Massage Therapy and Weight Loss

ladyallen18

Good morning, all!

I'd like to bring up a discussion on massage therapy and how it can promote weight loss. A few of you already know that I'm a certified massage therapist, and first off, I want to address that this topic is NOT an advertisement for my services. I just want to make people aware of the healthful benefits massage therapy can provide.

So before I get into anything too deep, what are your opinions/questions/experiences of massage therapy and your weight loss goals? Have you considered it? If so, did you find it beneficial? Lemme hear your questions and I'll do my best to answer them

Sarah

Mokey41

Can you take a moment to explain how massage therapy will aid weight loss?

tdbad1

Yes please...
I have often thought about things like massage therapy, reiki, and acupuncture/acupressure and wondered if it's a bunch of hooey. Ive never found anyone willing to explain how these would help, without charging me a consultaion fee...PLEASE do tell. some of us are more than willing, if we could just understand it better.

AmberJo1984

I have never heard before that massage therapy can help weight loss. It would be interesting to hear how. I have only ever had one massage in my life. I love it... but, unfortunately, have not been able to afford another one. I am trying to save up some money to do that soon, though.

ladyallen18

Absolutely! I just wanted to make sure people were interested before I did my whole "speech"

Before I even became a massage therapist, I was aware of the benefits and got massages often just to control my stress level. As we all know, stress is not good for the body and overall health because of that lovely little hormone it produces, known as cortisol (yikes!) So I got massages to control that hormone in order to prevent weight gain, but I later discovered how it also helped in my weight loss.

Massage is beneficial for EVERY system of the body, such as cardiovascular, respiratory, lymphatic, digestive, nervous system, endocrine (hormones), integumentary (your skin), and last but not least, your muscular system!

Through massage, every little aspect of your body is improved. Muscle nutrition and flexibility, improved resilience, improved mental and emotional well-being are just some of the benefits that you can get from regular massage because all the components of your body are working together in a subtle way to bring healing, as well as returning the body to a normal state of being.

Now, before I get too confusing, lets focus on the muscles of the body. Muscle is very smart and knows how to adapt to certain situations, such as an injury. We've all heard the term "muscle memory" and it's very real. Say you had a sprained ankle or pulled a muscle way back in high school. It's 10 years later and it still bothers you every now and then. That's because when the muscle was healing, it developed scar tissue and adhesions in order to prevent another injury from occurring. Sounds good, right? Well, on top of all that, scar tissue also prevents mobility. So your sprained ankle is all healed and ready to go, but you won't exactly get the full range of motion back. However, though massage, scar tissue and adhesions can be broken up to return the muscle back to it's normal flexibility and, in return, become stronger because massage brings oxygenated blood to the muscle to increase the healing process.

Ok, so a sprained ankle is a pretty obvious injury. But what most people don't realize is that general "wear and tear" on the body from every day living can also produce adhesions in the muscles that we're not even aware of. Ever noticed a knot or feel tight in your shoulders, for example? That's an example of an adhesion. And it could very well be preventing that muscle from fulling operating.

Now what's this got to do with weight loss?? When you receive regular massage, your body goes into super healing mode!! In other words, massage will put you in a very relaxed state of mind (yay sleepy time!:happy:) and your parasympathetic system (the very exciting "rest and restore" part of the nervous system of the body) goes to work! Therefore, kicking your body into overdrive and finding the parts of your body that need attention and healing (such as, your muscular system), and that even includes your metabolism.

Now, before I go any further, I'm not saying massage is the miracle drug that's going to help you lose all this weight. But I CAN tell you that massage coupled with your regular exercise and diet routine will do wonders for your body and emotional well-being.

So it not only feels wonderful to be rubbed on, it actually improves your health!

I know this is a lot to take in, but I hope it helped you understand how massage can aid in your weight loss goals. Don't hesitate to ask questions! I love talking about my profession!

tdbad1

very interesting, thank you . Can't say i would say no to feeling better all around,lol.

zekni

I'm also a Licensed Massage Therapist. Can't say that I would ever suggest to someone that massage therapy helps promote weightloss.
Yes, absolutely it can promote health, improved circulation, better flexibitily, healthier skin, a sense of well being, ect which are all really good for you. But taking a multi vitamin and meditation are also really good for you --they don't cause weight loss.
Massage can even increase metabolism for a short period... however, you can't lose weight from going to a gym once a month. Let's face it, most people can't afford to get massages more often than once a month, if that. Saying it promotes weightloss is like saying going to a chiropractor promotes weightloss. Might your energy be improved? Sure. But does that mean you're going to go to the gym? Most people don't go to the gym after getting a massage, they go to sleep.
Can I help you with an injury? Absolutely. But does that always mean you're going to go running when your back feels better? A healing response, which I can help facilitate is not going to automatically going to cause you to lose weight.
Massage is likely going to temporarily help with a whole slew of things, however, without changing what's causing the symptoms we're working on, massage won't help you long term. If high heels are causing your back problems, then you need to stop wearing them in order to get rid of the problem for good, I'm only a band-aid to the problem. For most people, that's better than going to the Dr to get a drug for the pain.
If overeating and lack of activity is causing weight gain, you need to change your diet and exercise routine to lose it. Come see me when you've over done it, need to relax, or need an opinion on what muscles youre not working enough to promote total body tensegrity so you move better and get injured less.

sixtyinchesoffury

I agree with zekni. I've been a massage therapist for 8 years and have never promoted massage as helpful for weight loss. i would also never confirm a client's belief on this. it definitely helps to promote healing and homeostasis throughout the body but that's a far cry from promoting weight loss. sorry lady, i don't wanna rain on your parade but there are so many misconceptions about massage anyway i would hate to add another to the lot!!! good luck and enjoy spreading the love :drinker: :drinker:

GomesDavid

Good morning, all!

I'd like to bring up a discussion on massage therapy and how it can promote weight loss. A few of you already know that I'm a certified massage therapist, and first off, I want to address that this topic is NOT an advertisement for my services. I just want to make people aware of the healthful benefits massage therapy can provide.

So before I get into anything too deep, what are your opinions/questions/experiences of massage therapy and your weight loss goals? Have you considered it? If so, did you find it beneficial? Lemme hear your questions and I'll do my best to answer them

Sarah

i think i heard this term massage therapy and weight loss first time ..k....
its an interesting topic ... my only ques is How long will a massage treatment last?

ladyallen18

Wonderful to see fellow MT's offering their thoughts on the subject

My only goal for bringing this to topic was to offer an add-on to people's health goals....which includes weight loss. I mentioned toward the end of my last post that massage alone will definitely not cause you to lose weight. But, when coupled with a balanced diet and exercise, your overall health will improve.

My experience is that massage helps emotional well-being on top of everything else. And when it comes to losing weight, we all know that it has a lot to do with the mind and making smart choices. If your mind is at ease, the less clutter you have to deal with in order to make those good decisions.

So yes, I wouldn't advertise massage as a weight loss tool by itself, like I said before. But I appreciate your input! Thanks for the thoughts!

And GomesDavid, typically if you want to reap the full benefits of massage, I suggest receiving them once a week. However, most people are unable to afford that. So if not once a week, then maybe once every two weeks...or heck, once a month if you can swing it. Massage is good no matter when you get one, but it all depends on your personal goals. If you seek out a massage therapist, make sure you keep good communication with them on what you hope to achieve thought massage and they will help you to set up a plan that works for you. Hope this helps!

purpleipod

I'm a massage therapist too and I can't say I've ever heard of this.

norabeth

I receive a full body massage once a month from my masseuse Debra. A must in my line of work along with a great chiropractor.
If i could afford to get a massage every two weeks I would. Benefits of a massage for me are decrease in stress, decrease muscle tension and quality pamper time just for me.

I have cut out many things some months but never my massages. Too many health benefits for me. I am s dental hygienist by the way. Massages defiantly help my back and neck

sarahg148

Fellow NYS LMT here...that is all. :happy:

Contrarian

I'm skeptical. I don't think massage therapy is a bad thing, but I wouldn't consider it a weight loss tool.

zaph0d

i hear accupuncture really helps too