What is Massage Therapy?

In a massage therapeutic session, a trained and certified medical professional (massage therapist) manipulates the soft tissues of your body – muscle, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and skin. The massage therapist uses his or her hands or elbow in varying degrees of pressure, movement on a client’s body.

Massage treatment is generally considered part of integrative medicine. Medical centers or massage spas offer it as a treatment. It may be used for a wide range of medical conditions.

Studies of massage benefits have found that massage therapy can:

• Help reduce stress
• Lessen pain and muscle tension
• Increase relaxation
• Improve immune function
• Improve circulation, energy and alertness

A doctor or other medical professionals may recommend massage therapy to help people cope with the pain and stress of various conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, stomach problems, fibromyalgia, muscle pain or insomnia. A relaxing massage increases the immediate production of melatonin which leads to better sleep quality and has the effect of eliminating insomnia.