benefits of massage therapy:

In an age of technical and, at times, impersonal medicine, massage offers a drug-free, non-invasive, and humanistic approach based on the body's natural ability to heal itself. Following is a brief list of the many known, research-based benefits of massage and bodywork:

• Increases circulation, allowing the body to pump more oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs
• Stimulates the flow of lymph, the body's natural defense system, against toxic invaders. For example, in breast cancer patients, massage has been shown to increase the cells that fight cancer.
• Furthermore, increased circulation of blood and lymph systems improves the condition of the body's largest organ -- the skin

• Relaxes and softens injured and overused muscles
• Reduces spasms and cramping
• Increases joint flexibility
• Reduces recovery time and helps prepare the body for strenuous workouts, reducing subsequent muscle pain of athletes at any level
• Releases endorphins -- the body's natural painkiller -- and is proving very beneficial in patients with chronic illness, injury, and post-op pain
• Reduces post-surgery adhesions and edema and can be used to reduce and realign scar tissue after healing has occurred

• Improves range-of-motion and decreases discomfort for patients with low back pain
• Relieves pain for migraine sufferers and decreases the need for medication
• Provides exercise and stretching for
  atrophied muscles and reduces shortening
  of the muscles for those with restricted
  range of motion
• Assists with shorter labor for expectant mothers, as well as reduces the need for medication, eases postpartum depression and anxiety, and contributes to a shorter hospital stay.