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How A Massage Therapy Career Can Help You Make A Real Difference

massage therapy

If you’re looking for a career in the alternative health field where you can make a real difference in helping people feel better, then you may want to consider becoming a massage therapist. Massage therapy can help the human body heal in many ways.

A good massage can help clients relax their muscles, which, in turn, will reduce nerve compression, create more joint space, and facilitate a broader range of motion. It will also improve blood and lymph circulation creating a wonderful feeling of well-being.

After you have graduated from a school of massage therapy and acquired your certificates and licenses, then you can start your own massage clinic. Compared to other businesses, purchasing equipment is relatively inexpensive. All you need are massage tables, linen, oils, lotions, and a few other basic tools, which means that you can open up a clinic with your savings or a small bank loan.

Although you may have had a few massages, noticing that it relaxes, energizes, and relieves tension, there are far more benefits than simply helping you feel good.

5 Benefits of Massage Therapy

Here are 5 benefits of massage therapy that will help you make a positive impact on the lives of your clients:

Massage relieves aches and pains

Millions of Americans suffer from a variety of physical aches and pains. Massage can often provide relief from headaches, back pain, and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

  • Headaches

Headaches and migraines are often aggravated by high stress and sleep deprivation. Massage interrupts this cycle of high cortisol levels and sleep deprivation, helping provide relaxation and a good night’s sleep.

  • Back Pain

Sedentary occupations where people sit at a desk for long hours at a time makes back pain a common health issue. Massage relieves the tense muscles of the lower back, buttocks, and hamstring to provide relief from back pain.

  • Carpal Tunnel

The median nerves connecting the forearms and hand pinch at the wrist due to repetitious work with a mouse and a keyboard. Massage reduces the unpleasant symptoms of carpal tunnel, which include burning and numbness. Besides providing therapeutic relief to hands, wrists, and forearms, massage also improves grip strength.

Massage helps patients rehabilitate after surgery

After surgery, a patient feels weak and exhausted, too tired to do anything. They also feel listless or apathetic and disinterested in rehabilitation. A good massage will increase circulation, relax tense muscles, and restore joint flexibility. It will also reduce swelling and adhesions. Once patients feel a little better, they will be more motivated to move around more to begin the process of rehabilitation.

Massage helps alleviate numerous mood disorders

Due to past traumas, stressful lifestyles, poor eating habits, and hormonal imbalances, anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders are highly prevalent in our society. Massage not only helps the body, it helps the mind – because a massage will lower the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, as well as increase the flow of endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine. Furthermore, it addresses mood disorders by helping put people in a positive mood.

Massage provides relief from the symptoms of Fibromyalgia

It can help relieve many of the debilitating symptoms of Fibromyalgia, which include chronic muscle pain and tenderness. The more stressed out a person feels, the more this exacerbates their symptoms; and the more discomfort they feel, the more they suffer from sleep deprivation. In other words, it’s a downward spiral. Massage therapy can break this cycle, decrease stress, and reduce muscle pain and spasms. It is so effective in relieving the symptoms of Fibromyalgia that many people with this condition use it as part of their treatment plan.

Massage cuts down the risk of heart attacks and strokes by reducing high blood pressure

One of the leading causes of heart attacks and strokes is high blood pressure. Back massages ease tension in the large back muscles and lower blood pressure.

A Career in Massage Therapy

A career in massage therapy is highly rewarding on many levels. The work pays well and you make a real difference in helping people. Massage therapy schools provide comprehensive theoretical and practical training, and after your education, there are many possible career tracks. You can, of course, start your own business right away…but, if you feel you need more experience before starting your own practice, you can work in a wide array of settings, like fitness centers, hotels, cruise ships, physicians’ offices, and spas.

Article Submitted by Community Writer.

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