Healing hands: the benefits of massage

Boost your health and wellbeing with the power of touch. Jenna Moore explores the many benefits of massage.

Imagine this: your body is enveloped in a lusciously fragrant oil and you’re lying on a comfortable table while a therapist is rubbing your bare back. With each blissful stroke, you’re loosening up, your tension and stress are easing and you’re floating in a dreamy pool of languor. This is the classic state of being while undergoing massage.

Massage dates back to about 3000 BC and is one of the oldest of the healing arts. Hippocrates, who was born in 460 BC and is widely known as father of medicine, endorsed the practice by stating that all physicians should have experience in ‘rubbing’ techniques. The beauty of massage lies in its simplicity. The roots of the therapy belong to our basic human instinct. What do we do if we have an ache? We soothe it by rubbing the area. It’s this natural human reflex that has developed over centuries into the sophisticated healing art and science that massage is today.

From a more scientific perspective, massage is defined as the manipulation of soft tissue by stroking, kneading and applying pressure. It stimulates the nerve endings in the upper levels of the skin, increases and improves blood circulation, improves a sluggish lymphatic system, loosens and relaxes muscles, and stimulates endorphin production (naturally occurring chemicals in the body with many of the same attributes as opiate drugs).

Massage is especially good for the stressful lives we live today. Stress causes constant tension in our muscles, which in turn restricts the flow of blood and oxygen to our muscles and organs. This tension also contributes to a build-up of toxins in our bodies and leads to fatigue, heaviness, aches, pains and muscle stiffness. Trials with people of all ages, including babies and children, have shown that the nurturing, soothing characteristics of massage benefit everyone.

Chinese massage

Chinese massage is one of the oldest techniques and is said to form the basis of shiatsu and even Swedish massage. Chinese massage is closely related to acupuncture in its use of the meridian system, focusing on the smooth flow of ‘Qi’ (energy), blood and fluids throughout the body. As well as promoting calm and relaxation, it is renowned for its ability to relieve chronic pain (particularly in the neck, shoulder and back), sciatica and ‘tennis elbow’. It also improves such problems as headaches, migraines, constipation and PMS. Chinese massage, along with acupuncture and herbal medicine, is one of the basic components of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It encompasses five different massage techniques which are applied to your clothed body, almost always while you’re sitting on a stool or lying on a couch.

Swedish massage

A classic therapy incorporating the whole body, Swedish massage (also called remedial or therapeutic massage) forms the basis of all Western forms of massage. Using oils on bare skin, the masseur employs a variety of techniques, such as long, gliding strokes, kneading, tapping, vibration and circular friction movements. Its origins are not clear, but some say it was the brainchild of an 1800s Swedish doctor, Per Henrik Ling.

Shiatsu

Shiatsu (a word that means ‘finger pressure’) is a Japanese style of massage. During shiatsu, you are usually fully dressed but, instead of being treated on a massage table, you are massaged on a mat on the floor. The therapist uses their palms, fingers, thumbs, knuckles, elbows and knees to work on the acupuncture points of the body. Shiatsu practitioners believe that disease is the result of unbalanced or blocked energy (life force).

Deep tissue massage

Deep tissue massage is the least comfortable of the massage forms, but it is probably the most powerful in the effects it has on tense, knotted muscles. As the name implies, deep tissue massage focuses on the deeper layers of muscle tissue, using long strokes and deep finger pressure across the grain (as opposed to with the grain, as in the practice of traditional massage). This effectively loosens the tissues in the muscles and gets the blood and oxygen circulating properly. Rather than a whole body experience, deep tissue massage usually focuses on specific parts of the body. It may cause some soreness after treatment, but the benefits are profound and will be experienced within a couple of days of treatment.

Give yourself a massage

You don’t have to go to a clinic to reap the benefits that massage can give you. Create some ambience by lighting a candle and some incense, locking the door, reaching for a sumptuous oil or lotion and massaging yourself. Try this shoulder massage technique to relieve tension at the end of your day.

1. Stroke and knead your right shoulder with your left hand, starting at the base of your skull and working down the side of your neck and over your shoulder. Repeat, using your right hand, on the other side.
2. Make circular pressures with your fingertips on either side of the spine. Work up the neck and around the base of the skull. Then knead each shoulder, squeezing and releasing the flesh on your shoulders and at the top of your arms. 
3. Loosely clench your left hand into a fist and gently pound your right shoulder. Keep your wrist flexible. Repeat on the other side.
4. Gently stroke your hands over your neck and shoulders in a smooth, soothing motion.

Benefits of massage

Physical

• Gives pleasure and promotes a feeling of wellbeing.
• Improves skin tone by removing dead skin cells and increasing blood circulation.
• Nourishes the skin (depending on the medium used).
• Improves self-confidence and posture.
• Reduces feelings of stress and tension.
• Increases blood circulation. 
• Lowers blood pressure and reduces heart rate.
• Strengthens the immune system.
• Aids the lymphatic system, improving the elimination of waste and toxins from the body.
• Loosens and relieves tight, sore muscles and improves muscle tone (increasing flexibility).
• Stimulates or calms the nervous system, depending on need.
• Regulates breathing.
• Reduces pain and swelling by the release of endorphins (the body’s natural painkiller) into the brain and nervous system.
• Promotes faster healing in sports-related injuries.

Psychological

• Enhances a sense of peace.
• Improves sleep patterns.
• Improves concentration.
• Increases our ability to cope with stress.
• Promotes a calm temperament.
• Reduces anxiety.
• Reduces depression.
• Can aid other forms of therapy, such as counselling.
• Promotes a sense of confidence and self-worth.
• Gratifies the basic human need for touch.

Have a massage

September 4-11 is Massage Therapy Week. To find a therapist in your area, learn about different forms of massage or sign up for courses and events, visit www.massageaustralia.com.au or www.tmanz.org.nz.

 

Words: Jenna Moore. Photography: Steven Chee. Styling: Nicolas Sholl. Hair & Make-Up: Laura Dominique.