6 Health Benefits Of Shiatsu Massage

After a stressful day at work or after a stressful week, most of you would want to get a good massage that will make you feel relaxed and stress-free. It can be a back massage, foot massage, or a head massage. These massages give you temporary relief, but if you try out the Shiatsu massage, it will work both ways - like relieving pain and rejuvenating your mind, body and soul as well.

Shiatsu massage, which originated in Japan, involves utilizing the fingers to massage the body at specific points. Shiatsu, meaning 'finger pressure' in Japanese, is a self-massage technique which is a form of bodywork that balances the energy pathways in the body. This massage is known to deal with numerous health conditions like digestive issues, depression, muscular tension, headaches, anxiety and sinus congestion.

Professional Shiatsu massage therapists use their palms, elbows, knees and feet to apply pressure. These are the different Shiatsu self-massage techniques or exercises.

Let's have a look at the health benefits of Shiatsu massage.

1. Reducing Stress
2. Relieving Anxiety
3. Managing pain
4. Relieving Muscle Aches
5. Improving The Flow Of Energy
6. Stimulating The Skin

1. Reducing Stress

Massage therapies including Shiatsu massage are well-known to deal with stress. According to a review published in the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine journal, Shiatsu massage aims at balancing, maintaining and restoring the body's energy balance and prevents the stress from accumulating. If relieving stress is your goal, Shiatsu massage can be a great choice.

2. Relieving Anxiety

If you are struggling with anxiety issues, then Shiatsu massage is a great therapeutic choice for relieving anxiety to such an extent that research has even shown that this massage therapy is helpful for severe burn victims.

A study was published in the World Journal of Plastic Surgery, which said about the positive effects of the massage on 60 burn patients with underlying pain.

3. Managing Pain

Are you turning to painkillers for pain relief? Painkillers might be providing you instant pain relief, but Shiatsu massage has a well-known ability to let you cope with all kinds of pain. Several studies have shown that acupressure (main component of Shiatsu massage) is a natural alternate medicine that can reduce lower back pain effectively.

4. Relieving Muscle Aches

Shiatsu massage can effectively work on the muscle spasms and muscle tensions by rubbing and pulling at the skin and muscles. This aids in releasing tension by pressing on acupressure points and thus brings relief from back pain, posture problems, joint pain and muscle tension.

5. Improving The Flow Of Energy

Shiatsu massage aims at improving the health of your entire body by positively affecting the body's internal energy system. By focusing on the acupressure points, the massage tries to eliminate blockages and promote a healthy flow of the body's vital energy.

6. Stimulates The Skin

The act of using your fingers in different acupressure points of your body improves the blood circulation in the skin and stimulates the sebaceous glands to secrete sebum which will aid in moisturising and softening the skin. This delays the onset of wrinkles, thus giving your skin a healthy look.

Precautions To Be Taken Before A Shiatsu Massage

If you are seeking out for a Shiatsu massage, ensure that you get it from a trained massage professional. They should have an accredited training program.

These are the following precautions:

• If you find a Shiatsu massage painful, speak up and let your therapist know about it. He or she will adjust to your particular feelings.
• People who have low blood platelet counts or a bleeding disorder should avoid deep tissue massages.
• If you are on blood thinning medications, speak to your doctor before getting this massage.
• If you are pregnant, speak to your gynaecologist before getting a Shiatsu massage.
• If you suffering from cancer, massages that involve deep pressure are not recommended for areas of the body where a tumour or cancer is located.
• If you have a skin disease or a broken skin such as a wound, deep or intense tissue massages should be avoided.
• If you have any medical conditions, speak to your doctor to make sure that this massage is good for you.

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