Massage therapy has been around for quite a while. From sports massage to therapeutic massage there is something for everyone. Massage it is sometimes even recommended by doctors before putting a patient through surgery. It has been known to have the necessary healing factors needed. Massage can extend out to reflexology and acupuncture which are little more controversial but massages either liked or disliked but there’s no real controversy surrounding it. Many times, a sports massage will be offered to athletes before and after important games for several reasons. Relaxation is only one of the reasons that an athlete or anybody else will get a massage. Here are some other reasons why someone may get one.

Release of toxins
While this may sound a little New Age, toxins are a very real problem in our bodies. Our joints and muscles can suffer from a build up in toxins. These toxins can come from the food we eat or the air around us or a number of different contributing factors. These build toxic buildup’s can cause a lot of pain and even arthritis in our bodies. Rubbing on those areas will help to release the toxins which will loosen the joints and muscles, eliminating pain. For example, in a sports massage, the therapist will massage trouble areas such as shins, shoulders and even elbows as either a preventative measure or an elimination technique. This helps the athlete to be more limber and flexible while playing their sport.

Release of stress
The stress build up in our bodies can be related to the toxic matters that we hold inside but it’s worth it’s own paragraph because stress is not always just a buildup of toxins. Emotional stress can actually cause physical stress in our bodies. Some people say that they don’t get stressed because they don’t tend to worry about things. However, most of the time it can be found that and people who think they don’t get stressed, their bodies will react to the stressful situations in their lives even if their minds do not. Stress can also be physical from the get-go, for example typing on a keyboard all day long can cause stress build up in the shoulders and arms or if you were sitting down or standing up for long periods of time different parts of your body can become tents. These are what are known as “knots.” They are usually found in our backs and legs and sometimes arms. Massage can help to release those knots in order to relax your body and get rid of the physical stress.

Encouragement of relaxation
Well relaxation is not the only reason why people get massages, it is definitely a big one. Relaxation can come in many forms. It can come from the massage itself but it can also come from the soothing atmosphere of the massage room or maybe it’s just because of the hour or two where you are allowed to get away and only think about yourself. Many pregnant women will get prenatal massages because the position that you were putting takes the stress off your back and for that period of time, you can pretend that pregnancy is easy. However relaxation comes to you it can probably be found in a massage room. Massage therapists work very hard to make sure that every element of the massage is relaxing, not just the touch itself. Keep in mind however that some massages are not relaxing at all and they are for therapeutic purposes only.

Implementation of physical therapy
This is the kind that doesn’t exactly feel relaxing or even good. Physical therapy massages can be very painful and invasive but they work. This is known more as a medical massage than therapeutic. The therapist uses trigger points to help heal torn ligaments and muscles. Of all the different massage techniques, physical therapy is probably the most diverse, even including repetitive exercise to help heal the body after or instead of surgery. A lot of physical therapy is added to sports massages and for patients that have had to go through surgery to repair broken bones, etc.

Massage is used for various ailments and is rarely a bad idea for any condition.