Benefits of Massage
Lena's Guide to the Benefits of Massage (PDF) contains detailed information regarding each bullet point listed on this page (including references to the studies). Lena also wrote an article on the benefits of massage during pregnancy and labor on Choices in Childbirth's Blog called The Touch of Health for Mom and Baby.
Benefits for the Body:
Musculoskeletal
- Reduces muscular pain, spasms, cramps, tension, and trigger points (aka – knots)
- Reduces chronic pain due to injuries and a variety of conditions
- Reduces formation of scar tissue, pain, and swelling following an injury or surgery
- Speeds healing from pulled muscles and sprained ligaments
- Increases range of motion and flexibility
- Improves posture
Benefits for the other systems of the body
- Reduces stress hormones
- Improves immune system function
- Relieves tension headaches and migraine pain
- Improves digestion
- Reduces fatigue
- Increases blood and lymph circulation
- Lowers blood pressure
- Promotes deeper and easier breathing
- Decreases premenstrual symptoms
- Reduces nerve pain (e.g., sciatica, thoracic outlet syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, herniated discs, etc)
- Benefits for a variety of medical conditions
Benefits for the Mind
- Reduces anxiety
- Improves sleep habits
- Enhances alertness and psychological functioning
- Enhances cognition and learning in infants and children
- Improves symptoms for a variety of psychological disorders
- Helps survivors of sexual and physical abuse readjust to touch
Benefits of Prenatal, Labor, Postpartum, & Infant Massage
In addition to all the benefits for the body and the mind outlined above, there are many benefits particular to pregnancy, labor, postpartum and for infants.
Benefits of massage during pregnancy
- Decreases rates of complications during labor
- Decreased rates of postnatal complications for the baby
- Decreases rates of premature birth
- Decreases stress hormone levels in mother
- Increases oxygen and nutrients to the cells of mother and baby
- Promotes easier breathing
- Reduces swelling (edema) in the hands and feet
- Decreases pain in low back, shoulders, neck, and hips due to shift in posture
- Alleviates stress on weight-bearing joints due to additional weight of the baby
- Alleviates leg cramps
- Alleviates sciatic pain
- Decreased insomnia
- Helps prepare the muscles used during childbirth
Benefits of massage during labor
- Shorter labor
- Less painful labor
- Less likely to need pain medication
- Fewer complications during labor
- Less anxiety during labor
- Shorter hospital stay following birth
- Better mood following birth
Benefits of postpartum massage
- Better milk production and easier breastfeeding
- Helps to realign the pelvis after birth
- Relieves soreness after birth
- Faster recovery from a cesarean
- Relieves stiffness, tension, and aches and pains associated with caring for a newborn
Benefits of infant massage
- Facilitates weight gain in preterm and normal infants
- Improves sleep-wake patterns in preterm and normal infants
- Decreases fussiness and improves "soothability"
- Improves sociability and interaction behaviors
- Lowers stress hormones and increases "happy" hormone levels
- Preterm infants released more quickly from the hospital
