Massage doesn't just feel good. It reduces the heart rate and blood pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion and increases serotonin, which influences blood flow, and endorphins, which affect pain perception, enhancing medical treatment. Massage therapy also is helpful in relieving the daily stresses that wear down the body. Therapeutic massage does for the body what a tune-up does for a car. It's a wonderful way to help your body deal with daily stresses.
Massage therapy is beneficial for almost all diseases.
Therapeutic massage involves manipulation of the soft tissue structures of the body to prevent and alleviate pain, discomfort, muscle spasm and stress. It also may improve the rate at which the body recovers from injury and illness. Insurance companies and managed care providers are increasingly recognizing the cost and health advantages of massage therapy and are covering it more often, from Oxford Health Plans on the East Coast, to Kaiser-Permanente in California. AMTA's code of ethics and practice standards set the highest quality assurance for massage therapists. We can locate a massage therapist who practices by these standards for consumers and health professionals.