Massage therapy involves treatment from a licensed massage therapist who uses kneading and stroking motions on the muscles and soft tissue to improve pain, relieve tension and reduce stress. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, massage therapy helps to increase the activity of musculoskeletal, circulatory, lymphatic and nervous system. As a result, massage therapy offers many different kinds of health benefits in a number of areas that you may not have even considered.
Autism
Autism is a severe developmental disorder that is usually discovered in children from birth to age three. Many autistic children appear normal in appearance but can exhibit strange behavior that their parents cannot explain. Usually, autistic children do not like to be touched or held by their parents or caregivers.
However, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, autistic children that receive regular massage show less autistic behavior, are more socially involved, and attentive after a massage. In an autism case, massage therapy can be done by a licensed therapist. However, it is very beneficial to the child when it is also don by the parents or caregivers. Parents and caregivers who do massage on their autistic child help to foster trust and bonding and this actually allows the child to get accustomed to being touched by the parents or caregivers.
Post Surgical Treatment
Massage therapy is now being offered to many hospitalized patients and has benefits for post surgical patients. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, patients who have undergone surgery and are treated with massage therapy have a reduced recovery time. This is because massage therapy helps to increase circulation, promotes healing. Massage therapy can also help to reduce pain in post surgical patients and may even help them to rest better. In addition, massage therapy can also help to reduce blood pressure in post surgical patients. All of these benefits work together to shorten the time a patient spends in recovery and the overall hospital stay.
Bulimia
Bulimia is a serious eating disorder that causes a person to eat a large amount of food at one time. The person may then induce vomiting or take laxatives to rid themselves of the food. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, massage therapy can be very effective with helping to treat this disease. Massage therapy helps to reduce the anxiety and depression that bulimia sufferers experience. This in turn, can help a person to work through the issues that they have with food and self image. However, massage therapy should never be used as a sole treatment for this disorder. In bulimic cases, massage therapy should always be used along with psychological or behavioral therapy for optimal treatment.
Sources:
The University of Maryland Medical Center; Bulimia Nervosa
The University of Maryland Medical Center; Massage;
Kristie Jernigan - Kristie Janeway Jernigan has worked in the health care arena for over 20 years. She has a Masters degree in Health Administration and is ...
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