Using Massage Therapy to Boost Your Immunity

Massages are not often thought of right away when you are trying to boost your immune system, but maybe they should be. They can help strengthen your body in a number of different ways. Before the cold and flu season is here in full force, you should consider going out to start a regular pattern of massages. This can help you fight off more that you may be exposed to, and get sick less this winter!

Massages Lower Stress Which Boosts Your Immune System

The connection between massages and your immune system have long been known, but not often been identified. Think about this. If you are under tons of stress, you are far more likely to get sick. Your immune system is required to work overtime to try and keep up when you are stressed, and is often stretched too thin to fight off normal viruses that would otherwise be easy to stay healthy from. If you go and start getting regular, routine massages, you can reduce your stress, and thus, reduce the workload your immune system is currently trying to manage.

Your White Blood Cells Are Also Affected During Massages

When you get sick, your body sends white blood cells to help. When you are stressed out, not exercising enough, or otherwise too busy to take care of your body, your white blood cells can become lethargic. By getting a massage, you can energize these cells and get them working harder to keep you healthy. They will more freely move around your body, which allows them to be more effective when any type of intruder gets introduced to your blood stream.
Your body also creates more cells that are known as killer cells when you get massages, and those cells seek out and kill the intruders that are not mean to be in your body. Plus, research has shown that when massage therapy is regularly sought out, even those with immune deficiencies are able to be healthier. This has proven to be effective at increasing serotonin levels, which directly impacts how responsive white blood cells are within the body.

Chronic Pain Goes Down with Massages, Too

On top of having a more effective immune system from getting regular massages, many types of chronic pain can also be decreased or eliminated. This can leave you feeling better overall, and allow your body to be more responsive when you are first exposed to any type of a virus or infection. If your pain is decreased, you are more readily able to notice new pain you feel, and you are going to be able to more effectively get treated for anything that you do come into contact with.

To get these benefits on top of the immediate benefits that massage is so well known for, consider calling a local massage therapist today. Academy Massage can help you start your sessions of massage therapy soon, and help you keep them regularly scheduled so you can get the long-term benefits, too.

What Makes for a Really Good Massage?

When you want to get a massage, you want a really good massage that leaves you feeling relaxed and better off for having gone. The last thing you want is to go for a massage and come home in pain. So how are you supposed to know if you are going to get an excellent massage, especially if you are going somewhere for the first time? The best way to know if you are going to get a massage you are going to want to go back for seconds on is to check off this simple checklist.

When You Called to Schedule the Appointment, Did You Like the Person You Spoke With?

When you call to schedule an appointment, you need to be impressed. It doesn’t make sense to think that if you have a poor experience over the phone that your massage is going to be so amazing it will balance out any poor customer service. Take the time to find a place that talks with you and makes you feel impressed before you even show up.

Did They Speak With You About Injuries and What Hurts Before Starting?

You need to find someplace that is not only going to ask you what is wrong now but also ask about things that happened to your body in the past. Having a goal that resolves specific problems in a massage session is ideal for the person giving, and the person receiving the massage.

Does Your Massage Therapist Have the Experience to Know the Right Pressure Points and How Much to Use?

This is a big thing. Obviously, they need to know how to help you feel better by using the right pressure points. However, they also need to know where to push to release the tension being held on to by the muscles in question. They need to apply the right pressure to the right areas in order to help you. This takes the perfect combination of skill, practice, and experience.

Were You Instructed on How to Continue Feeling Better After Your Massage Was Over?

Helping to keep your body feeling great after a massage is part of a really good massage experience. You need to know what to do, and what to avoid, to help your body feel good for as long as possible. If these instructions were missing, then the potential of a really good massage is going to get knocked down a notch. You shouldn’t be worried about being told that an ice pack may feel good or prolong your relief after a massage. That is a standard part of the aftercare.

To find out more about how to get a massage experience that is going to last, then call Academy Massage. They will communicate with you from the very first encounter, and help work with you to find a deep level of relief. Come in and be impressed with everything that Academy Massage has to offer.

Keep Arthritis from Ruining Your Day By Doing This

When arthritis starts before you even roll out of bed in the morning, it can make your entire day bad. Your pain can limit what you are able to get accomplished, and how much you can even enjoy your day. Instead of facing limitations, consider these helpful hints to reduce your pain and get on with your day.

Get a Massage

Massages help decrease inflammation and boost your endorphins. That allows you to feel less pain and get more done throughout the day. You can ask a loved one to massage whatever joint hurts, or for more effective relief, you can get regular massages 2-3 times each week.

Make Sure You Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is when your body heals. If you have inflammation from arthritis around your body, sleep will help it go down naturally. Do your best to cater to your sleep at night, so it can help you have good days. Get a comfortable mattress, sleep in a position that doesn’t hurt, and make sure you are in bed long enough each night to get a solid eight hours of actual sleep.

Take Time Each Day to Stretch

Staying active may be the last thing you want to do when arthritis is rearing its ugly head, but it should be the first thing you turn to most days. The more active you stay, the better your body is able to handle pain and keep joints loosened up. Stretching and low-impact exercises can keep your body feeling better.

If you want more tips on keeping arthritis at bay, call on Academy Massage today!

6 Questions About Acupuncture You're Afraid to Ask

Knowing what to expect prior to getting your first acupuncture session can make it easier to go into without worry or fear. Sometimes people have questions that they want to ask, but feel silly asking. In an attempt to help you feel less worried about going in for acupuncture, here are some questions and answers that may have been floating around in your mind that you did not feel comfortable asking.

1. What Exactly Is Acupuncture?
   
   Acupuncture is an ancient science of medicine, first known to be used in China. It is a series of incredibly thin needles placed into certain pressure points around the body to help improve the overall flow of chi, or a person’s life force. When people experience pain, illness, or other health issues, it can be due to this life force being blocked, so these needles are placed in the body to open those pathways up and give a person better health opportunities.


2. Is Acupuncture Going to Hurt?
   
   The needles used in acupuncture are about as wide as a thin human hair. They are much thinner than anything used for an injection, and most people experience very little or no discomfort at all when the needles are placed. Even people with a strong phobia of needles are typically fine once they see that the first needle did not hurt.


3. What Can Acupuncture Help With?
   
   Acupuncture can help with a very wide variety of medical ailments. You can turn to acupuncture for issues like whiplash and migraines, pain in any area of the body, dental issues to asthma, women’s and men’s health issues, and more. There is virtually no ailment that cannot be benefitted by some sessions of acupuncture.


4. Will You Need Many Sessions of Acupuncture? 
   
   The number of sessions you will require will depend on what you are coming in to get fixed, but you should expect at least five sessions of acupuncture. You may need more like ten or fifteen sessions to get past whatever it is that ails you, but each session will provide you with an increased measure of relief until you get to the final session.


5. What Risks Are Associated with Acupuncture? 
   
   Every single medical procedure out there carries with it some inherent risk, but acupuncture is considered to be one of the safest medical procedures done anywhere in the world. The two main things you are likely to feel when you are done with acupuncture are some tiredness and possible grumpiness. These are both because your body is working to heal whatever was wrong. Anything beyond these responses is incredibly rare.


6. Will Acupuncture Really Help You?
   
   Every person’s response to acupuncture is different, but most people find incredible amounts of relief when they turn to acupuncture. If it did not bring people the relief they were looking for, chances are this ancient medical treatment would have died out over 1,000 years ago. If you really need help with something that is upsetting your life, consider the benefits of acupuncture. Millions of people around the world swear by it.

What is DOMS and How Is It Affecting Your Recovery?

Have you ever woken up a day or two after a workout and realized your muscles went from being fine to cramped up and painfully sore? This is DOMS, also known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It happens because when you work out, there are microscopic tears within each muscle group that you use. Then, anywhere from 6-48 hours after your workout has stopped, those tears get inflamed as your body is trying to heal them.

When DOMS is Present, Your Recovery May Change

So, what does this mean in terms of your recovery? First, it means that you have done a bit of damage to those muscles and you need to take some time to try and correct the damage you have done by allowing it to heal. If you try and push through, you could struggle with being able to keep up with your normal intensity during the healing process, and potentially do more damage.

Second, it can mean that for some, it may be a little harder to stay motivated to continue your workouts because you may worry about continuing the damage or increasing it by other exercise in the same area.

Finally, it can also mean that you need a bit of help with the recovery process. In order to boost your recovery, you should consider options like massage therapy, as this increases blood flow and oxygen to the area, speeding up your muscle recovery anywhere that DOMS is present.