The BEFORE scene: I was so happily anticipating my massage in the days leading up to the actual event. YES, event because I had not had a massage in about 3 months and my neck and back were hurting badly. I knew with a little pressure applied to the right spots, I would be feeling so much better. I have been holding on to a gift card that was given to me a couple of years ago (that, right there is ridiculous). Lucky for me, this company keeps the gift recipient's names on record indefinitely. Although I had the gift card, they would have been able to find me in the system. I got to the facility and was "ret-to-get-started", but I had paperwork that I needed to complete, first. At this point, I just wanted to throw the clipboard back at the receptionist because I had NO intention of purchasing any additional services. I just wanted to start my massage, NOW!!!
First of all. Let's define massage. Massage is the rubbing and kneading of muscles and joints of the body with the hands, especially to relieve tension or pain. In doing my research, I didn't realize that there were so many different types of massage methods involving pressure, movements, and techniques. There's swedish, ayurvedic, deep tissue, sports, chair, shiatsu, thai, hot stone, reflexology, pregnancy, rolfing, anma, and trigger point massage and I am sure some other names I didn't come across. At the end of the day, the benefits of massage are to get relief from symptoms or to help heal injuries, help with certain health conditions, and promote wellness.
The DURING scene: I could feel the massage therapist come across the knots in my back and neck. I just wanted the therapist to continue to rub and knead the spots, but hence, they had to move on or I would have been there ALL day. This massage took me back to a day in my former life when someone would massage my feet after I came in from work. The therapist kneaded the bottom of my foot and I swear I heard angels sing (okay, I'm exaggerating). I cannot describe how good it felt.
According to WebMD different massage styles are popular at different times. Styles range from smooth strokes to short percussive strokes. Some therapists use oils and lotions. Some massage therapist have clients get undressed "to the client's comfort level" and some do not. Massages can be those little teasers for 5 minutes or sessions that make you fall asleep, for 2 hours. You have to decide why you need the massage and let the therapist know whether it is for relaxation, stress relief, symptom relief, or help with a health condition.
The AFTER scene: I felt great when my massage was finally complete. I could have used some more time on my back, but my 50 minutes was up and I felt fresh and relaxed. Now, if the therapist does not offer you water, you should make it your business to drink lots of water for the remainder of the day. As per Dr. Oz, massages are dehydrating. Kneading and working muscle gets fluid pumping out of the soft tissue and into your circulatory system, where it heads toward your kidneys. That’s why many people have to pee right after a massage. You have to replenish all that lost water – by drinking more. Then there’s the issue of metabolic waste, which is produced by muscles in the course of everyday function. When your muscles are tight or you’ve got a major knot, it constricts circulation in those areas, inhibiting the body’s ability to flush out this waste. Massage relaxes the tension, releasing the circulatory pathways and allowing nitrogenous metabolic waste to dump into the system. Drinking provides your kidneys with the water they need to eliminate that waste. And once again, it's time to pee.
All in all, it seems massages do have benefits. According to Mayo Clinic, research has been done that finds massage may be helpful for anxiety, digestive disorders, fibromyalgia, headaches, insomnia related to stress, myofacial pain syndrome, nerve pain, soft tissue strains, sports injuries, and temporomandibular joint pain.
I do suggest that you take acetaminophen or ibuprofen after your massage as you may find that your muscles are sore the next day as if you did a workout, but the massage will be well worth it.
SMOOCHES
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