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Welcome to healthymassageguide.com a site dedicated to massage, health and well-being.

Massage and bodywork treatments have many facets. Not only can the various therapies provide a luxurious, calming, stress relief but the long historical evidence of the treatments also demonstrates a strong link to health and well-being improvement on a wide range of fronts. For example massage and bodywork treatments are useful for addressing a wide range of conditions:

  • Ease low-back pain and improve physical range of motion.
  • Support with shorter, calmer labour for expectant mums
  • Reduce dependence upon medication
  • Augment immunity by encouraging lymph flow
  • Exercise and stretch weak, constricted, or shrunken muscles.
  • Help elite and recreational athletes get ready for, and recover from, energetic training.
  • Recover the state of the body’s the skin.
  • Improve joint flexibility.
  • Reduce scar tissue and stretch marks by encouraging skin tissue rejuvenation,
  • Enhance blood, oxygen and nutrient circulation to tissues and vital organs.
  • Decrease muscle cramping.
  • Relax damaged, weary, and overworked muscles.
  • Reduce migraine pain.

Above all, massage aides the reduction of stress. Well-being benefits would include:

  • Reduced anxiety.
  • Superior quality of sleep.
  • Improved levels of energy.
  • Enriched concentration.
  • Reduced levels of lethargy.

If you offer massages to your friends and family, make sure that they do not have any illnesses that could be aggravated by massage. If you are ever unsure if someone’s condition could be worsened by massage, have them contact their doctor first to see if the doctor gives the green light for massage. Also be sure to educate the people you massage about which conditions are contra-indicators for massage as most people do not think the medical concerns that they have could be affected by massage.

Contra-indicators for massage include being currently ill, having had recent surgery, fever, contagious viruses or diseases, acute injuries, neuritis, skin diseases, open wounds or sores, and being under the influence of drugs or alcohol including being on pain medications. Those are total contraindicators, which means that no massage should be performed on people with those symptoms or conditions.

Some conditions are only local contra-indicators, which means that massage should not be carried out on areas with these conditions occur. Such conditions would include things like varicose veins, unidentified bumps or lumps, sunburn, arthritis, unidentified pain, bruises, cuts, inflammation, pregnancy, and abrasions. Areas with any of those conditions should not be massaged; however, everywhere else on the body is okay to massage.

Lastly, there are conditions that are medical contra-indicators, so massage should not be performed unless the recipient has consulted with his or her doctor and has gotten clearance for massage. These conditions include hypertension, oedema, psoriasis, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, cancer, nervous or psychotic conditions, heart problems, angina, and participants with pacemakers, epilepsy, diabetes, Bell’s palsy, trapped or pinched nerves, and gynecological infections.

For pregnant women, they should not receive massage at all until they are out of their first trimester. For women with high risk pregnancies, they should always check with their doctors first and should wait longer into their pregnancies before receiving massage.