The Four Key Ways Remedial Massage Supports Your Immune System
When thinking about ways to stimulate your immune response, there are times that a multi-faceted approach will serve you well. Over the years, as a homeopath & Naturopath I have treated many clients with immunological problems of one sort or another using natural medicines. Sometimes this is enough. There are times, however, that Remedial Massage can also contribute to a well-functioning immunity.
In this short article I want to cover four ways in which massage will help support and stimulate your immunity.
1: The Need To Reduce Cortisol
One of the more obvious ways Remedial massage can stimulate your immune system is because of the stress reduction that occurs with treatment. Increased stress means increased cortisol in your system and too much cortisol leads to increased vulnerability to illness and disease. This hormone is made in the adrenal glands in response to stress and helps your body to cope with these stressors. So we need some cortisol, but the problem is when we are chronically stressed, continuously high levels of the hormone plays havoc with your physiology – including your immunity. So with massage the levels are reduced and this contributes ton a feeling of relaxation and calm.
An interesting study (1) discusses how relaxation promotes immunity:
“Patients with cancer suffer a wide range of physical symptoms coupled with psychological stress. Moreover, cancer chemotherapy induces immunosuppression and consequently causes respiratory infections. Massage therapy has been reported to reduce symptoms in cancer patients via an increase in psychosocial relaxation and to enhance and/or improve immune function.”
2: Parasympathetic – WAY TO GO!
With a good therapeutic Massage Treatment, the nervous system is calmed. Many of us experience this after a treatment. So what’s happening is that your sympathetic nervous system is being ‘turned down’ and as a result of this, the parasympathetic nervous system becomes more dominant. Now what’s interesting here is that it is the sympathetic nerves that contribute to the production of cortisol and so levels are reduced when you are relaxed.
Diego reported in Moderate Pressure Massage Elicits Parasympathetic Response (2008) the effects of massage on the nervous system and its relaxation effects. (1)
“The article reports on the efficacy of moderate-pressure massage in increasing vagal activity and causing greater parasymphathetic nervous system (PNS) activity. Results of a study investigating the impact of massage on vagal activity and autonomic nervous system show higher level of responses, decrease in heart rate and blood pressure.”
Endorphins are also stimulated by remedial massage and unlike cortisol, a peak of endorphins is a great thing! They are stimulated by various things like laughter, exercise, excitement and Massage. These experiences lead to an increased sense of relaxation and we know relaxation (or less stress) stimulates the immune function.
3: Blood & Lymph Are Key
One of the more obvious effects of Remedial Massage is the stimulation of blood and lymph flow. Both of these things play a vital role in the functioning of a healthy immune response. Immune cells are transported throughout your body via the blood and lymph flow also helps direct where the immune cells go in your body. By stimulating blood and jymph flow, the immune function is supported.
4: Sleep – The Elixir Of Life
The final example of how Remedial massage helps your immunity, is that sleep can improve after treatments and we all know a good night’s sleep is a key driver of a well-functioning immunity. There is a lot of research these days showing the effect of broken sleep and how your health is adversely affected, including immune decline.
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