Happy National Massage Therapy Awareness Week! We’re guessing that if you’re a Zeel fan, you might already have an idea of how massage therapy can improve your life. But while you’re likely aware of how massage can ease back pain and help you relax, you might not know all of the many health benefits of massage. In honor of Massage Therapy Awareness Week, make yourself aware of these five unusual massage benefits (plus one bonus fact).
Did you know that…
- Can massage therapy help you lose weight? It’s true – massage is proven to reduce cortisol levels in the body. When the body is stressed, it releases cortisol – a hormone that signals the body to grab every calorie it can.
- Massage can help you cope with sciatica? If you haven’t experienced sciatica symptoms, consider yourself lucky. This condition, which involves pain in the sciatic nerve, can be extremely painful. Fortunately, massage can help reduce pain from sciatica.
- Massage can treat tinnitus? If you often experience a ringing or buzzing in your ears, you might have tinnitus. Massage can be a very effective tinnitus remedy, helping lessen the noisy and annoying evidence of tinnitus.
- Can massage help you bond with a partner? Pressing on sore muscles induces the body to release hormones associated with bonding and happiness, like oxytocin and dopamine. When you get a couples massage, love is literally in the air, thanks to the release of these beneficial hormones.
- Massage helps you turn your home into a personal retreat? A massage table is the ideal centerpiece for a relaxation-ready massage sanctuary. Add natural light and the right scents for utter at-home massage bliss.
Of course, it wouldn’t be National Massage Therapy Awareness Week without appreciating the hard work that makes great massage therapy possible – the licensing and education of massage therapists. It takes a minimum of 500 hands-on work hours to become a licensed massage therapist at an accredited massage therapy educational institution. Your sore neck will enjoy the results of all that study and practice.