Massage gets on your nerves

16 Nov Massage gets on your nerves

Literally it does. One of the strengths of massage therapy is the power of touch. Now, please don’t yawn, it is such a thing. Taking it to its basic level, what happens instinctively, if you bash your arm against something hard and it hurts? You rub the area to make the pain go away. What happens if you have a raging headache that just won’t shift? You rub your temples with your fingers hoping that will ease the pain.

This is massage. Our skin is littered with zillions of nerve endings and when you hurt yourself or are in any kind of pain, receptors from the nerves send messages to your brain via the spinal cord which registers the pain. It prevents us doing stupid things like putting our hands on extremely hot surfaces. By having a massage, those same nerve endings sends signals to the brain to register that this is something good, it feels great and so the signals coming back down the spinal cord enable us to relax and enjoy the experience. This is also why massage not only has benefits on our physical wellbeing but also our mental wellbeing.

With all the current uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, it is easy to forget about looking after ourselves. We are out of our normal routines so although in theory lockdown could present more opportunities to practice self-help I bet most of us won’t do so. Unfortunately during this current lockdown you probably won’t be able to see your massage therapist but you could do these simple techniques.

(Needless to say if you are experiencing any great pain or discomfort seek medical advice first)

Set yourself a timer for say 5 minutes:

1. Relax your shoulders and with your fingers placed at the back of your neck find the bony ridge at the bottom of your skull and gently press your fingers in circular motions all along that ridge.
2. Still with your hands at the back of your neck gently grab the muscles either side and give them a rub, it feels so good.
3. Take your right hand over to your left shoulder and squeeze the muscles on top of your shoulder and then do the same with your left hand over your right shoulder.
4. Rub your temples gently in circular motions with your fingertips then bringing your fingers down keep circling around the back of your ears, give your earlobes a good rub too and then continuing circling down around your jawline.
5. Have a good stretch, arms up in the air
6. Get up have a walk around and some good deep breaths.

That’s all it takes – 5 minutes but you feel so much better.

For any questions you may have in relation to the above blog, or further information on the services we provide, please contact Kathy Scott on info@handsonatwork.co.uk