STRESS MANAGEMENT

Various massage techniques can be used to help stimulate tense or painful muscles, effect arterial circulation, improve joint and muscle range of movement and decrease stress levels.

Stress affects many of us in different forms and comes from many sources. It can affect our posture, sleeping habits, motivation levels and muscle tone. When we are stressed, everything can seem so much harder and require much more time and effort. This applies to exercise, work and household chores. When our muscle tone is affected, even the smallest task can make us tire quickly.

I find that massage therapy can help in dealing with chronic stress. Our bodies respond to chronic stress in a different way to temporary stress, such as train delays or being stuck in traffic; blood pressure and heart rate can increase, muscles tighten and even our diaphragm can be affected. Feelings of stress such as this that continue for long periods of time have a detrimental effect on the body. Massage can address these issues and advice can be given on how to handle certain issues so they won’t affect your body. By calming the body and the mind, we can relieve stress.

Activation of the stress response in the body can cause our muscles to tighten, and if left in this way for long periods of time, then the muscle may never truly relax and damage can be caused to the soft tissues. This can lead to pain and weakness in the muscles or joints, an increase in headaches, chronic back and neck pain, and pain when carrying out simple day-to-day tasks. Various massage techniques, such as trigger point therapy, soft tissue release, muscle energy techniques, effleurage and petrissage, are used to rub, stretch and apply pressure to the muscles to encourage them to return to a relaxed state.

Hands-on Therapy is a great way to ‘feel’ better. However, I will always try to educate you on what will help keep stress levels lower and have a healthy lifestyle and mindset.

Get in touch for more information to discover how we can help you.