How Body Massage Helps in Weight Loss?
Massage is to work and act on the body with pressure. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or an electronic device. The main aim of massage is for the treatment of body stress or pain. While giving massages, clients are treated while lying on a massage table, sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a mat on the floor. In amateur settings, a general purpose surface like a bed or the floor is more common. Aquatic massage and bodywork is performed with recipients submersed or floating in a warm-water therapy pool.
A full body massage is a kind of massage in which a therapist massages your whole body during a therapeutic massage that lasts for at least 50 minutes. The time mentioned is the time you need to massage the major areas of your body that includes back, shoulders, legs, feet, arms, hands, and neck.
During a full body massage, a therapist generally starts from your back and shoulders then moves down your body. Slowly, the therapist moves up to your body ending with neck and shoulders, sometimes scalp. Whether you’re getting a Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, hot stone massage or Lomi Lomi, most massages at spas will be full-body massages. In case, if you need extra attention in a particular area of your bodies, such as a sore back or tight shoulders, you can request that the therapist spend more time on those problem areas. They can accommodate that request by spending less time on areas like the legs or arms, which might just get a quick sweep.
If you have problem areas but don’t want other areas to be shortchanged, you need to make an appointment for a longer massage session, such as 75 or even 90 minutes.
If you book a mini-treatment, which is a session of just 30 minutes instead of the usual 50 or 60 minutes, it’s better to have the massage therapist focus on a few areas instead of getting a full-body massage. That’s because it takes some time to warm up and soften the muscle tissue so that the therapist can go in a little deeper and get the muscle to actually release.
And if you go for Sports massage, it usually concentrates on targeted body areas that might be in spasm or tight from activities related to sports. In both these cases, you may not receive a full body massage.
Benefits of Full Body Massage
“Regular massage keeps the body working at optimal levels,” says C.G. Funk, VP of industry relations and product development for Massage Envy. “It keeps people well-physically and emotionally.”
The major advantage of a full body massage is that it relieves stress and makes you feel relax. But there are some other benefits also. Let’s have a look at all the advantages of the body massage.
Boosts Energy
A full body massage can help reduce your fatigue by eliminating blockages in the body and helps to alert body. It also helps to alert the mental energy of the body.
Enhances Immunity
Massage therapy increases the functioning of lymphocytes. Lymphocyte is a type of blood cell that improves the body’s resistance to diseases. This rise in these cells helps to increase the immunity level of the body. Enhanced immunity level means more energy and fewer diseases.
Relaxes Body
The massage therapy relieves pain and relaxes the body by healing damaged muscle tissues. It improves blood circulation leading to an increased supply of oxygen and other nutrients to the muscles.
Reduces Anxiety
Massage therapy lowers the level of stress hormones, cortisol and increasing level of serotonin which is the happiness hormone in the body. All these therapies also help in lowering the blood pressures in the body.
Detoxification of Body
Sweat plays an important role in reducing the toxins from the body. The spa therapies promote sweating which eventually restores the metabolism of the body. Hence, it helps in detoxification of the whole body.
Beauty Properties
The massage therapy also helps to maintain the natural beauty of the skin as it has exfoliation techniques to remove dead skin cells and stimulate new cell growth. It also has anti-aging properties inside it.
Fighting Fibromyalgia Symptoms
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by muscle pain, fatigue, and tenderness, according to the American College of Rheumatology. Symptoms can be brought on or exacerbated by stress and lack of sleep. Frequent Fibromyalgia massages have been found to help relieve stress as well as alleviate muscle pain, discomfort, and spasms in patients suffering from fibromyalgia. In fact, according to the National Fibromyalgia Association, about 40 percent of sufferers have used it as part of their treatment plan.
Easing Surgical Effects
Postsurgical rehabilitation is one of the most important aspects of undergoing any procedure. Massage therapy can help get you back on your feet by increasing circulation, relaxing muscles, and improving joint movement and flexibility. It’s even been found to help in tissue regeneration and reduce post-surgical adhesions and swelling.
Improve Mood
It’s no secret that massage can relax you and make you feel good mentally. But did you know that it may even help treat anxiety and depression? According to a review by the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, massage has the tendency to lower the body’s level of cortisol, a stress hormone, by as much as 53 percent. Massage also appears to increase the feel-good hormones serotonin and dopamine.
Headache Relief
According to the National Headache Foundation, approximately 28 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches. Migraines are exacerbated by stress and poor sleep. In a study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, researchers found that participants who received massages had better quality sleep and fewer migraines than participants who didn’t.
Lowering Blood Pressure
About 72 million Americans have high blood pressure, which can lead to stroke and heart attack. A study in the journal Biological Research for Nursing found that people who had at least three 10-minute back massages a week lowered their blood pressure more than people who spent the same amount of time just relaxing.
Increases Flexibility
Whether you’re an avid athlete who is constantly putting stress on your knees or a middle-aged adult, staying flexible is key. Massage can help you maintain flexibility and range of motion by working the muscles, connective tissue, tendons and ligaments, and by stimulating the production and retention of the natural lubricants between the connective tissue fibers.
Breaking Back Pain
While back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek massage. In fact, a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that massage therapy was more effective at relieving back pain than other therapies such as acupuncture and spinal modification.
Curbing Carpal Tunnel
Carpal tunnel is a painful condition in which the median nerve that connects the forearm and hand becomes pinched at the wrist. The symptoms include burning, tingling or numbness in the palm, thumb and middle fingers. It can also lead to difficulty forming a fist or gripping small objects. The Journal of Bodywork and Movement reported that carpal tunnel patients receiving regular massage had less pain, reduced symptoms, and improved grip strength.
How Body Massage Help with Weight Loss?
When it comes to all the weight-loss techniques out there, the idea is that regular massages could help you shed pounds. It definitely is among the most appealing thought.
“In my 15 years as a massage therapist, I’ve helped a lot of people lose some serious weight,” says Wil Lewis, massage program director at New York City’s Chillhouse. But massages alone is not the thing that helped clients lose weight. Rather, this occurs by putting people in the proper mental and physical space to effectively diet and exercise.
Weight loss can often be seen as a tough and miserable pursuit that hinges on pain and suffering, says Lewis. But when massage is incorporated into that weight-loss plan, there also includes an element of self-love and care. In his experience, Lewis adds that massage therapy can make the process of weight loss more positive, which encourages people to stick with it. Also, it is an excellent non-food reward for reaching your goals.
According to Lewis, a more realistic way massage can help you lose weight is it can make exercise much easier. “Nothing can be more de-motivating than being bedridden for six to eight weeks while you heal an Achilles tear or a torn labrum,” says Lewis. “Massage therapy keeps muscles tuned up, eliminates the tension before it turns into an injury, and reduces delayed onset muscle soreness. When it feels good to be in your body, it makes it easier and more fun to sculpt your body.”
Reshmi Srinath, M.D. and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease at Mt. Sinai agree that for those with chronic pain, massage can alleviate that pain and a generally improve lifestyle. Improved quality of life can help people making better choices in regard to food and activities, she says. There is data out there showing that pain alleviation lowers stress levels. Another positive effect of massage therapy is that it can help people wean off pain medication, another factor that can lead to weight gain, she says.
Moreover, there are certain advanced massage techniques that Lewis says can help improve a person’s physical appearance and mobility. One is manual lymphatic drainage which aims to reduce edema and swelling, specifically swollen ankles, legs, and waists.
“If you feel like you’re retaining water, lymphatic drainage is a fantastic tool to flush out the extra fluid and make you feel less puffy,” he says. A study from 2014 found that while it didn’t reduce cellulite, there was a small reduction in hip circumference in women with lymphatic drainage who got the massage weekly for 14 weeks. The researchers also noted high increases in the women’s quality of life due to stress reduction. Another technique is a form of neuromuscular therapy called Body Insight Method. This type of massage works to re-engage deactivated muscles, says Lewis. When muscles disengage, this leads to possible injury and poor posture and flexibility. Body insight therapy points the tension receptors around those muscles in order to reactivate them and provide the body a release, he says. This reactivation process can remove pain and improve athletic performance. This technique was developed in 2014 by the Healing Arts Institute massage therapy school in Fort Collins, Colorado. It’s a popular technique in the massage therapy world, but there’s limited research on its effectiveness.
There is another technique that can improve your physique. It is called postural balancing. “No matter how skinny a person is, if their shoulders are slumped forward, the torso will have a hard time getting in shape and they’ll be prone to rotator cuff injuries and headaches,” says Lewis.
“When a massage therapist opens the pecs and releases the base of the skull, the shoulder blades can slide together behind the back and the neck can lengthen. This simple process can transform a hunchback to leave a triangular upper torso with a proud chest and a long, graceful neck.”
If the lower back is too arched, the belly will spill forward, leaving a pooch that no amount of sit-ups can beat, he says. Massage can realign the pelvic tilt, leaving people with a long waist and abs that appear flattered.
It is important for a person to devote time and energy to massage therapies if he wants to get in shape. You won’t see the benefits if you aren’t seeing a massage therapist on a regular basis. Once you’re in the appointment, he says it’s important to speak up and not feel intimidated. Let your therapist know what your goals are and work on a plan to achieve them, he says. Just remember that lying on that massage table alone won’t get you major results, but when combined with exercise and a healthy diet, it can certainly help you get closer to those goals.
