Massage over Medicinal: Which would you choose for relief?

HARVEY — The cold weather has settled and with it the flu and other illnesses. There are non-medicinal ways to fight symptoms and even preventative measures you can take. It starts in the immune system, and with massage therapy.

“Right, so the whole premise of massage therapy is, in most of massage therapists, minds are preventative health care, so, if you have regular massage therapy what that does is it helps your immune system because you’re getting release and relief from tightness and restriction in your body,” said certified massage therapist, Kim Kee.

Massage therapy causes constriction in the body to be released and that release allows for better blood flow throughout the body as well as a stronger building lymphatic system. These aspects will help build up the immune system helping to prevent illness and fighting them off.

“Right so massage therapy works with your muscle tissue, your whole entire skeletal system which is basically what we’re made of, so that’s one of the reasons why it is so significant because we are mostly muscle. What we do in massage is that we work to soften and loosen the muscles to bring more blood and circulation and oxygen into those areas so that everything releases and uncork so that the alignment of the muscular skeletal system can be in its natural healing state,” narrated Kee.

Massage Therapy will also focus on the body as a working unit. Where there is pain or discomfort or an adjustment needed it will be connected to another part of the body.

“Acupuncture points on the face, on the ears and on the end can release and it softens all that internal membrane in the body and then the fluids can exchange a lot easier,” she said.

Though the overall practice of therapy is to address the body as a whole; there are specific points that therapists can address when it comes to relieving congestion and other pain.

Relaxation therapy can also be a way to release tension in the body, but therapeutic massage is a practice of alleviating symptoms and gives the body a chance to revitalize.

“We have a therapeutic massage where if you come in for a massage and you have knee pain, you have lower back pain, you have headaches or you have neck pain they consciously release that muscle tissue in order to get the most therapeutic benefit,” added Kee.