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- Relieve stress and feel relaxed
- Treat frustrating musculoskeletal pain
- Improve circulation of blood and movement of sluggish lymph fluids
- Reduce levels of anxiety to normal
- Enjoy a sense of well-being and positive mood changes
Massage therapy is a gentle hands-on manipulation of the soft tissues of your body including your muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and joints.
Massage therapy is a safe and natural alternative health option that can help alleviate soft tissue discomfort associated with everyday and occupational stresses, muscular over-use and many cumulative trauma syndromes.
It can also greatly reduce the development of painful muscular patterning, if employed early enough after accidents involving trauma and injury.
PT Health massage therapists manipulate your muscles and other soft tissues of the body with varying pressure and movement, towards a desired outcome that helps relieve pain and tension.
PT Health massage therapists use their hands and fingers to perform specific therapeutic massage therapy techniques, but it is not uncommon to use forearms or elbows as well.
In 2002, a very large national survey was conducted in the United States to determine the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) which showed that five percent of the entire participant group had used massage therapy in the previous 12 months.
The Burrall M University of Colorado Health Sciences Center School of Nursing in Denver carried out a study on the value of hospital-based massage therapy program for patients and showed that there was “increased relaxation (98%), a sense of well-being (93%), and positive mood change (88%)” among the patients.
Another research conducted at the University of Miami Medical School in Florida showed that massage therapy offers significant aid to children with stress-related disorders. It revealed that the children had lower levels of cortisol after a session.
There are many reasons why you should consider massage therapy, as component of your existing physiotherapy / rehabilitation program or as a part of a wellness program. Massage can have immediate and long term benefits for people from all walks of life – athletes, office workers, pregnant women. It had also shown notable advantages in patients, who just had surgery, recovering from burns, or suffering from musculoskeletal conditions. Premature infants who are massaged have shown to gain more weight and autistic children also demonstrated less erratic behavior after regular massage therapy.
Massage therapy has been many times proven in a number of researches to decrease heart rate, reduce blood pressure, enhance blood circulation, relax muscles, improve flexibility, develop better range of motion, and promotes production of endorphins. There is a continued flow of research that support the numerous benefits of touch so for whatever reasons one may seek massage therapy – for stress relief, pain management, or simply a luxurious treat after a day’s work – the benefits are multiplied many times over if you go to regular and scheduled massage therapy sessions.
1. Who provides massage therapy? People who provide therapeutic massage therapy are professionally trained, and registered with their provincial regulatory bodies. However, other health care professionals, including physiotherapists and chiropractors are also trained to provide therapeutic massage.
2. Do I have to remove all my clothing for massage therapy? Your privacy is of utmost concern. Strict ethical and privacy guidelines are followed by all PT Health massage therapists. Rest assured that your massage therapist is trained in proper draping procedures and your privacy will be fully respected at all times throughout the treatment.
3. Does massage therapy hurt? There may be some slight discomfort which is common in many treatments involving the soft tissue, however this is not harmful, or long term. Your therapist will establish a comfort scale and tolerance level during the treatment. Inform your therapist if you experience pain or discomfort so that the treatment can be modified to suit your needs.
4. What do massage therapists do in treating patients? The massage therapist will take your medical history and discuss your symptoms and the results you want to achieve. Initial evaluation is performed, and if there is nothing to be concerned about, your therapist will proceed with the massage. If you are seeking treatment for a chronic condition, the massage therapist may advice a series of sessions.
5. Do Provincial Health plans, such as OHIP and BCMP, cover Massage Therapy? Massage therapy is covered by many health insurance plans but is not convered under provincially funded health coverage. In cases of injury rehabilitation Work Place Safety Insurance WSIB (ON), Worker’s Compensation Insurance, and Auto Insurance also may cover the cost of massage therapy.
You must inform your massage therapist of any past or existing medical condition. Patients with local contraindications can proceed with massage therapy on other unaffected parts of the body. A clearance from your doctor may also be required in some cases. Local contraindications include acute swelling, open wound or sore, skin infection, varicose veins, recent surgery or burn (minor); flare up of rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammation of veins and/or arteries.
Patient with complete contraindications should not receive massage therapy. Conditions which warrant complete contraindication include, but are not limited to, the following: severe burns, infectious diseases, anaphylaxis, appendicitis, stroke and heart attack, insulin shock or diabetic coma, epileptic seizure, severe asthmatic attack, acute pneumonia, hemorrhage, high fever, and advanced kidney, respiratory or liver failure.
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1. Helps relieve your stress and aids relaxation: By reducing heart rate, decreasing your blood pressure, and increasing blood circulation, your body reaches a relaxed state of mental calmness and enhanced ability to stay calm. This quiet state promotes stress relief which, in turn, can positively affect aspects of your life, both from a health and mental perspective.
2. Treat those pesky muscle aches: People suffering from musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis, for instance, can achieve some level of pain relief after one or a series of massage sessions. This is also an important aspect of a pain management program for arthritis. Massage therapy has also helped people with muscular discomfort by easing muscle pain, relaxing stiff or contracted, muscles, promoting circulation in a deprived area, and restoring some range of motion.
3. Improve circulation of blood and movement of lymph fluids: Massage can dilate or open up blood vessels thereby improving the flow of blood as well as lymph fluids. Distribution of crucial oxygenated blood and vital nutrients as well as removal of waste products is enhanced throughout your body. Massage also reduces excess fluid in the tissue by promoting lymphatic drainage and waste removal from your body.
4. Reduce anxiety: A relaxed state is achieved and the levels of cortisols are significantly lowered so that the level of anxiety and/or depression is also reduced. Endorphins, also known as happy hormones, are released not only to ease pain but also elevate the mood.
5. Foster a sense of well-being and positive mood change: Massage therapy not only relaxes the body but also the mind. It encourages positive body awareness and an enhanced well being. It has holistic benefits that can be very significant.
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