A typical curriculum at a massage school in Austin, TX includes classes for Anatomy, Physiology, First Aid, Relaxation Massage, Applied Anatomy, and different subjects about the evolving role of massage in healthcare. This ancient process of manipulating muscles for pain relief and relaxation has been in practice for centuries now, and it has turned into a reliable science over the years.
How Massage Helps Alleviate Stress
If you are studying at a massage school near Austin, TX or any school offering massage therapy classes, you will delve into the nitty gritty of how massage helps alleviate stress. Why? Because stress is one of the reasons why people experience muscle pains in the first place. Aside from bad posture, strenuous exercises or physical exertion, the mere fact that you are dealing with stress in the workplace or at home on a daily basis will turn into physical aches and pains.
Check out our list of the top ways that massage therapy helps alleviate stress.
- Stress may lead to heart disease, and massages are known to alleviate stress.
How many times have you heard that there’s this great big link between stress and heart disease? If you are always stressed out at work, you are bound to develop heart disease. But how, exactly, do these two connect or relate to each other. Stress in general is defined as having feelings of anxiety, depression, or panic disorder. Stress could lead to physical manifestations like muscular pain, sleeplessness, and fatigue. The hormone responsible for the development of stress in the body is cortisol and the higher the level of cortisone is in the body, the higher your stress levels are.
To alleviate stress, these methods are usually used: meditation, developing coping skills, building a strong support system, exercise, and massage therapy. Studies show that professional massage therapy is known to reduce cortisol levels by as much as 31%.
- Massage helps release feel-good endorphins.
Massage therapy also helps release feel-good endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin. Serotonin is also called the happiness hormones so you’ll generally feel good and happy after a massage session. Endorphins are released after exercising, while dopamine makes you feel mentally alert. With a professional massage, all these happy hormones are released so your general well-being and mood will improve.
- Massage helps settle one’s frame of mind, especially those who are always stressed out.
Be it at work or at home, you are bound to go through certain levels of stress. If it all seems too much for you to deal with, you might even experience behavioral changes like angry outbursts of social withdrawal; mood changes like irritability, anxiety, or sadness; and body changes like fatigue, headaches, muscle pain, chest pain, and upset stomach. Practically all of these mood, body, and behavioral changes can be improved with a massage. With a single massage session that lasts anywhere from half to one and a half hours, you will experience relief from stress, those feel-good hormones will be released, and your overall physical, mental, and even emotional well-being will be greatly improved.
Whether you’re fresh out of an Austin, Texas massage school or if you are still considering massage therapy as your future career, it’s good to know that you will greatly help stressed-out clients once you learn how to administer a professional massage.
If you are interested in learning massage therapy, then consider attending our massage therapy school in Austin, TX! Check out our Massage Therapy Program today!