Mark Gerard's Therapeutic Massage

I’ll bet the last time you washed dishes or gave your car a bath, you weren’t thinking about your muscles’ ability to absorb nutrient-giving blood. But if you took a moment to examine the sponge you were using, you might have noticed that when you squeezed it tight, it couldn’t take on any water. But when you released it, it soaked it right up.

Now imagine your neck muscle, or your lower back, or whatever muscle tends to tighten up and get sore when you’re under stress. That muscle is like the sponge. When it’s under strain, blood cannot pass through it – so it doesn’t function at an optimal level. That means two things.

First, the toxins and waste that blood usually carries away from even the deepest part of your muscles stay right where they are. Second, the oxygen and nutrients that blood usually delivers to your muscles aren’t being deposited as much as they should.

Say No to Low Blood Flow

It all leads to a decrease in blood circulation – that is, blood is not being circulated through your body efficiently. So overall, your heart needs to work a little harder when, for instance, you climb a flight of stairs or lift a heavy box. If your breath doesn’t come as easily to you when you do these things, it means the muscles you’re engaging for these tasks aren’t getting a generous supply of oxygen and nutrients to perform as they should. So your heart has to work a little harder to accomplish them. It also means that white blood cells aren’t flowing efficiently throughout your body, which decreases your immune system function.

Obviously, your muscles don’t benefit, either. Because blood can’t flow through tightened tissue, it’s not removing waste products like lactic acid and carbonic acid. So these and other harmful elements build up and cause cramping, discomfort, and irritability. As you can imagine, all this can leave you feeling fatigued, and you end up using a lot of energy just to get through the day.

Let It Flow!

So let’s go back to that sponge. When it’s released, water flows through it with ease. Same with your muscles and blood. Massage helps to release and relax your muscles so that blood can flow through them more smoothly. And if you enjoy a more rigorous massage, then your muscle fibers and connective tissue are really getting stretched, which helps the blood get in there and do its work most efficiently.

More than this, massage opens up the blood vessels, which helps improve circulation even more. And when your blood flows smoothly and your muscles are relaxed enough to receive oxygen and release waste, your heart is happy, and your immune system can stay on the defensive, ready to fight off bacteria and infection. The benefits of all this are huge, and lead to an overall sense of well being. Because when we talk about blood circulation, we’re not just talking about an isolated part of the body. When you’re keeping your blood flowing with massage, you’re taking care of your entire self.