What is the benefit of Swedish Massage?

Swedish massage is one of the most common yet efficient types of massage that you can see in various spas and wellness centers. It makes use of a striking combination of gliding strokes ranging from light to firm, along with the ranging and stretching of joints. This massage is known to promote relaxation by releasing tense muscles.

History of Swedish Massage

The development of the Swedish massage is often associated with Pehr Henrik Ling, a physical education teacher in Sweden. Pehr Henrik Ling founded the Royal Central Gymnastics Institute of Sweden, an institution that helped develop free calisthenics and calisthenics. However, there is not enough evidence that he was the one to create this new system of massage.

Moreover, Swedish massage is said to be developed from Greek and Chinese massage techniques by Johann Georg Mezger, a Dutch practitioner responsible for naming the basic strokes in their French terms.

Benefits of Swedish Massage

Swedish massages are so common that they are most often the default massage choice of the majority. True enough, Swedish massage will never fail to make you relaxed, especially since it offers the following benefits:

• It provides relaxation. This type of massage relaxes muscle tension and calms the nervous system, resulting in the body’s light and relaxed state after the massage.
• It reduces stress. Our lives can be filled with overlapping workloads and schedules that we need to attend to. No wonder many of us become stressed. Stress manifests in the mind and body through increased anxiety, worry, and painful and tense muscles. This massage can help clear the mind and body of the accumulated stress in these areas.
• It improves one’s postures. Imbalances in posture can be due to different reasons. These reasons include (but are not limited to) overcompensating muscles, repetitive strain, injury, and prolonged sitting. Swedish massage helps improve the state of the muscles that hold these postural imbalances.
• It improves flexibility. Swedish massage incorporates several strokes that help open the joints, elongate muscles, and decrease swelling of affected areas. These strokes and glides all help increase flexibility and ease movement.
• Releases endorphins for a better mood. Many pieces of research show increased dopamine and serotonin in recipients of this massage. These hormones are responsible for improving someone’s feelings, mood, and emotional well-being.
• It improves blood circulation. It was mentioned that Swedish massage makes use of light to firm strokes. These strokes help the blood vessels to dilate and the membrane pores of the body to widen. The pressure applied through this massage improves the ability of the body to deliver blood more efficiently to the organs and muscles that need it.
• Increases range of motion. In relation to flexibility, Swedish massage, through stretching techniques, helps lubricate and open the joints for a more fluid and increased range of motion in affected areas.
• Flushes out excess metabolic byproducts. Because the massage stimulates blood circulation, it also helps flush out uric acid and lactic acid that started to build up in the muscles due to muscle overuse.
• It increases nutrients delivered to the muscles. Moreover, as circulation is improved, this also makes nutrient delivery to muscles more efficient.
• It supports healthy immunity. The Swedish massage encourages a good flow of the lymphatic fluid in the lymphatic system. Along with this, lymphocytes in the body may be more utilized, improving the immune system.
• Increases energy. Still, in line with increased circulation, this also means that more oxygen is supplied to the muscles, prompting an energy boost after the massage.
• It relieves headaches. A lot of migraines and headaches are due to constant stress and poor blood circulation. With a Swedish massage, expect to have your headaches relieved.
• It improves one’s sleep. In line with a serotonin boost that makes you feel like you are in a good mood after the massage, serotonin also makes you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.
• It may help relieve back pain. Research suggests that Swedish massage provides relief for people experiencing back pain. However, studies also say that it is not ideal for chronic back pain, only temporary back pain due to overuse, tension, or stress.
• It may help treat neck pain and shoulder pain. Like back pain, Swedish massage also only helps with neck pain and shoulder pain temporarily. However, longer and frequent massage sessions may likely provide you with more benefits.
• It may help in treating fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a condition characterized by muscle and skeletal pain, usually affecting sleep, memory, mood, and overall body condition. Classical or Swedish massage has been found to help alleviate symptoms of fibromyalgia, as well as depression and anxiety.
• It may help treat anxiety. Massages generally promote stress management and relaxing effects to massage recipients. Thus, stress-induced anxiety is just one of the things that Swedish massage can help treat. However, its long-term benefits for anxiety still need more studying.
• It may help in lowering blood pressure. High blood pressure may be related to anxiety, and a Swedish massage can decrease anxiety-induced high blood pressure. Still, more studies are needed to verify its efficiency in reducing blood pressure through other causes, as well as its possible long-term effects.
• It may help treat PMS or premenstrual syndrome. Premenstrual syndrome is usually accompanied by several symptoms such as mood swings and fatigue. Because of relaxation techniques used in Swedish massage, it has been found that the massage helps in alleviating these stress-related symptoms.
• It may help treat depression symptoms. One of the most prominent symptoms of depression is a gloomy mood. Small-scale studies back this up by saying that Swedish massage can help improve one’s mood, reducing or improving this depression symptom.
• It may help in relieving cancer symptoms. Cancer patients experience several symptoms such as fatigue, pain, and anxiety. These symptoms can be taxing and may make their life more complicated than it is. Swedish massage is said to help relieve these symptoms, thus, improving a cancer patient’s quality of life.

Experience relaxation and calmness with Swedish Massage!

Stress may have already been a part of our daily lives. And this inevitably manifests in our mind and body at some point. A Swedish massage may be a good option if you are looking for a chance to relax and relieve some of the pain you have been experiencing for a while.

In Balance Wellness offers massage treatments, including Swedish massage, in different time options. You may opt to do it for 30, 60, 90, or 120 minutes— the choice is yours! Schedule your massage now and prepare to relax, revive, and enjoy!