Massage Therapy for a Lifetime

By Beau Miakinkoff, LMT, LMP, CA, IAC

Massage therapy is widely known to be a proven modality for helping people with stress reduction, pain management and injury rehabilitation for active, working adults.

But what about the rest of the population? Do they not have physical and mental challenges and complaints? Of course they do! Massage therapy is a form of healthcare that can be utilized from before birth, immediately after being born, all through the years of growing up, adulthood, and even during the stages of end of life discomforts.

Massage During Pregnancy

Many changes happen to a woman’s body during pregnancy. Some of them are very stressful. Pregnancy massage can be of great assistance to the woman as well as the unborn child. It can be administered prenatally, during labor and postpartum. It reduces many of the discomforts and concerns that arise with having a baby and supports a physical comfort as well as emotional balancing for both the mother and the baby.

After delivery, massage therapy techniques are used to help rebalance the body and mind of the new mommy. Having a baby is very traumatic for both the mom and the child physically, even when the birthing proceeds without complications. It assists with mother-child bonding and encourages infant nurturing.

Newborn and Pediatric Massage

Newborns sometimes suffer injuries to the fascial system while still in the womb and while being delivered. Any imbalances can be addressed to improve structural alignment, muscle tissue tone and the motor skill functionality of the baby.

Pediatric massage can help to prevent Attention Deficit Disorder and other related issues along with a multitude of mental, physical (pathological and sports related) and emotional concerns that children encounter as they grow up.

Because parents are customarily involved with pediatric massage, it strengthens the bond between the child and the mom and dad. Prevention goes a long way in treating children and teens. Developing this habit early in life will help with maintaining good health when they become adults.

Massage Therapy for Children and Teenagers

Infants, toddlers, children, teenagers are a population that is commonly overlooked to receive massage therapy. Receiving massage from infancy throughout teenager-dom can be extremely beneficial to the child. Growing pains are experienced physically and emotionally.

Massage Therapy for the Elderly

Then there is the elderly generation. The “old age” complaints. Massage is a wonderful method of relieving chronic pain and restoring the ability to do some of the activities that used to be enjoyed. Geriatric massage is gaining some notoriety in the success that it has had in addressing the physiological aspects, mental distress and spiritual angst of aging

and the related diseases. Massage therapy for the elderly may be restricted to shorter sessions, but may be tolerated more frequently, depending upon the individual’s medical condition.

There is also Hospice massage. A paramount concern in hospice care is alleviating pain. Massage therapy contributes vastly to easing pain and suffering on many different levels. Pain has a complex nature and is related to the whole being – the body, the mind and the spirit. Massage impacts the quality of life from many different approaches. The dimensions of pain include physiological, behavioral, emotional, cognitive, social, and most importantly spiritual well-being.

About the Author

Beau is the owner of White Dragon Therapies, a Portland massage therapy clinic, and works as an LMT. She is also a certified integrated aromatherapy specialist. You can visit her facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/PortlandMassageTherapy