Stress is a normal part of life. However, when you experience excessive levels of this negative emotion, it can impact your health in numerous ways. Luckily, massage therapy is one type of treatment that minimizes these side effects. If you’re unfamiliar with the link between stress reduction and massages, here’s more information about it.

How Stress Impacts Your Health

People experience stress for a variety of reasons, including financial struggles, dissatisfaction at work, persistent pain, and trouble in their personal lives.

When a person is under persistent stress, the brain begins to produce an excess amount of cortisol, which is known as the stress hormone. This increase can lead to weight gain, joint inflammation, a weakened immune system, cardiovascular troubles, acne, muscle loss, thinning hair, headaches, difficulty sleeping, and decreased cognitive function. 

How Massage Therapy Counteracts These Effects

If your stress is brought on by chronic pain or injuries, treating the damage will help decrease your cortisol levels. Massage therapy is one way to alleviate chronic pain. For example, if you’re dealing with muscular or tissue pain, a deep-tissue massage will help you recover and restore your range of motion.

If your stress is the result of personal circumstances, regular massages can help improve the production of more positive chemicals in the brain. They have been linked to an increase of serotonin and dopamine, which release positive emotions and improve productivity and focus. Increasing the levels of these elements in the body also helps decrease the production of the stress hormone. 

If you need help alleviating your stress, contact the professionals at Spectrum Health in Cornelia, GA. This practice offers a broad range of effective treatments and procedures to ensure optimum health and wellness for all their patients, including massage therapy and chiropractic care. Visit them online to learn how they will help you, and call (706) 778-0077 to set up an appointment today.