4 Signs that you may need a massage
- Karen Stoner, LMT
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
1. You wake up feeling stiff or sore without a clear reason.
Short Answer: Your body may be holding stress or tension without you realizing you are doing it. Massage can help tap into the systems out of your conscious control to help you relax.
More details: Even though you get rest in a comfortable bed, you still may wake up sore. It isn't necessarily your mattress or pillow. Sometimes we hold tension in different parts of our body subconsciously, so we donl't realize we are doing it until we feel the pain afterwards and can't figure out why. Massage can tap into both your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (what you are aware of and what you aren't aware of but your body is) to help you relax on all levels.
2. You're experiencing frequent headaches or jaw tension.
Short answer: Stress, injury, or many other reasons can make you tighten up muscles in non-obvious places which makes you hurt in other areas. Massage can help you realize where you hold tension and become more aware of how to not let it get too painful next time.
More details: Just because you feel pain in one spot doesn't mean that is the spot of the problem. Headaches could come from issues in the neck, shoulders, or even elsewhere in the back. Jaw pain could come from tightness in the shoulders or even the hips and low back. A trusted massage therapist can help not only ease the tightness and pain, but may be able to hunt down the actual source of the pain so that you can be more aware that an area you dind't realize was causing you the pain, so you can be more aware of managing the pain not coming back.
3. Your stress levels are high, leading to anxiety or trouble sleeping.
Short answer: Stress can cause a horrible cycle: You are stressed so you can’t sleep, which makes your body more stressed because it isn’t sleeping. Massage can help you fall and stay asleep.
More details: Sleep heals all, but when sleep doesn't happen, it sends a lot of other things spiraling. Massage can not only help the body relax, it can also help calm the high stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline while releasing the "feel-good" chemicals like dopamine and serotonin which can help you sleep, and therefore recharge and recover.
4. You feel tightness in your neck, shoulders, or lower back that won’t go away.
Short answer: Even if you are in good shape, take care of yourself, and eat right, you still can get sore and tight.
Old injuries and other factors can cause muscle tightness that simple massage can help relieve or stop from getting worse.
More details: Even if you have a newer car, you still get an oil change, an inspection, and wash it. Your body is the same way - even if it is in good working order, you still need to take care of it or else little things turn into big things. Small aches and pains are inevitable no matter how good of shape you are in. Daily routine activites, sitting in the car or at a desk, picking up gorcery bags - all are normal but can also cause small aches, pains, and tightness that can always seem to just "be there" even if it isn't a major problem. Regular massage can help make sure that those minor aches and pains don't accumulate into something bigger and more problematic.
