Does pain or restricted movement keep you from living the life you want? Sports injuries, household accidents, repetitive actions on the job, and tension from everyday stresses cause problems that, too often, take up permanent residence in our bodies.

Massage can help. Massage is a gentle therapy that can relieve pain and, in combination with medical attention, heal certain conditions and help prevent their return.

Stress:

Massage is one of the best known antidotes for stress. Reducing stress gives you more energy, improves your outlook on life and, in the process, reduces your likelihood of injury and illness. It can relieve symptoms in conditions that are aggravated by anxiety, such as asthma or insomnia. Because it relieves stress, massage is an excellent supportive therapy for people in psychological counseling or treatment for addiction.

Painful or Tight Muscles:

Massage relieves most muscle tightness, fom a sudden charley horse to habitually clenched jaaws or tight neck muscles. Massage acts directly on your muscles with stretching and kneading motions. It also stimulates the nervous system to instruct muscles to relax even more.

Delayed Muscle Soreness:

Massage flushes muscles of built-up waste products that can make you sore after vigorous exercise.

Pain or tingling in arms or legs:

Muscles can become so contracted that they press on nerves to the arms, hands, and legs. If this happens, a massage to release muscle spasms in the shoulder or hip can bring relief.

Injuries:

Massage can treat injuries you develop over time, such as tendonitis, as well as ligament sprains or muscle strains caused by accidents. Massage reduces inflammation by increasing circulation. This brings nutrition to your injured area and removes waste products. Certain massage techniques can limit scar tissue in new injuries, and can reduce, or make more pliable, scar tissue in old injuries.

Secondary Pain:

Massage can treat secondary pain that can outlast the original cause. Some examples are headaches from eyestrain, a lower back ache during pregnancy, or tensing of healthy muscles to protect an injury.

Prevention of New Injuries:

Massage can help prevent injuries that might be caused by stressing unbalanced muscle groups, or by favoriing (or forcing) a painful, restricted area.

Pain Or Restriction In Joints:

Besides releasing tight muscles that restrict joint movement, massage works directly on your joints to improve circulation, stimulate production of natural lubrication, and relieve pain from conditions such as osteoarthritis.

Posture:

Massage releases restrictions in muscles, joints, and the muscles' tough connective tissue coverings, freeing your body to return to a more natural posture. Massage can also relieve the contracted muscles and pain caused by abnormal spinal curvatures such as scoliosis.

When you have to stay still:

There are many reasons you may be forced to remain still, including injury, surgery, paralysis or simply getting older. When this happens, massage can relieve your aches and pains and improve circulation to your skin and muscles. Even when an immobilized area cannot be massaged directly, relaxation and increased circulation from a general massage can give you relief.

Fluid Retention:

Massage increases your circulation which, in turn, drains tissues of excess fluid caused by recent injury, surgery, or pregnancy.