One of the best ways to recover from a strenuous workout is to treat your body to a massage. There's nothing wrong with getting pampered. In fact, massage therapy is one of the healthiest allies for your body, so much that it's almost become more of a need than a want. {relatedarticles}A few of the many ways in which massages help to rejuvenate your body include stretching weak and tight muscles, increasing joint flexibility, relaxing tired, overused muscles, and alleviating stress. Massages are great for relieving pain as they create changes in the body's chemistry, thereby reducing pain throughout the body. Studies show that people who suffer from fibromyalgia had less of a pain-related chemical called P in their saliva after undergoing massages. They also experienced a reduction in discomfort.
People suffering from migraines and surgery-related pain also got relief from massage therapy. But they aren't the only ones benefitting from the healing touch. Pregnant women who receive massages during labor have less stress, anxiety and pain. {relatedarticles}Some research indicates that massage therapy raises the level of natural killer cells that fight off viral and cancer cells. And the patients who do have cancer had less anxiety, pain and fatigue after undergoing ongoing massages. While there are claims that massages contribute to weight loss by expelling toxins in the body, it's difficult to find research to support these statements. Health experts do maintain that massages increase blood circulation, which gives the metabolism a nice boost. Of course they also alleviate stress, which contributes to weight gain. Why not let someone rub you the right way?