Are you one of the people who enjoy an active lifestyle, waking up at 6 AM and doing some yoga classes, hitting the gym, or probably lifting weights after a very stressful day? It’s amazing how regular workouts boost both physical and mental health. Often, it feels so refreshing to end up your day with extensive gym training. You’re promoting happy hormones to dominate in your body, and it gives you the alertness you need to stay focused at work. Aside from that, it helps you to maintain a healthy body that makes you more confident. It’s incredible how regular exercise gives us a wide range of benefits. Consistency is the key to attain our fitness goal. Aches and pains come after extensive training, our body’s way of telling us we have worked hard. Newbies or not, post-workout soreness often leads us to limited movements in the next gym session. We may end up postponing our workouts until it’s comfortable to move again. This is when massage therapy comes with its vital role. It helps you improve your fitness routine in multiple ways, and that’s what we are going to discuss in this writing.
A therapeutic massage alleviates pain, induces mental and physical relaxation, increases blood circulation, removes free radicals and toxins, and reduces stress and tension in the body’s musculoskeletal system. It’s known to be one of the earliest forms of physiotherapy by applying pressure and stretching techniques. Message therapy has different approaches that aim to address various symptoms and conditions. It helps you improve your fitness routine in multiple ways, and that’s what we are going to discuss in this writing.
Enhances post-workout recovery
Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), commonly called post-workout soreness, is usually felt after 24 to 36 hours and lasts for three to five days. It’s caused by the build-up of carbonic and lactic acids and other waste materials. You may feel swelling, stiffness, tenderness, and decreased muscle strength and range of motion (ROM) in the affected area. DOMS is a sign of a good workout. However, it can also vary from person to person due to pain tolerance, endurance, and effective warm-up exercise.
Manual kneading and stroking of muscle can stimulate blood circulation and improve the exchange of oxygen and the excretion of lactic acid, toxins, and other waste materials. Studies show that massage can alter the pain gate mechanism to alleviate pain. Massage therapy is also used by athletes of various sports to delay and lessen pain after competitions and workouts.
Researchers have found out that massage increases the percentage of regenerating muscle fibers, especially when done after exercise. Most of the time you have a really productive workout and push yourself harder and leave you with sore muscles. As per the experienced therapists in Healthwise Optimum Massage, therapeutic massage helps to relieve pain and swelling, reduce muscle tension, increases flexibility and mobility. It helps the recovery after workouts for people at all levels of fitness. The muscles recuperate better and faster with massage therapy than they would normally do. Plus, it flushes out the toxins in the body so you won’t feel sore the next morning.
Helps to prevent injury
By relaxing the muscles and taking away the tension and tightness, potential injuries can be avoided. Massage helps every muscle and soft tissues to be stretched resulting in better blood flow in those areas. It also speeds up the recovery if there’s already an injury. However, it depends on the severity of the injury but oftentimes the muscles are tightened up in that area. It helps to loosen up the muscles and restore their original form. If a massage won’t heal the aches and you feel a lot more pain than usual, it’s always best to seek advice from medical professionals.
Muscles can perform better
Massage therapy includes stretching, pulling, kneading, stroking, and tapping muscles to release stress and tension. These techniques can increase the muscles’ flexibility and strength for overall better performance.
Extreme workouts, like Olympic lifting, put a lot of stress on your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Getting a massage, the fibers in the muscles can loosen up and can perform with much effort. It relieves muscle tension and stress, and experts have agreed that it can help a person’s well-being by reducing the overall stress in your body. Muscles in good shape will work effectively and efficiently.
In Conclusion
Pain and fatigue after working out are common but may hamper physical activities days after. In addition to treating DOMS, massage can also be incorporated before exercise to promote blood flow and stretch muscles.
Getting massage therapy can be one of life’s greatest pleasures. The soothing and relaxing feeling it brings serves a lot of benefits in our mind and body. It’s not just a way of relieving body tension, but also clearing our mind’s uncertainties.
