There is no doubt that massage has incredible benefits to our bodies and can be used to treat different health conditions. A massage session will provide all the 12 systems of the body with positive outcomes. If you want to understand how massage is going to help the condition that you have, it will be wise to first understand how the system works and what effects will massage have on it.
In today’s article, we are going to look at how massage precisely affects the muscular system. But before we get to that we would like to recommend you to hire a mobile therapist for the best maximum benefits of a massage. When you hire a mobile therapist, you will not need to get out of your home to get a massage because he will find you at your home and get to enjoy the massage from the comfort of your home.
How the muscular system work.
There are normally 3 types of muscles in a person’s body, the cardiac, smooth and skeletal. The 3 types of muscles perform different functions but they do share a thing in common- the 3 muscles are responsible for moving something in the body.The smooth muscles are kind of involuntary meaning you don’t have to think about them for them to move. They are found inside the internal organs like the stomach, bladder, intestines and blood vessels. The smooth muscles in the stomach are responsible for churning food while the smooth muscles in the other parts of the body are responsible for moving substances through the body.
The cardiac muscles are exactly what they sound to be, the muscles are found in the heart and are responsible for contracting your heart so that it can pump blood. Just like the smooth muscles, the cardiac muscles are also involuntary.
And then there are skeletal muscles and this article concentrates more on these muscles. In the body, there are six hundred and fifty skeletal muscles. Unlike the cardiac and smooth muscles, this type of muscles are voluntary meaning your brain has to be conscious in order for them to move. The muscles are attached to your skeleton and are responsible for moving it.
When the muscles contracts, it causes the fibers to shorten which then creates movement. It is these muscles that are responsible for providing your body with sturdiness to help it stand straight. They are directly related to posture and they get shortened with habitual posture.
The muscles also provide the body with a layer of protection and when you get an injury on your body the muscles will react to the stress and tighten up a bit. This leads to limited movement and if you try to move it is very painful. It does this with an attempt to prevent you from getting more injuries. The muscles are also responsible for insulation and that’s why you find yourself shivering on a cold day. The muscles are usually trying to provide you with some warmth.
How does massage affect the muscular system?
As you would assume, a massage has numerous benefits to the muscular system. The following are just some of the benefits of massage to the muscular system:Decrease tension.
It's known that the deep kneading strokes during a massage session can help decrease tension that normally builds upon the skeletal muscles called fascia. A massage will help break the adhesions that might be forming in the muscles. Skeletal muscles are subject to stress that is normally through our day to day activities like poor posture or injuries that happens in our lives from time to time. A massage will help reduce the added stress and hence reducing tension leading to lengthening of the muscles.
Increase blood flow.
When you have an injured muscle, one of the most effective ways of speeding up the recovery speed is by increasing the blood flow to the injured area. Massage therapy on the injured area helps increase the blood flow and the blood carries with it oxygen as well as nutrients that help speed up the recovery. And the good thing about massage is that it accomplishes this without necessarily increasing metabolic waste that is normally associated with muscle contractions. This is why massage therapy can help decrease the healing time of an injured person.
Increased range of motion.
If you are injured, the range of your motion can be seriously affected. At a time like this, your muscles are usually short and tight due to the built-up adhesion within them. As we highlighted the body reacts this way in order to prevent further injury. Any attempt of motion will be difficult and when possible it can be very painful. Massage therapy from a professional therapist breaks the adhesions formed and lengthens the skeletal muscles hence helping the range of motion.
Decreased pain.
By now you must have heard that massage therapy can help you lower pain. If you regularly experience back pain or neck and shoulder pain, a massage session can help. Massage manages to reduce pain in different ways. The first is a massage will help block the pain signals that normally originate within the musculoskeletal system from reaching your brain. And when the signals are blocked from reaching the brain, you cannot feel the pain. Another way that massage helps lower pain is that it helps move out the metabolic waste products such as carbonic acid out of your body. The waste products normally build up around the muscles and are responsible for cramping.
- A massage can help promote a better posture.
- A sports massage can help athletes prevent stiffness and injuries hence increasing their performance.