What Happens to Your Body During a Massage?
Curious how a massage affects your body? Check out Alchemy Spa's explanation of the science behind relaxation, circulation, and stress relief.
When we opt for a massage, most of us do so for its enjoyable nature. However, there is much more to it beyond just relaxation. As soon as therapists start manipulating their clients with their hands, their muscles, veins, the nervous system, and even hormones start reacting. Knowing about all of this can enhance the whole experience of getting a massage, and help you benefit from it even more. So let’s take a closer look at the process.
First Few Minutes: Your Nervous System Reaches Out through Touch
From the moment that the massage starts, your nerves respond to touch, pressure, and warmth and send information to the brain. It assists in moving your body from its "fight or flight" state (the sympathetic nervous system) to its "rest and digest" state (the parasympathetic nervous system).
You can observe yourself taking deep breaths, calming your heart rate and dropping your shoulders without even trying to do so. That is how your nervous system relaxes.
What Happens in Your Muscles
Tension Starts to Be Relieved
The strokes used in massage, such as kneading, work on relaxing tense muscle tissues. Those places in your body that held tension, such as your neck, shoulders, and lower back, start to relax since your muscles stop contracting.
Trigger Points Are Released
Trigger points (also known as muscle knots) are localized spots of tension in the muscles that can lead to pain in those areas and even elsewhere in the body. The use of pressure helps these spots start to release.
Your Flexibility Increases
Since your muscles and fascia start to become more flexible and relaxed, you get more movement in them.
Effects of Massage on Your Blood Flow
When you give a massage to certain body parts, it improves blood circulation in that area. The improved blood circulation helps to deliver more oxygen and nutrients to your tired muscles, along with assisting in the elimination of metabolic waste that accumulates in your body due to fatigue or lack of motion.
Increased pressure and movement improve the functioning of the lymphatic system of your body. This explains the feeling of warmth in some cases after a massage.
What Changes Happen to Your Breathing and Heart Rate
With deeper levels of relaxation, breathing generally becomes slower and deeper. There may be a slight reduction in heart rate and even a temporary drop in blood pressure either during or right after the massage. These changes occur due to the relaxation response and are one of the reasons why people fall asleep or relax deeply during a massage.
Changes in the Mind
There is not only a physical but also a psychological aspect to massage. Some people experience:
A calmer and clearer mind
Less anxiety or psychological stress
Feeling present in the body
Sometimes an emotional response, such as crying, which is a natural reaction and does not mean anything bad
Slowing down and concentrating on feeling the sensations works as a kind of meditation, even if you did not plan it that way.
What you may experience immediately after
After your massage therapy treatment, you will typically experience
The Reasons for Individual Differences in Outcomes
Not everybody has the same reaction to massage therapy. The amount of stress a person experiences, the quality of their sleep and hydration, their state of health, the kind of massage itself, and even the pressure can all affect how you react. This is why communication with your therapist is so important.
How and When to Communicate
Talk to your therapist immediately if you experience any sudden pain, numbness, tingling, or dizziness during the process. It's important to consult with your doctor prior to scheduling a massage if you have a medical problem, are pregnant, or have suffered from injuries recently.
Closing Remarks
A massage is not just a comfortable means to kill an hour. Underneath the surface, there are processes of relaxation of your nervous system, your muscles, your circulatory system, and the changing of your moods by chemical reactions occurring simultaneously. Realizing this can make the process easier to enjoy because you will see how much work your body does for you.
And if you are ready to experience this, then try the variety of massage procedures offered by Alchemy Spa. Schedule an appointment now and see for yourself.