Five Top Benefits of a Massage (and Top Five Reasons to Treat Yourself Today)

Massages are an age-old form of therapy that have been used to promote relaxation, relieve pain, and improve overall well-being for thousands of years. Whether it's a Hydrotherm massage, deep tissue, or hot stone therapy, massages have the ability to rejuvenate the body, calm the mind, and provide a wealth of benefits. From reducing stress and anxiety to improving sleep and circulation, there's every reason to treat yourself to a massage today.

1.    Relaxation and Stress Relief

One of the biggest reasons to treat yourself to a massage treatment in Oxford is for the stress-relieving benefits. Let your masseuse unknot your muscles and ease the stress from your shoulders to immediately feel more relaxed and at ease in your own body. Massages can help boost serotonin and dopamine levels as well, further taking you along that feeling of bliss that only a good massage can elicit.

2.    Boosted Circulation

All massages work to boost blood flow beneath the skin. Rub your arms enough, and they'll turn red – this is due to an increase in circulation. Massages work the same way. Improving circulation, particularly around the spine, can help increase oxygen flow and nutrient delivery to the muscles and tissues. Due to the position of the spine and nervous system, a massage can even encourage blood flow through your brain, helping you feel refreshed and more awake.

3.    Say Goodbye to (Certain) Kinds of Pain

There are many pains we carry in our backs. Tension, muscle knots, and back pain can all be helped with a massage. If you experience tension headaches, then massaging away the pain in your back can potentially help with those, too. There are many nerves in your back that can contribute to pain in areas of the body you may not expect, like the legs. Massages work to relax the muscles, improve blood flow, and boost overall spinal health by encouraging circulation. Together, this can help you say goodbye to many kinds of pain or help you manage chronic issues with a holistic touch.

4.    Loosen Up Your Joints

Feel tense, tight, and stiff? A massage can help ease these issues to help promote joint mobility and flexibility all at once. This is particularly true around your joints, from your wrists and hips to your back. Being more flexible can then help you prevent injury in the future since your body can better adapt to the world around it – particularly if you slip and fall.

5.    Luxurious Self-Care

It feels good to treat yourself. This applies even to self-care treatments that don't have a physical reaction, like painting your nails. You can feel good about how your nails look, proud of them, and happy with how you've expressed yourself, but the actual act of having your nails done doesn't bring about any specific pleasure. The good news is that self-care can be the opposite as well. You can feel good about treasuring your body enough to invest in a massage. After all, when you care for yourself as the most important relationship in your life, that self-love will carry on throughout all aspects of your day.