Keisha Brown, Health Writer

Winsome Donaldson of anne martin performs massage therapy on a client. - Contributed

Experts estimate that upwards of 90 per cent of diseases are stress related. Hardly anything ages us faster than high stress. While eliminating anxiety and stress altogether may be idealistic, massage therapy can help us manage stress.

Most of us consider massage a once-in-a-blue-moon luxury. However, that really shouldn't be the case. Massage therapy offers a myriad of health benefits of which we should regularly take advantage.

There's no denying the power of massage therapy. Regardless of the adjectives that we assign it (pampering, rejuvenating, stress-relieving) or the reasons we seek this therapy (stress relief, pain management), massage therapy can be a powerful ally in any health-care regimen.

Managing stress

Experts estimate that upwards of 90 per cent of diseases are stress related. Hardly anything ages us faster than high stress. While eliminating anxiety and stress altogether may be idealistic, massage therapy can help us manage stress. This translates into:

✓ Decreased anxiety

✓ Enhanced sleep quality

✓ Greater energy

✓ Improved concentration

✓ Increased circulation

✓ Reduced fatigue

Massage-therapy clients often report a sense of perspective and clarity after sessions. In response to massage, specific physiological and chemical changes cascade throughout the body with profound effects. Research shows that with massage:

✓ Arthritis sufferers note fewer aches and less stiffness and pain.

✓ Asthmatic children show better pulmonary function and increased peak airflow.

✓ Burn patients report reduced pain, itching and anxiety.

✓ High-blood pressure patients demonstrate lower diastolic blood pressure, anxiety and stress hormones.

✓ Premenstrual-syndrome patients have decreased water retention and cramping.

✓ Pre-term infants have improved weight gain.

Research continues to show the enormous benefits of touch - which range from treating chronic diseases, neurological disorders, and injuries, to alleviating the tensions of modern lifestyles. Consequently, the medical community is actively embracing bodywork, and massage is becoming an integral part of hospice care and neonatal intensive-care units. Many hospitals are also incorporating on-site massage practitioners and even spas to treat post-surgery or pain patients as part of the recovery process.

Specific services

The Medi-Spa of anne martin (Shop 8, upstairs Mall Plaza) offers massage therapy. More specifically, the following massage services are offered:

✓ Hot basalt stone therapy

✓ Chakra stone therapy

✓ Swedish massage

✓ Deep-tissue massage

✓ Neck and shoulder massage.

Winsome, a massage therapist at anne martin, recommends that clients receive a massage at least once per month.

"There is no restriction on age," she stated. "However, persons with high blood pressure that are on medication, and cancer patients should not receive this therapy."

Getting a massage will do you a world of good. And getting frequent massages will do even more. This is the beauty of bodywork. Taking part in this form of regularly scheduled self-care can play a huge part in how healthy you'll be and how youthful you'll remain with each passing year.

Sources: 1. The Medi-Spa of anne martin
2. Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals.