Two recent impact studies highlight the mystery of how our body performs the act of staying healthy. We may not know why we die when we sit too frequently without breaks and we may not know the mechanism that yields positive health when we sit in saunas but we do know that these impacts exist. These two articles are food for thought. In the sitting study, one statement they make really matters to our sit and stand culture: we don’t know if doing the opposite (standing) is healthier or just as harmful. Keep that in mind. As a massage therapist, I suspect sedentary standing is just as harmful as sedentary sitting for long periods of time. In the sauna study, the researchers suggested that purposeful relaxation (puting your mind into focused physiological relaxation) was a big piece of why they suspect sauna was so successful in the link to lower rates of dementia in their studied population. (Original study is here on Medscape but does not show up on smartphones).
Movement is life and stress-less existence is living with your mind intact.
Massage therapy likely has an impact in health similar to the sauna study, where what we do with our hands draws warmth and heat to an area as well as calming the flames of the mind. As far as comparing massage and sitting, we find massage therapy helps keep our population interested in moving, in tune with our bodies and more mindful of the impact of sustained sendentary activity. We know massage circulates as does movement but we don’t yet know if that is the mechanism behind the healthy impact. Mysterious body indeed.
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About the author
Laura Ford is founding partner and owner of Hands On Health Massage Therapy & Wellness located in Cary NC. Contact laura at massagetherapy@handsonhealthnc.com. The company has four divisions: Massage Therapy services, Continuing Education classes for Massage Therapists, Community Classes, and Events