Bodywork therapy is known to have many benefits, providing clients with pain and stress relief. Many clients seek holistic massage in order to improve their mental and physical well-being. Through holistic massage sessions, clients can improve their general health and quality of life.
Research shows that holistic massages have a significant impact on physiological health. By pursuing a rewarding career in this field, you can help your clients feel better. As a bodywork therapist, you’ll be working with various clients from different backgrounds—applying your training in order to help them better accomplish their wellness goals.
Here’s a closer look at the health benefits of bodywork therapy, focusing on the positive impact it has on clients’ immune systems.
Bodywork Therapy Improves Immunity by Providing Pain and Stress Relief
Holistic massage is a great way to help clients with stress management. It can be used to help ease soft tissue strains, headaches, and even some digestive disorders. As it increases circulation to muscles in the body, massage treatments can result in enhanced mobility—improving tissue quality in a way that facilitates better function and movement.
It has been proven that chronic pain suppresses our immunity, weakening our immune system and our ability to fight infections. This is where holistic massage can make a positive impact, increasing local blood flow to reduce muscle tightness and ease inflammation. Immune systems are also heavily impacted by stress, which can elevate blood pressure and lead to headaches as well as sleep problems, among other issues. By learning valuable skills in a bodywork therapy program you can help clients reduce their pain and stress—contributing to their wellbeing.
Using Your Bodywork & Massage Career to Improve Clients’ Immune Functions
Research shows that massage has a significant positive impact on our health and immune system, increasing Natural Killer cells (NK cells) that kill virally infected cells and detect early cancer signs. The study, which gathers 20 HIV-positive men who receive daily 45-minute massages for a month, also shows that massages helped decrease cortisol and anxiety while increasing relaxation and NK cells. This indicates that massage can have a “cytotoxic” effect, which helps the body fight off bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells.
These results have also been reflected in another study that brings together 34 breast cancer patients, giving them 30-minute massages three times per week for a five-week period. According to the findings, massage treatments reduced anxiety, depression, and anger while increasing dopamine as well as improving serotonin values and lymphocyte levels.
The Impact of Holistic Massage as a Complementary Treatment to Conventional Healthcare
As shown through research, holistic massages can have a profound impact on client wellbeing, boosting immunity and improving mental wellbeing. This can make your holistic massage career feel more rewarding and meaningful. Clients exploring bodywork & massage as a complementary treatment to conventional healthcare can reap many benefits that impact their quality of life.
Further studies still need to be made in order to fully understand the positive impact of massage on health and wellbeing. That said, existing research conducted by Cedars-Sinai is promising—even showing that a single session can have measurable benefits that directly boost the immune system.
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