Massage therapy might seem like an ancient practice to help relieve muscle tension and improve blood flow, but it hasn’t been until just recently that it has been used to serve specific purposes. It wasn’t until 1996 that massage therapy was offered as a core medical service at the Olympic games. With over 640 different muscles in the human body all potentially having their own aches and pains to work out, knowing these interesting facts about the practice might just want you to book your own massage soon.
1. It’s more than just a relaxing experience.
Massage is very much a restorative experience for the human body. Just 60 minutes of massage is equal to about a full night’s worth of sleep. It takes a lot of energy for the body to be feeding muscle tissues with oxygen and work out that lactic acid. With massage therapy doing the work for you, it becomes possible to have more energy every day because you’re effectively getting twice the sleep you normally would.
2. You don’t have to take your clothes off.
Many people avoid massage therapists because they don’t like the idea of getting naked. You don’t actually have to take any clothes off in order to experience the benefits of massage. You can be fully clothed and receive the same benefits. With that being said, having a scratchy shirt seam getting massaged into a shoulder joint doesn’t always feel so great.
3. Massage therapy can be performed anywhere.
As long as you’ve got a place to get comfortable, then you’ve got a place to have massage therapy happen. It can be on a bed, on the floor, on a massage table, or even in a chair. Many people like to have massage oils incorporated into their massage or have heated stones or even ice cubes, but all of that stuff is optional as well. Massage can be on the whole body, just parts of it, and without any oils or lotion.
4. It improves the immune system.
If you’re not getting your ears massaged every day, then make today be the day that you do. All you’ve got to do is gently pull the various parts of the ear gently, with a focus on the top, bottom, and middle of the outer earlobe. Doing so will help to improve your immune system and give you an extra boost of energy to help get you through your day.
5. It’s a form of therapy that dates back thousands of years.
We might have only recently incorporated massage therapy as a medical science, but people have been using it for thousands of years with success. Heiroglyphics from ancient Egypt appear to show that the culture used massage therapy to help people feel better. It’s been said that Julius Caesar used massage therapy to calm down his epilepsy. Bob Hope lived to be 100 and he had a massage every day.
It’s difficult to argue with success. Massage therapy helps relax the body, give people more energy, and even relieve certain medical conditions. Get a massage today and experience all of these interesting facts on a first-hand basis.