Massage For Improved Heart Health

From daily exercise to drinking wine and even eating chocolate, advice aplenty exists on how to improve heart health. But can regular massages help heart health or is that just an old wives’ tale spun by some idle masseuses?

Puff Awful

First up, if you are serious about making your heart healthier, stop smoking. That’s the number one piece of advice on heart health from the NHS, above all others, for making your heart healthier.

Smokers are about twice as likely to suffer from a heart attack as non-smokers. So make sure you are on the right side of that statistic before you consider any other lifestyle changes such as getting regular massages for improving heart health.

How Massage Can Help

Cardiovascular disease can develop for a wide range of reasons, from genetic influences to personal lifestyle choices.

Your way of life can have a huge impact on your heart’s health. After smoking, the most important lifestyle aspects for maintaining good cardiac health are:

- your activity levels; and

- your diet.

Activity

A sedentary lifestyle (such as sitting at an office desk all day) and high blood pressure levels can increase the risk of developing coronary heart disease. Massage therapy has been shown to improve the rate of blood circulation, which in turn, can help reduce blood pressure and lower the risk of cardiovascular issues developing.

By receiving therapeutic massage therapies such as Physiotherapy Style and Sports Massage in between intensive exercise sessions, you can aid and speed up the recovery of muscles and ligaments. By avoiding extended periods of inactivity following a sports related injury you increase your chances of maintaining a regular fitness routine and keeping your heart in better shape.

Talking of exercise and heart health, a recent study into cardiovascular risk found that men who can manage at least 40 press ups in one set had a much lower risk of suffering a heart attack or other coronary problems in the next decade than those men who could only manage 10 or less push ups. As a result of this research, many doctors are now substituting the traditional treadmill test and measuring a patient's press up capacity instead to obtain a better indicator of heart health.

Mood

When we feel down, we tend to eat less healthy food, drink excess amounts of alcohol and exercise less frequently. By opting to receive a weekly relaxation massage, you can uplift your mood and reduce anxiety. When you feel happier and more optimistic, you become more likely to live an active and healthier lifestyle.

Health

Massage is a very well established form of healthcare around the world. High quality massage therapists are often physically fit have a keen interest in living healthy lifestyles.

When you receive regular massages, the therapeutic touch from your wellness focused therapist, together with any verbal discussions, can help to shift your attitude and interests towards healthier living.

Your masseuse will have massaged many people of different shapes and sizes. If you are feeling confident, you can even ask them for an honest opinion on how your fitness levels appear compared to others they have massaged.

Vanity

Many people find themselves exercising and eating better simply so that they can feel more confident in front of their therapist when they next undress for a massage.

Whilst your professional therapist will be experienced and trained to accept all body shapes and sizes, if massage vanity leads you to better heart health then that’s got to be a good thing too!