Massage affects your body’s physiological functions by:
The neurological system’s automatic yet predictable response to massage treatments and contact is the relaxation response.
When pressure is applied to the soft tissues, mechanical reactions occur, which physically affect the body.
These reactions, when combined, can have physical and mental advantages.
What do you mean by the relaxation response?
A kind, safe touch is an encouragement to relax in a massage. This, in combination with pain alleviation, results in a “relaxation response.”
The relaxation reaction causes your heart and breathing rates to slow, your blood pressure to drop, your stress hormone production to drop, and your muscles to relax. The relaxation reaction also appears to boost the amount of serotonin in the body, which positively affects emotions and thoughts. While this is encouraging, additional research is needed to explicitly validate the link between massage and brain serotonin levels.
The relaxation response may help to lessen the physical impacts of stress and the hazards connected with it, such as hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, anxiety, insomnia, chronic tiredness, sexual dysfunction, digestive disorders, and psychological concerns, to mention a few.
What exactly are mechanical reactions?
Massage’s physical manipulation has two key physiological effects:
Circulation of blood and lymph is improved.
Soft tissue (muscle, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments) relaxes and normalises, releasing nerves and deeper connective tissues.
Circulation Enhancement
Massage is said to help circulate blood and lymph fluid. This is most likely due to the chemicals generated as part of the relaxation response and the physical manipulation of soft tissue.
Improved circulation can improve oxygen and nutrient delivery to muscle cells. Tissues work more effectively as cellular health increases. Increased efficiency leads to the clearance of waste products and an increase in the absorption of extra fluids and a reduction in soft tissue swelling.