Massages aren’t just beneficial for relaxation, massage therapy can help with a range of issues from tight muscles to a lack of connection with others. When we think of massage therapy, we often think of athletes or someone recovering from an injury, but anyone of any age can benefit from massage therapy and it may be even more beneficial for seniors. Read on to find out why.
7 Top Benefits of Massage for Seniors
1. It Helps Relieve Arthritic Pain
Arthritis is a condition that affects people of all ages, but it is more common in seniors. Arthritis is caused by inflammation of a joint and can vary from being a mild inconvenience to debilitating pain and swelling. Joint issues like arthritis can be soothed with the help of massage as it helps reduce swelling and relieves tightness in muscles surrounding an affected joint which can make the pain more acute.
2. Reduces Musculoskeletal Pain
As we touched on above, stiff and sore muscles can develop as a result of pain in other areas of the body, as the result of injury, or even through daily mishaps, such as sleeping in a strange position. As we age, pain like this can cause us to seek a less active way of life, which often worsens the symptoms. Massage can help to keep your muscles and joints feeling supple so you can continue to stay active and enjoy life to the fullest.
3. Improves Circulation
Cold extremities can be a result of a lack of good circulation, but it can occur in other instances, too. Regardless of the cause of bad circulation, massage therapy helps by improving blood flow to areas of the body that may not get enough stimulation naturally. This additional blood flow helps to decrease inflammation and stiffness.
4. Improves Balance
It’s not uncommon to see an older person favoring one side of their body more than the other. While this can occur naturally as a result of an injury, any imbalance can be improved with the help of massage therapy. Helping to reduce tightness in both sides of the body will help make falling less likely, especially in conjunction with some gentle strengthening exercises (talk to your doctor, personal trainer, or physiotherapist about suitable exercises to improve your strength).
5. Reduces the Occurrence of Migraines
This tip goes for seniors, juniors, and everyone in the middle, but massage therapy can help to reduce the occurrence and severity of migraines by loosening tight muscles that some people find trigger the first symptoms. The neck, shoulders, scalp, jaw, and face are all areas that can tighten leading up to a migraine (as well as following one), and massage therapy can help to alleviate this tightness.
6. Boosts the Immune System
We touched on how massage boosts circulation earlier, but it’s worth touching on again here. The increased circulation encouraged by massage promotes lymphatic flow, which is the system that helps move nutrients and metabolic waste throughout the body. Studies have found that massage increases the number of lymphocytes in the body, which are a type of white blood cell. White blood cells are like knights in shining armor for your body, rushing to attack foreign bodies. The more white blood cells you have, the better your immune system is at warding off illness.
7. Reduces Stress and Loneliness
Stress is something unavoidable in life, especially as we age and we encounter new challenges, from our own aging or losing loved ones. It’s easy for the world to get a little small when these kinds of events happen, but regular massages help to open up your world and make you feel better able to take on life’s challenges. Better still, the physical touch of another person (whether you talk to your massage therapist or not) helps to reduce loneliness and helps you to feel more connected to the world around you.
Massage therapy can drastically improve your quality of life, not only helping you to feel better physically but also emotionally as you relax and allow yourself to be pampered. If you’re looking for massage therapy for seniors near Prescott, Arizona, we’d love to help you feel your best. Click here to find out more or to book your appointment.
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