and the heart rate quickens, the blood vessels contract increasing blood pressure, the digestive systems shut down and the muscles contract. If the perceived danger is then either removed or escaped from, the stress response has achieved its aim and the body relaxes.

However nowadays it’s not usually easy to get away from the cause of stress. Most stress factors are no longer responded to with activity. It is very hard for an office worker to run away from an annoying problem or colleague. As a result the body remains tense and can’t relax. It is this unused response mechanism which is damaging.

Symptoms of stress include a churning stomach/butterflies, racing heart or palpitations, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, trembling, insomnia and sweating. In the medium, these symptoms left untreated may cause chest pains, allergies, persistent insomnia, high blood pressure, abdominal pain, migraines, depression, ulcers, asthma and infections. In the long term constant stress is known to cause heart disease, strokes, cancer and angina.

Anxiety significantly impacts both mental and physical health. Mentally, it often manifests as persistent worry and excessive fear about everyday situations, which can be overwhelming and distressing. Individuals may experience intense panic attacks characterized by sudden bouts of overwhelming fear and physical symptoms like a racing heart or shortness of breath. Anxiety can also impair concentration, making it difficult to focus on and complete tasks.

Physically, chronic anxiety can lead to heightened stress responses, and behaviourally, anxiety can lead to avoidance of situations perceived as stressful, limiting social interactions and opportunities. This avoidance can interfere with daily tasks and responsibilities, impacting work performance and personal relationships.

Individuals with depression often experience feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and excessive guilt, leading to a negative self-image and pessimistic outlook on life. Cognitive functions, such as decision-making, memory, and concentration, can be impaired, making daily tasks challenging.

Physically, depression leads to chronic fatigue and a significant decrease in energy levels, making even simple tasks feel exhausting. It can also cause significant changes in appetite, leading to weight gain or loss, and issues with sleep, including insomnia or excessive sleep, which can further impact overall health.

Behaviorally, depression often results in social withdrawal, with individuals isolating themselves from friends and family, which can increase feelings of loneliness. Daily functioning at work or in personal life may be severely affected, diminishing productivity and quality of life. In severe cases, depression can lead to thoughts of self-harm or suicide, necessitating immediate intervention and support.

How can massage help improve feelings of stress, anxiety and depression?

When the body is stressed it must work harder than usual in order to remain balanced. Massage can induce deep relaxation, helping to remove the pentup tension of the stress response without damaging the body. Furthermore it’s easy to forget what deep relaxation feels like and many clients are unaware of how much tension they’re holding in their body. By relaxing them, massage enables them to be more aware of what tension feels like which in turn helps them to release it.

Massage also enables the client to avoid reacting to stress as when the body is relaxed, problems and events seem less daunting so the client will not feel as threatened or stressed, which in turn will prevent tension building up.

Massage can significantly help improve feelings of stress, anxiety and depression through various mechanisms:

Reduces levels of cortisol – a stress hormone that is often elevated in individuals with anxiety and depression. By lowering cortisol, massage helps alleviate both physical and emotional stress.

Promotes relaxation – Massage stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls the body’s “rest and digest” response. This relaxation helps reduce muscle tension and calm the mind, counteracting the heightened state of arousal typical in stress, anxiety and depression.

Enhances mood – Massage increases levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which are linked to improved well-being. Higher levels of these chemicals can alleviate symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety by boosting overall mood.

Improves sleep quality – By promoting relaxation and reducing physical discomfort, massage helps individuals achieve better sleep, which is crucial for managing stress, anxiety and depression, as poor sleep can worsen these conditions.

Encourages greater body awareness – This can be helpful for those dealing with anxiety and depression. Increased awareness fosters a sense of connection and mindfulness, aiding in symptom management.

Eases chronic muscle tension – A common physical manifestation of stress and anxiety is chronic muscle tension. By relieving this tension, massage helps reduce physical symptoms like headaches and back pain, which are often associated with anxiety and depression.

Physical touch – Massage provides comfort and a sense of human connection. For individuals experiencing isolation or emotional distress, this aspect of massage can be particularly beneficial, offering emotional support and a sense of well-being.

How does touch affect stress, anxiety and depression?

Touch is a fundamental human instinct with the power to comfort, relax, and promote well-being. It’s the first sense to develop in the womb, and babies require close physical contact for healthy development. This need for touch continues into adulthood, though many people become hesitant to reach out. Therapeutic touch techniques, like massage, offer a safe and caring way to reconnect with ourselves and others.

Massage creates a neutral environment for receiving touch, which is crucial for emotional health and self-esteem. Touch stimulates the skin’s nerve receptors, sending calming messages to the brain and triggering the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. This helps alleviate physical tension and promotes relaxation.

Research supports massage’s benefits, showing it can relieve stress, depression, and anxiety. While massage itself is active, it’s the underlying quality of touch—characterized by stillness, calm, and presence—that helps individuals feel safe enough to unwind deeply. Overall, loving touch in massage helps heal, share empathy, and enhance emotional and physical well-being.

4. Massage helps improve your posture.

Most people develop negative posture habits throughout their life. The main causes are repetitive activities and mental and emotional influences on the body.

Repetitive activities like driving or sitting at a desk promote a gradual development of muscular imbalance leading to pain and tension. Emotional, occupational and habitual factors can cause you to hold your muscles in a tight position, which overtime can cause tension in the surrounding areas as the tissue pulls on surrounding tissue and joints.

Why do I have bad posture?

Bad posture is triggered by repetitive daily positions and sustained through your nervous system’s natural reflexes, which aren’t consciously controlled. Over time your body creates an internal representation of its external environment under ‘normal gravity’, ie the way you hold yourself everyday, and this becomes its normal. Simply put, when your body spends most of its time in one position, your mind believes this is normal and subconsciously tells your body to continue this posture. Therefore if you spend 8 hours a day sitting in a chair, shoulders slouched, you will subconsciously keep your shoulders slouched while walking and standing. This posture feels normal, and holding yourself in the correct posture feels abnormal.

How can massage help improve my posture?

Relaxation of the muscles brought on during a massage allows them to lengthen, allowing you to hold yourself taller, more open and with a better posture. After a massage you’re more aware of uncomfortable and painful spots that you may have not realised were there before your therapist started applying pressure to the area, and as you continue your day, your posture and areas of tension are more likely to be in the forefront of your mind allowing you to consciously hold yourself in a better position.

Working deep into the tissue helps to free trapped nerves and muscular tension which can significantly impact the way you hold yourself, stand or walk, and allows the spine and joints to relax back into alignment. Tight muscles can pull on the spine and joints, leading to misalignment, and by releasing these tight muscles, the tension on the spine and joints is reduced, allowing them to move back into their proper position.

Finally, the fascia is a connective tissue that surrounds muscles, bones, and joints, helping to maintain their structure. When the fascia becomes tight or restricted due to injury or overuse, it can contribute to misalignment. Deep tissue work can help release fascial restrictions, allowing the spine and joints to return to their natural positions.

Conclusion

In summary, massage offers a multitude of health benefits that can significantly enhance your overall well-being. By boosting the immune system and aiding in detoxification through improved lymphatic flow, massage helps your body release toxins and strengthen its defenses. It supports muscle relaxation and repair by increasing blood flow, delivering essential nutrients, and reducing muscular tension, which in turn promotes faster recovery and comfort. Furthermore, massage provides crucial relief from stress, anxiety, and depression by stimulating the release of feel-good hormones, promoting relaxation, and enhancing mood. Lastly, it plays a vital role in improving posture by alleviating tension in muscles and fascia, fostering body awareness, and encouraging better alignment.

Incorporating regular massage into your routine can be a powerful tool for maintaining and improving your health, offering both physical and emotional benefits that contribute to a more balanced and vibrant life. Whether you’re seeking to enhance your immune system, support muscle recovery, alleviate stress, or improve your posture, massage provides a holistic approach to achieving and sustaining optimal health.