Atlas Massage is a form of bodywork that relaxes muscles, tendons, and ligaments. It also stimulates circulation and decreases emotional stress.
It’s best to have a massage done by a licensed professional. However, you can give your massage at home by following the proper technique and setting up a soothing environment.
Stress is an important part of life, and it can be due to anything from work or health issues. It’s important to take the time to relax and relieve stress. Therapeutic massage is a good way to do that. Massage stimulates the body’s release of feel-good hormones, which improves mood and decreases stress. It also stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and helps to relieve tension.
Studies have shown that just ten minutes of massage significantly reduces the heart rate and blood pressure, as well as cortisol levels, a primary stress hormone in the body. It also increases serotonin, a neurotransmitter that improves mood and regulates sleep cycles. This creates a natural relaxation response that can help people better manage stressful situations and prevent the negative health impacts of chronic stress such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, depression, anxiety, and gastrointestinal problems.
In addition to helping with stress, massage lowers cortisol and enhances the body’s production of dopamine. This boosts the immune system and helps to reduce pain and depression. It can even increase the number of white blood cells, which protects against disease and infection.
Massage can be helpful for anyone, but it’s especially useful for people who suffer from recurring or chronic stress. Research has shown that it can be effective for people with many different conditions, such as migraines, auto-immune diseases, high blood pressure, and even cancer. Taking the time to relax and get a massage can be a great investment in your physical and emotional health, and it’s a good idea to try to make it a regular part of your wellness routine.
Relieves Pain
In a study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, massage was found to reduce pain in the neck and back. Researchers theorize that this is due to the physical manipulation of soft tissue, the release of tension and stress, as well as a decrease in blood pressure in the brain and heart. The increased circulation also aids in the removal of waste from muscle cells. This is important for cellular health as well as allowing oxygen and nutrients to flow properly.
During a therapeutic massage, deep pressure is applied to the muscles and connective tissues in areas of discomfort. This relieves pain and tension, increases flexibility and promotes the healing of injury and chronic pain conditions. In addition, the endorphins released during a therapeutic massage give your mood a boost, improving your overall mental and emotional state.
Although everyone experiences pain differently, the general consensus is that massage can effectively reduce and even eliminate pain. Some studies have even shown a reduction in the need for pain medications after a session of massage therapy. Research has also shown that a therapeutic massage can improve the quality of life of those who suffer from cancer and other serious diseases.
The physical manipulation of soft tissue during a massage stimulates nerves, which helps block pain signals from reaching the brain. The relaxation response that occurs during a massage can help to ease pain by reducing the autonomic nervous system’s “fight-or-flight” reaction and shifting it into a rest and digestive mode, which allows your body to use its resources more efficiently.
Massage can be used for many different kinds of pain, from a minor headache to lower back pain. However, it’s important to talk with your doctor before undergoing any type of massage. If you are taking medication for a condition such as high blood pressure or arthritis, it’s important to discuss how your massage will affect your treatment.
Research on massage therapy is still evolving, and more rigorous methods need to be implemented in order for solid conclusions to be drawn. The quality of research varies, and many studies fail to address aspects of internal validity, such as allocation concealment and intention-to-treat.
Increases Circulation
Blood is the vehicle that delivers oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to your muscles while flushing out metabolic waste. That’s why it’s important to maintain a healthy circulatory system, and it’s also why massage is often promoted as a way to boost your circulation. But how much impact does it have, and are there better ways to increase your blood flow?
The answer seems to be a bit of a mixed bag. Many studies have measured changes in circulation with Doppler ultrasound instruments, which are sensitive to blood velocity and the size of the arteries and veins in large muscle tissue. However, these measurements only take into account the outermost layer of the muscle and have not been shown to increase blood flow deeper in the muscle. Other studies have found that massage causes an immediate rise in skin temperature, which theoretically indicates an increase in the blood supply to the rubbed area. However, this effect has not been replicated with other methods of measuring temperature, and it’s not clear how much of an increase in blood supply to the muscle is being attributed to the rubbing effect.
A more accurate measure of blood flow might be a more sophisticated tool like near-infrared spectroscopy, which can noninvasively monitor dynamic information on oxy-hemoglobin and deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations, as well as total hemoglobin and hematocrit levels in the muscle tissue. Using this technique, one study found that massage increased the activity of enzymes involved in circulation, and it was also able to determine whether the increases were a result of greater hemoglobin turnover or greater capillarization in the muscle.
Another method of assessing changes in circulation involves measuring the amount of water in the muscle tissue. This can be done by weighing the muscle before and after massage, and the difference suggests an increase in the amount of water in the muscle. However, this is a relatively indirect and subjective measurement, and it’s not clear how much this increase is due to the actual massage, or how it compares to other therapies that are supposed to improve circulation.
Relieves Tension
If you are experiencing pain, both physically and emotionally, massage is an excellent way to reduce it. It relieves the tension and anxiety that can come from a wide variety of situations in your life, from everyday events to traumatic ones. A massage can also ease the pain that often accompanies injury or illness, whether it is muscle or joint related.
During a massage, friction is created between the skin and the fingers or hands, and this encourages blood flow to increase to the area. This increased blood flow causes muscles to relax, which in turn decreases stress and pain. In addition, the tissue elasticity of the muscles improves as their temperature rises, further decreasing pain and stress.
In fact, a recent study showed that just 10 minutes of relaxation or massage can activate the body’s system for overcoming stress. This is known as the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) and it can help reverse the negative effects of stress, such as decreased immunity, fatigue and depression.
The physiological effects that happen during a massage to help reduce stress include the release of endorphins, serotonin and dopamine. These neurotransmitters are beneficial to your overall well-being, as they help prevent depression, boost self-esteem and reduce stress. A massage can also lower cortisol, which is a hormone that causes stress. Cortisol is replaced by positive stress-relieving hormones during a massage, which further decreases your level of stress and increases your relaxation.
The pressure of a massage also stimulates nerves, and this blocks the transmission of pain signals from the brain. However, the type of pain relief varies between each person. For example, a person who is recovering from a severe injury will experience different results than someone who is suffering from chronic neck pain. In the case of chronic neck pain, massage may help with reducing the stiffness and improving the range of motion in the affected areas. This will ultimately help in preventing further injuries by increasing mobility and strength. In addition, a massage can help with the rehabilitation of scar tissue a few weeks after surgery.