Alternative Health Articles

Healthy Living: Healthy Benefits of Massage Therapy

For more than 125 years, experts have been researching the benefits of massage therapy, and besides the obvious stress-free feeling that people have following a massage, there are plenty of other benefits to this ancient healing procedure.

One major benefit of massage therapy that researchers have found is that people who get massages on a regular basis have noticed a decrease in their blood pressure.  

Massages also help to alleviate the pain of those who suffer from migraine headaches. 

Massage can also: reduce your heart rate, increase blood circulation and lymph flow, relax your muscles, improve your range of motion, and increase endorphins. Some other physical benefits of massage therapy include relieving muscle tension and stiffness, alleviating discomfort during pregnancy, reducing muscle spasms, promoting 

deeper and easier breathing, enhancing the health and nourishment of your skin, and improving your posture. 

Massage therapy, while a physical act, is not all about physical benefits.  There are plenty of mental benefits that having a massage can give you. 

Some of these mental benefits include promoting mental alertness, relieving mental stress, reducing levels of anxiety, improving motor skills, creating   body awareness, and fostering a feeling of wellbeing. 

While this article only touches on a few benefits of massage therapy, both physical and mental, there are plenty more out there that researchers are learning about every day. 

So, go pamper yourself!

Healthy Living: Healthy Pain Management

If your most recent workout has left you with a case of aches and pains, you may find yourself reaching for the closest pain medicine.  But if you are looking to manage your pain without taking pills, fortunately there are plenty of other ways that you can do so. 

Here are some ways to treat post-workout aches and pains without popping pills: 

Go see your chiropractor – Chronic and nagging pain can be alleviated oftentimes by a trip to your chiropractor.  There are many different pain patterns and chiropractors are trained to handle these pain patterns.  They can best determine how to handle your pain from the most invasive to the least invasive way. 

Ice bath – An ice bath is perfect for reducing inflammation in your joints and muscles.  The ice bath helps to constrict your blood vessels, pushing your blood to your core and then that blood returns to your muscles after you get out of the ice bath.

Contrast therapy – Another popular “anti-pill” method of pain management is contrast therapy, or “3,3,3.”  This method consists of three minutes of heat and 30 seconds of cold, three times in a row.  The heat dilates all the blood vessels, relaxes the muscles, and lets in nutrients and oxygen.  The cold does the exact opposite and pushes the fluid back out.  The combination of heat and cold creates an “artificial pump” through the muscle – bringing in nutrients and pushing out the waste that causes the pain. 

Anti-inflammatory diet – Inflammation causes much of the pain that people feel, so by eating an anti-inflammatory diet, with plenty of whole foods, this will help cut down on your discomfort.  Choose lean foods like chicken, fish, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. 

Foam roller –Pain can be caused by adhesions, scar tissue or even repetitive use, and the body needs collagen to heal.  Foam rollers help to smooth out and realign fibers that are damaged in your tissue and promote healthy collagen growth.

Healthy Living: Ways to De-Stress This Holiday Season

The holidays can be the most joyous AND the most stressful time of the year. Instead of driving yourself crazy and worrying your way through the season, use the following advice to help de-stress this year.

De-stress this Holiday Season

1. If you exchange gifts with friends, family or co-workers, decide ahead of time a pre-set spending limit that you will spend on each other. By keeping this amount in mind when you are shopping it will be less stressful to you when you are searching for that perfect gift as you can eliminate certain gifts if necessary.
2. Don't try to do all the cooking for your get-togethers.  Instead delegate certain dishes to your different family members or guests and let them help take the stress off you when it comes to the meal.  You will not only get a break, but your guests will feel like they contributed to making the holiday special.
3. Watch your sugar intake over the holiday season. Taking in too much sugar will not only lead to bloating, but it could also lead to depression.  By watching what sugary treats you eat this season you will also avoid having to lose those extra pounds that you may put on by eating those foods.
4. Teach your children the value of gift-giving and the “reason for the season.”  Children do not need an abundance of gifts, instead by getting them a few memorable gifts you will be instilling in them happiness for what they do get.  This will also alleviate the stress of shopping every day for those items that will only be forgotten in a few days
5. Don't sweat it if things aren't “perfect.”  Believe it or not, your friends and family aren't interested in critiquing your tree, your decorations, your food or your gifts.  Stop stressing about making everything perfect and realize that this holiday is about the joys of spending time together and not the other minor details.

Healthy Living: Benefits of Massage Therapy

For more than 120 years, experts have been researching the benefits of massage therapy, and besides the obvious stress-free feeling that people have following a massage, there are plenty of other benefits to this ancient healing procedure.

Benefits of massage therapy

One major benefit of massage therapy that researchers have found is that people who get massages on a regular basis have noticed a decrease in their blood pressure.

Massages also help to alleviate the pain of those who suffer from migraine headaches.

Massage can also: reduce your heart rate, increase blood circulation and lymph flow, relax your muscles, improve your range of motion, and increase endorphins.

Research has also shown that while massage therapy does not increase your muscle strength, it can stimulate your weak and inactive muscles and can thereby aid muscles that you may not have worked out in quite some time.

Some other physical benefits of massage therapy include relieving muscle tension and stiffness, alleviating discomfort during pregnancy, reducing

muscle spasms, promoting deeper and easier breathing, enhancing the health and nourishment of your skin, and improving your posture.

Massage therapy, while a physical act, is not all about physical benefits.  There are plenty of mental benefits that having a massage can give you. Some of these mental benefits include promoting mental alertness, relieving mental stress, reducing levels of anxiety, improving motor skills, creating body awareness, and fostering a feeling of well-being.

While this article only touches on a few benefits of massage therapy, both physical and mental, there are plenty more out there that researchers are learning about each day.

So, whatever your reason may be, pamper yourself today and reap all the benefits of a great massage.