Massage Is It Just Pampering?

By Andrea Potter, CMT

Nurture Nature Massage

More Mental Health Articles

Massage Is It Just Pampering?

Do You Need a Tune-Up?
One comment I hear from some new clients is that they aren't accustomed to getting massages because they just don't splurge and “pamper” themselves. These are often the clients who have received a gift certificate and have never had a massage before. After the massage, and for the following days, they usually report that they were surprised at how much they needed the massage.
Does this sound like your attitude toward massage? If so, it might serve you well to think of massage more as preventative maintenance than pampering. We maintain our cars so they will continue to function properly, shouldn't we do so for our own bodies?
Consider this massage aids in cardiovascular circulation, lymph drainage, eases pain, relaxes muscles that are causing nerves to pinch, and can help to invoke the parasympathetic nervous system, which leads to a lowered heart rate, as well as healing, rest, and repair of the body in general.
You might be surprised that about half of my clientele are tradesmen here in the southern Maryland area who do physical work all day long. This takes its toll on a body especially the back. Over time, tight back or leg muscles can create quite a strain, increasing the risk of an injury. Other clients I see on a regular basis are nurses who must lift and position patients in the hospital, delivery drivers who lift all day, office workers who are in a sedentary position with sciatic pain in their legs, and strain from leaning forward to look at the computer screen and type, artisans and hair stylists who raise their arms all day, police officers with strain from their gunbelts, and carpenters with strain from thier toolbelts, mothers who lift increasingly heavy children, athletes preparing for competition, elderly clients who benefit from the assistance in moving circulation, pregnant women with aching lower backs, women recovering from abuse who need to experience nurturing, safe touch, and many other people recovering from accidents and injuries of all sorts. In fact, most of my clients seek me out to help them recover from an injury. Does this sound like pampering? So while massage may feel like pampering if you're not dealing with an injury, the benefits are terrifically therapeutic and should not be thought of as luxury at all. Besides, your car is worth routine maintenance. Aren't you?