Top 5 Unknown Reasons To Get A Massage

We’ve all heard someone at some point saying something about needing a massage. Usually, this someone is saying ‘that something’ because they are either wicked stressed out (I learned to say wicked for everything in Canada as a kid) or their body is revolting from sitting the computer for too long.

I’ve already given you two reasons to get bodywork, does that mean I’m going to cheat you out of a top 5 list? Nope, not this guy. You get what you clicked for.

Here goes!

Reason Numero Uno: The Nagging Injury That Just Won’t Go Away

We’ve all had those injuries. We did something after not doing anything for a long time and now your back, hamstring, shoulder or some random thing won’t go away. It’s been a few weeks, or worse, months and now it is super annoying and a little disconcerting.

But how can bodywork help and why would you not see the doctor first?

Chances are that your local bodyworker has quicker availability than your doctor and will spend more than the average 20 minutes doctors do and will walk out with zero medications versus the average doctors prescribe.

Notice I said average. Not all doctors are created the same. Meaning there are a few that encourage natural, friendly interventions. Some will actually even prescribe massage, manual therapy, or bodywork. All those are interchangeable terms.

One of the key elements is choosing the right bodyworker for you. Once you have found a therapist you trust, the proficient therapist will help guide the session to getting rid of the nagging injury, or, refer you to the appropriate specialist.

Your therapist will find areas that are incorrectly being mapped by your nervous system. Meaning there is a glitch in the code. A thorough explanation of what that means will be coming in another blog post. The short and sweet of it is that your nervous system may actually be sending signals even though the healing process has ended.

Bodywork helps write over the error code or so the correct message is being delivered.

This may take one session. It is always awesome when that happens. In reality, it may take a few sessions to get the right combination to unlock the code and establish the correct pattern.

BOOM, you walk away feeling better and without having taken medications for your body to filter out of your system.

Reason Numer Dos: Surgery – Pre-Operative & Post-Operative

After a decade of doing bodywork, I am amazed this is not prescribed more frequently as part of surgery protocol.

This works especially well when the surgery has to go through the dermis. This is pretty much every time.

The dermis:            The basal layer of skin; it contains blood and lymphatic vessels, nerves, glands, and hair follicles.

https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/dermis

The dermis houses really important stuff.

But why is it important to get bodywork before surgery?

Remember, bodywork essentially hacks your nervous system to correct error codes. Another cool thing it does is preventing errors codes from being written.

When we get bodywork and the therapist is touching your arm, your brain maps the incoming message that your arm is being touched.

By refining touch from just your arm being touched to your forearm being touched and further refined to your flexors being touched on your forearm, and so on, you are mapping your body in your brain. Now your brain knows where your arm is in relation to the rest of you.

The more specific your body map is in your brain, the better it is overall. It’s like zooming in on Google maps to get clear on where that left actually is that you are supposed to make. Bodywork helps you with that.

Why is this important before a surgery?

Because the more correctly the map of your body is in your brain, the easier it will be for the command to be understood to chill out the particular area you are intending to chill out. Once the therapist is able to guide you to a state of conscious relaxation, or disengagement of a muscle, the more likely it will be that the resting tone (muscle tone when you aren’t trying to show off your guns) will be low.

A low resting tone is great because when the resting tone is low, muscles are easier to manipulate. When muscles are easier to manipulate, the less traumatic shoving them out of the way or pulling them to the side will be.

Now that we have a good reason for why before surgery, why after?

The answers are simple in concept.

The ol’ use it or lose it principle, the longer we take in regaining mobility the longer the road to recovery will be.

“Break up Scar tissue”. I put that in quotes because it is more complex than breaking up a concrete sidewalk. Regardless, we come back to the “code”, making sure it is running correctly. It is especially important on the path to recovery that we do regular proofreads. We want to do this is so that structure and function can hold hands all nice and friendly like to your end goal. Feeling great!

Reason Numero Tres: Your Body Just Doesn’t Feel Right

This none specific reason is one of my personal favorites that I get in my private practice. It comes on occasion and it goes something like this.

Me: “So what brings you to my practice?’

Client: “Nothing specific, I’ve just been feeling a little off.”

Me: “What does ‘a little off’ mean for you?”

Client: “I just remember feeling better in my body.”

Me: “Does this mean you know there is a chance you could have a better relationship with your body?”

Client: “Toootally!”

Ok, maybe not verbatim, this is my own take on what my clients have said.

However, this brings to the forefront a few of the effects a couple of years of sitting at a desk, reduced exercise, a compromised diet and age will have on our body.

Our bodies left to their own devices will tend to gravitate toward power down/sleep mode, that stuck feeling, our joints may also feel sludgy, or maybe it’s as simple as standing with ease is HARD or you keep bumping into door jams or wall corners when you used to never do that.

By differentiating one muscle group from another, or multiple groups from other multiple groups, bodywork will unstick your body and aid in regaining the lost mobility to set your body free of that sludgy feeling. Very much like taking a shower after camping in August with no running water. Doesn’t that just sound amazing?

But how could bodywork possibly help with bumping into things you didn’t mean to? It’s actually quite complicated. Haha, no really, actually, it is.

To make a long story short, we bump into things because our brain map to where our body is in 3D space is off. So, when we think our shoulder is closer to our head and it is actually further away than we think. We then proceed to slam our shoulder against that corner… again.

Bodywork will help clean the map, much like cleaning your sunglasses so you can see better. If you can see better you won’t be running into things. Unless of course, you meant to.

Reason Numero Quatro: You Feel Amazing

What kind of nonsense is this? Why would you spend good money and precious time getting bodywork when you already feel like a Greek god?

Because I assure you, regardless of how good we feel, none of us are Greek gods.

The thing is though, this is probably the best time to fine tune that well-oiled machine you call a body. This is because your reference points are clean and the map is clear. It is now easier to find those hidden gems that will take you from the next level to the next, next level. Capeesh?

This is a great tool for those weekend warriors and elite athletes getting ready for the next event or just trying to prevent injury before it happens.

Here is the flip side, you may feel like a million bucks, but your body is a magnificent biological wonder that will keep you feeling great, even though it is not functioning optimally.

Your therapist will help you get the real picture. Without the biases our minds put in place to keep you truckin’.

Reason Numero Cinco:  You Have Never Had A Session Before

No, this is not a cop-out. This is more real than it sounds.

The best unknown reason to get bodywork is you have never had bodywork.

Our ancestors, long ago and our closest animal relative did and do something us humans are missing out on, social grooming.

As it turns out, our nervous system has been encoded to prioritize, intentional touch. This is why when your best friend consoles you, it feels so healing. This is why when we were kids and smashed our knee against the table, mom or dad rubbed it and it felt better. There is a reason for this, and it is the basis of social grooming. There are very few ways we can get this kind of nourishing touch. And guess what, bodywork is exactly the bridge you didn’t know you were looking for!

So go out there, get a massage, get some bodywork, even if it’s a chair massage at the airport. Your body and your nervous system will thank you!

Check back with us soon. I will be uploading in the next couple of days how to choose the therapist that is just right for you and clues to get the best massage ever.

It is our intention at LiveLoveRelax that you feel empowered to do what is best and what is right, for you.

Cheers gang. Remember to get your vitamins, drink your water and get some sun.

LiveLoveRelax, repeat!

Alejandro