Let’s play the word-association game. We say a word, you tell us the first thing that comes to your mind. Ready? Let’s go.
CH: Remedial Massage Therapy
99.9% of the world: relax, calm, zen
Whilst there is nothing wrong with associating those feelings with a massage session, it’s almost unfair to what massage therapy actually does to your body.
We want to give massage the credit it deserves and most importantly, help you understand that a massage session is a treatment our body needs, demands and wants. The words that should be associated with it are health, happiness, flexibility and so many more.
The confusion about what massage therapy can actually offer us comes from the fact that there are numerous massage treatments: Swedish, Thai, hot stone, reflexology, and more.
Each type of massage addresses different needs and has different benefits. What we have the bad habit of doing is put everything under the umbrella of the word ‘massage,’ never taking the time to understand what each type does.
Today, we will be looking at remedial massage therapy – what it is, what it does and why we believe it can be an instrumental tool in creating a healthier and happier lifestyle for you.
Remedial massage therapy addresses pain, discomfort and preservation of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Whilst it is mainly used for the prevention and management of injuries, it has broader therapeutic and healing qualities that directly impact your health.
Here’s a few words from the Club’s Founder & Director, Luis Ribeiro:
“Remedial massage therapy feels like a well-kept secret that I want to share with the world. It’s frustrating to see people categorising massage treatments under one roof. Obviously, it’s not their fault and this is one of the main reasons we created the Club – to redefine the way people think about exercise, diet and physical therapy. With remedial massage therapy, the benefits are countless and what’s more important, immediate. The relaxation part of it is only the tip for the iceberg. The real work comes in layers and waves that the eyes can’t see.”
Stress is something you can’t see, you can’t really measure but you can most definitely feel. When we say that remedial massage therapy reduces stress, we don’t mean that you feel relaxed during, and a couple of hours after the session.
What we mean is that the therapy is affecting your neurohormones, elevates endorphins, and decreases cortisol levels. Your body is in a state of diluting stress, increased energy and a positive mood.
Mood and behaviour are the last things you associate with a massage session. Remedial massage has the distinct ability to stimulate the body in ways where your mood and behaviour are steered towards a more positive direction.
You’ll notice that we frequently mention the need to improve posture and there’s a good reason for it. Good posture improves blood flow and is responsible for keeping your nerves and blood vessels healthy, reducing neck and back pain.
Remedial massage therapy can address the problems associated with office jbs, sitting for prolonged periods of time and damaging posture. The therapy can stretch, balance or realign your spine.
It can adjust your spine to the right posture and reset your body, relieving the nagging pain from your neck, abdominal and low back.
Waking up in the morning feeling tired or not getting any sleep during the night can prove to be detrimental for your health. It’s crucial to address these problems immediately and cut them at the core.
Remedial massage therapy can help with both those problems. By relieving stress, helping with blood circulation, improving posture and putting away nagging pains, it prepares your body for a relaxing night of quality sleep and helps you deal with insomnia.
Moreover, remedial massage therapy is believed to trigger the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel calmer.
You don’t need to be a yoga instructor to be able to enjoy the full range of motion of all your joints.
Simply because lack of mobility is not something that stops you from going about your day, most people neglect it. So what if I can’t rotate my shoulder in a 360-degree circle? Why would I need to do that?
The reality is that neglecting joint mobility will catch up with you in the later parts of your life. The body stiffens up with age and when we don’t make it a habit to lubricate and stretch the joints at a younger age, it will become really challenging later on.
Thankfully, remedial massage includes a lot of stretching and mobilisation exercises that not only reduce pain and stiffness, but also increases strength, stability, agility and flexibility in your joints.
The lymphatic system is a network of blood tissue, organs and vessels that cleanse the body of waste. It is part of the circulatory and immune system and is responsible for producing, storing, and carrying white blood cells.
Where does remedial massage affect the lymphatic system?
Remedial massage increases white blood cells, thereby strengthening the immune system. By stimulating the lymphatic system, remedial therapy boosts energy levels, improves overall health, enables better rest, and makes things like weight loss and decrease in inflammation possible.