Pain Release Massages

Features Pain Release Massages

If you're suffering from pain -- brief or chronic -- you may want to give massage a try.
Minor aches and pains aside, you should have a doctor evaluate you to rule out other causes of pain (especially persistent or acute pain for which there's no apparent cause); in some cases pain can signal a serious condition, such as cancer or scoliosis.
Also, before you climb into the massage chair or lie down on the table, you'll probably want answers to a few questions.How does massage ease pain?Massage seems to ease pain in several different ways.
For starters, it can increase blood flow to sore, stiff joints and muscles, which are warmed by the extra circulation.
As reported by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, animal studies have found that massage also triggers the release of natural painkillers called opioids in the brain.
(The report doesn't explain how scientists massage the animals.) Animal studies also suggest that massage speeds up the flow of oxytocin, a hormone that relaxes muscles and encourages feelings of calmness and contentment.
As an aside, oxytocin happens to be the same hormone that flows through women before labor.
It relaxes the uterus and helps cement the bond between mother and infant, earning it the nickname "love hormone." Massage may also change the way the brain senses pain.
As Stanford neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky has said, the short, sharp sensations of a good massage can temporarily make the brain forget about other aches.