When you picture a day of relaxation, you may think of lounging around at home, going for a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood, or unwinding with a massage. While massage therapy is a great way to help you destress, it has many other therapeutic benefits as well.

At Movéo Sport and Rehabilitation Centre, our registered massage therapists are experienced and highly trained specialists who can design treatment plans according to your needs. They offer various types of massage therapy, including:

  • Swedish massage
  • Deep tissue massage
  • Trigger point massage
  • Pregnancy massage
  • Myofascial release therapy

Registered massage therapists can help you reduce stress, recover from injuries, manage chronic pain and reduce fatigue through massage therapy. However, there are several other significant effects.

Here are 4 of the most surprising benefits of massage therapy:

Improves sleep

If you have trouble falling asleep or having deep, restful sleep, seeing a registered massage therapist may help. An inability to fall asleep or stay asleep can impact the rest of your day. You may have trouble concentrating or managing your moods, and you may suffer more from chronic pain after a restless night.

Massage therapy helps to calm your nervous system, allowing you to achieve more restorative sleep. Massage therapy also increases your levels of serotonin which produces melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep cycle. Not only will a massage feel relaxing, but it can also help you improve your overall sleep patterns.

Boosts concentration

Do you struggle to stay focused while working on a task or attending a meeting? Receiving a massage may help you boost your concentration level and improve your ability to focus.

Since massages calm your nervous system, your heart rate also slows down, which lets your mind focus more easily and for longer periods. Massage therapy also reduces stress indicators, like fatigue and pain, which impact your ability to concentrate.

Your registered massage therapist can work with you to determine the reasons for your low concentration and create a treatment plan to help you stay present and focused in your daily activities.

Reduces anxiety

If you suffer from anxiety or depression, massage therapy could help reduce your symptoms. A massage can alleviate the physical tension you may be carrying in your body as well as minimize the mental stress you are experiencing. Reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression provides both emotional balance and physical health benefits for an individual.

Researchers have connected depression and anxiety to an inadequate amount of serotonin and dopamine endorphins, which massage therapy helps increase. Studies have shown that people suffering from anxiety who received massage therapy saw both a short-term and long-term reduction of their symptoms after treatment.

Be sure to talk with your massage therapist if you have questions about how treatment may reduce your symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other overwhelming feelings.

Eases pain

The relaxing pressure from a massage improves circulation to help relieve different types of pain in various areas of the body.

Some studies have shown that massage therapy is beneficial to those who suffer from regular migraine headaches. A single massage session can reduce the immediate pain of tension headaches, while ongoing treatments can ease the severity and regularity of migraines.

Massages can also relieve muscle and joint pain, decrease swelling in the legs and arms and reduce stress throughout pregnancy. Massage therapy during pregnancy is especially helpful as medications to provide relief during this time may be limited.

If you think you’d benefit from massage therapy, book an appointment at Movéo today. Our registered massage therapists look forward to creating a treatment plan to achieve your goals.