Massage therapy and flexibility training like Thai Massage should be a regular part of any serious fitness regimen.  In addition to counter-balancing the active, exertive nature of fitness training (balance is highly valued in Eastern Medicine), there are concrete physiological effects massage therapy and improved flexibility from Thai Massage has on the human body.  These physiological effects can boost your performance and workout results - especially when your therapist is working in coordination with your personal trainer like I do at Rich Barretta Private Training.  Here are three simple ways to understand how massage therapy and Thai Massage achieve this. 

1.  Massage therapy improves the body’s post-workout recovery.

Massage therapy increases circulation in the body by encouraging the movement of blood and lymph fluids through the body.  This increases access to nutrients necessary to rebuild muscle tissue and the removal of cellular waste products and toxins.  Increased circulation also helps cells that repair and form new tissue get to  where they are needed.  

Also, massage therapy stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, also called the “rest and digest” arm of your autonomic nervous system (the part of you that controls unconscious body functions like cellular repair).  This system is responsible for triggering the resting, healing and repairing functions in the body, while shutting off the sympathetic nervous system.  The sympathetic nervous system (otherwise known as the “fight or flight” part of the nervous system), shuts down healing to reroute the body’s resources in order to deal with immediate emergencies.

2. Massage and Thai Massage can “reset” communication between your nervous system and your muscles.

Massage and Thai Massage can disrupt subconscious “holding patterns” in your body that limit your range of motion, recruitment of muscle tissue and localized circulation.  Common conditions massage can address include myofascial trigger points (tightly contracted regions within muscle tissue characterized by a hyperirritable taut band with defined pain referral patterns that cause muscle shortening and limit strength and function), poor posture (which creates ineffective or painful movement), and pain (which can cause “guarding” or postural patterns).  You can think of it as recalibrating your brain and muscles so that you don’t waste energy unnecessarily contracting muscles (bad posture) or muscle tissue (trigger points). 

3.  Massage therapy and Thai Massage can help improve your body mechanics.

Thai Massage improves flexibility and mobility through rhythmic compression, stretching and joint mobilization.  Good flexibility and smooth mobility are important for proper body mechanics - that is movement that follows the design of your body.  And good body mechanics makes for more effective workouts, proper muscle development, and a better working body.

Plus a good massage therapist can help you understand your body mechanics through conducting an assessment - analyzing your body's tissues, your posture and your movement to determine the cause of pain, discomfort or dysfunction.  In addition to providing effective therapeutic treatments, working with a massage therapist can improve your understanding of how your individual body works.  This is especially true when your massage therapist is working with your fitness trainer to plan massage treatments and workouts that are coordinated to achieve your goals.

Massage Therapy Effects, Tiffany M. Field, Touch Research Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine

American Psychologist

December 1998, Vol. 53, No 12, 1270 - 1281

Sports Massage: A Comprehensive Review, A Moraska, University of Colorado at Denver and health Sciences Center

Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness

September 2005, Vol.; 45: 370-80

Did you know research has shown consistent massage therapy reduces anxiety and depression at rates comparable to traditional psychotherapy?  Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne found those who received regular massage therapy experienced reductions of trait anxiety greater than 77% of their counterparts who did not receive massage and reductions in depression greater than 73% of those untreated.  In similar studies, psychotherapy has been estimated to have a 79% effectiveness - though probably not considered to be as pleasurable. 

Researchers Christopher A. Moyer, James Rounds, and James W. Hannum conducted a large scale analysis (meta-analysis) of data from studies that tested the effectiveness of massage therapy.  Only studies that randomly assigned participants between massage or no-massage groups were analyzed. The mean effect sizes were calculated from 37 studies for 9 dependent variables.  Multiple applications of massage therapy produced reductions of trait anxiety and depression that were statistically significant, with a course of treatment providing benefits simliar in magnitude to those of psychotherapy.

According to this analysis getting regular, consistent massage therapy can be nearly as effective in reducing anxiety and depression as therapy.  But I don't recommend replacing psychotherapy with massage, instead make massage part of your mental and emotional health self-care regimen.

Psychological Bulletin

2004, Vol. 130, No 1, 3 - 18

To download the full document, cut and paste the url below...

www.anatomyfacts.com/Research/Massage Journal Club/January07/Moyer.pdf