Learn Massage Therapy Benefits
There are many massage therapy benefits. Massage therapy is a wonderful, relaxing method of rejuvenating your body and easing pain and discomfort. But an exciting added benefit of massage therapy is the fact that it helps to move toxins out of the body.
My first experience with massage was several years ago when my husband, Tom, was recovering from Guillan Barre’. The disease paralyzed his legs and partially affected his arms. He was unable to move any muscle in his legs at all for about a year and a half. His arms could move, but he was unable to open and close his fingers. The hands were similar to a crab’s claw in the way they would open and close. The fingers moved slightly and the thumb would move, but nothing more.
When Tom realized the disease was beginning to recede, he immediately requested that his physician refer him for physical therapy. His recovery was remarkable, but his legs continued to swell and retain huge amounts of fluid. The circulation became a major problem.
Then one day an idea came into my head. The therapist would put Tom’s legs into a sort of a boot that would compress and push the fluid from his legs. Sometimes he would manually massage the legs, but not often enough to help permanently. So I thought perhaps he should go to a massage therapist and try that route.
The difference was amazing! Tom’s legs began to shrink as the fluid was manually compressed out of them. The massage was very beneficial for other pains and stiffness throughout his body.
I later began visiting a massage therapist as well, and found it to be equally beneficial to me. Pain I had dealt with for years began to disappear and I felt younger, and rejuvenated. Soon I had no more need for a chiropractor, as the massage therapy did away with pain that had always returned quickly before.
As my muscles were manipulated by the skillful hands of a massage therapist, I walked better, felt better while sitting and could bend and move much better. Headaches I dealt with continually soon disappeared, and my life became more of a pleasure.
These massage therapy benefits alone are a compelling reason to use massage on a regular basis, but there’s more! No, this is not a commercial for knives… Massage is helpful in eliminating toxic buildups in the body tissues.
What about Lymphatic Massage?
One special type of massage is called lymphatic drainage, or simply lymph massage. I had heard of this type of massage, but most therapists I asked would say it was not possible. They actually told me you could cause damage by trying to drain the lymph nodes.
How wrong they were.
As Tom continued toward regaining his health, he began to experience more and more problems with fluid buildup in his legs. The legs became inflamed and shiny. A doctor he visited told us this was an infection, and gave him antibiotics to take.
We knew this was bad news, but the legs never seemed to get any better with the massages he was getting, and the pain was worsening. So, he took the antibiotics and the infection went away. The legs seemed to heal, the shinyness went away, but he still had the fluid buildup.
Around that time he also began to have a type of skin condition that looked like psoriasis, or exzema. It began at the ankles and slowly made its way up his legs. I knew there was some type of problem with circulation, but the massage wasn’t doing a good enough job to relieve it.
Then Tom visited Dr. Mayfield, a naturopath. The doctor looked at Tom’s legs and told him he needed to have a lymph massage.
Wow! Lymph massage! I thought that wasn’t possible….
So Tom met Theresa, and had his first Lymphatic Drainage. This type of detox massage was amazingly effective for the circulation problems. Theresa found plugged-up nodes that were causing Tom’s problems. When they were released and drained, the swelling receded. The skin condition disappeared as if by magic, and Tom had much less pain in his legs.
Learn about the many massage therapy benefits, and you'll soon be hooked too. And, the best advice I can give you if you are experiencing circulation problems is to find a massage therapist trained in lymphatic drainage. Your life could be changed.
