benefits of massage Flashcards
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Relieving Muscular
Tension
Massage stimulates the “Relaxation Response” • a state where the heart and breathing rate slow down, blood pressure goes down, there is a decrease in stress hormones and muscles relax • increase in serotonin levels, a chemical that positively affects emotions
Reducing Soreness and
Fatigue
Massage enhances blood circulation, which increases the amount of oxygen and nutrients available to the muscles: • Increased oxygen and nutrients reduce muscle fatigue and post exercise fatigue • A fatigued muscles recuperates 20% after 5 min of rest and 100% after 5 min of massage
Trigger Points
• Trigger point formation is greatly reduced by the pressure applied during a massage • Massage affects the trigger points in both the muscle and fascia
Muscle Fibers
Massage compressive strokes and
cross-fiber friction strokes manually
separate muscle fibers
• reduces muscle spasms
Improving balance
• Massage helps stimulate the body’s proprioceptors • These are nerve endings that tell the body where it’s part are in space • For example, if you close your eyes, you can still touch your nose or your foot without seeing it • Your body’s proprioceptive nerves let you know where it is
Proprioception
Proprioceptive input can become altered due to injuries and improper movement • Massage can help stimulate those nerves and improve movement to increase proprioceptive input • Leads to better balance and lesser change of injury
Increased Range of
Motion
• When muscular tension is reduced, range of motion is improved • The movement of joints is dictated by the movement of muscles • If the muscles are tight, then the joints can not move freely and optimally
Weak Muscles
Massage aids in toning weak muscles because muscle spindle activity is increased during massage • An increase in muscle spindle activity creates muscle contractions, aiding in toning weak muscles • Massage is extremely beneficial for those with muscle atrophy
Improves muscular nutrition
Massage can improve blood and lymph circulation through the physical manipulation of soft tissue and chemicals that are released as part of the relaxation response • Improved circulation will bring nutrients to the cells and remove waste products
Improving Circulation
Massage can improve blood and lymph circulation through the physical manipulation of soft tissue and chemicals that are released as part of the relaxation response • Improved circulation will bring nutrients to the cells and remove waste products
Skeletal System
Increases mineral retention
• Promotes fracture healing
Mineral Retention
Massage increases the retention of
nutrients such as nitrogen, sulfur and
phosphorus in the bones
Fracture Healing
When a bone is fractured, the body forms a
network of new blood vessels at the break
site
• Massage increases circulation around the
fracture, promoting healing
• Increased circulation lead to increased
deposition of callus to the bone
• Callus is formed between and around the
broken ends of a fractured bone during
healing and is then replaced by compact
bone
Nervous System
- Promotes relaxation
• Decreases Pain
• Activates sensory receptors
Relaxation
General relaxation is promoted through activation of the relaxation response • This also has a diminishing effect on pain sensation
PAIN #1
Massage relieves local and referred pain caused by hypersensitive trigger points • These points are caused by ischemia (decreased blood flow) • Increasing blood flow helps eliminate these trigger points
Pain #2
Massage stimulates the release of endorphins, enkephalins and other pain reducing neurochemicals • Endorphins cause a euphoric state of mind (example is a “runner’s high”)
Pain #3
The pressure of massage interferes with pain information entering the spinal cord by stimulating pressure receptors • This works to further reduce pain (based on the pain gate theory)
Pain Gate Theory
The Gate Control Theory of Pain was first introduced by Ronald Melzack and Patrick Wall in 1965 • This theory states that non-painful stimulation closes the “gates” to painful input • Example, rubbing an area after you hit it on something helps to reduce the pain sensation
Pain #4
Massage interrupts the pain cycle by
relieving muscular spasms, increasing
circulation, and promoting rapid
disposal of waste products
Pain #5
• During deep sleep, a substance called somatostatin is released • Massage helps improve sleeping, which improves the levels of somatostatin released • Without this substance, pain is experienced
Sensory Receptors
Massage can stimulate difference sensory
receptors depending on the stroke choice,
direction, speed and pressure
• Cross-fiber tapotement stimulates muscle
spindles, which activates muscular
contraction
• Slow, passive stretch and deep effleurage
activate Golgi tendon organs, which inhibit
muscular contraction
• Activation of sensory pressure receptors
reduces pain
Cardiovascular System
• Dilates blood vessels • Improves blood circulation • Stimulates release of acetylcholine and histamine for sustained vasodilation • Replenishes nutritive materials • Reduces ischemia • Decreases blood pressure and reduces heart rate
Blood Vessels
• The body responds to massage by reflexively dilating the blood vessels • This in turn, aids in improving blood circulation and lowering blood pressure
Circulation
• Deep stroking improves blood circulation by mechanically assisting venous blood flow back to the heart • The increase of blood flow is comparable to that of exercise • It has been documented that during a massage, local circulation increases up to 3 times more than circulation at rest
Vasodilation
• Massage stimulates the release of
acetylcholine and histamine
• These substances prolong vasodilation
(dilation of veins)
Replenishing Nutritive
Materials
• Increased blood circulation leads to an
increase in nutritive materials such as
oxygen and other nutrients to the
cells and tissues
Ischemia
• Massage reduces ischemia and ischemic-related pain • Ischemia is the term used when blood flow is decreased to an area • Ischemia plays a role in creating trigger points which are associated with pain referral patterns
Decrease in Blood
Pressure
• Blood pressure is decreased by dilation of blood vessels • Both diastolic and systolic readings decline and last approx 40 min after the massage session
Decreases Heart Rate
• Massage decreases heart rate through
the activation of the relaxation
response
Integumentary
Increases skin temperature
• Improves skin condition
• Reduces superficial keloid formation
Temperature
• Skin temperature increases due to
increased blood flow
Skin Condition
Improvement
• As superficial blood vessels dilate, and circulation increases, the skin appears hyperemic (increased blood flow makes it red in appearance) • This brings added nutrients to the skin, improving the skin’s condition, texture and tone
Skin Pathologies
• Unless a condition contraindicates massage, skin pathologies may improve by decreasing redness, reducing thickening/hardening of the skin, increasing healing of skin abrasion and reducing itching
Reduces Keloid
Formation
• Keloids (also known as granulation tissue) are made up of scar tissue • Massage applied to scar tissue helps reduce the formation of keloids in the skin and excessive scar formation in the soft tissue beneath
Urinary System
• Increases urine output
• Promotes the excretion of metabolic
wastes
Increased Urine Output
• Massage activates dormant capillary beds and recovers lympathic fluids for filtration by the kidney • This in turn, increases the frequency of urination and amount of urine produced • Massage is also relaxing, which promotes general homeostasis (balance of the systems)
Promotes Excretion
• Massage promotes excretion of nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus, and sodium chloride in urine • Levels of these metabolic wastes are elevated in urine after a massage
Endocrine System
• Increases dopamine and serotonin
levels
• Reduces cortisol levels
• Reduces norepinephrine levels
Dopamine Levels
Massage increases dopamine levels
• Increased levels of dopamine are
linked to decreased stress levels and
reduced depression
Serotonin Levels
• Massage increases serotonin levels • Increased levels of serotonin suggest a reduction of both stress and depression • It is believed that serotonin inhibits transmission of noxious signals to the brain, reducing pain
Cortisol Reduction
• Massage reduces cortisol levels by activating the relaxation response • Elevated levels of cortisol are found in individuals that are stressed • Also found to decrease immune function
Norepinephrine Levels
Norepinephrine is another stress hormone • Massage has proven effective in reducing this hormone due to the relaxation response
Lymphatic System
• Promotes lymph circulation
• Increases lymphocyte count
• Increases the number and function of
natural killer cells
Lymph Circulation
• Lymph is a fluid that moves slowly within it’s own system of vessels • Lymphatic circulation depends entirely on pressure from muscle contraction, breathing and applied pressure from massage
Increase in Lymphocytes
• Lymphocytes are types of White Blood Cells (WBC) • Massage increases the number of lymphocytes which has a positive effect on the immune system
Natural Killer Cells
• Natural killer cells are also types of WBCs • Massage increases the number of Natural Killer Cells which improves the immune system
