Why Men Need Massage Therapy
We could postulate on why most men don’t come in for massage until their wives or girlfriends push them into it, after hearing them complain of their aches and pains for too long. But those reasons are personal to each man, so I am going to give you lots of reasons why you should come in for a treatment! If you think about your car and the maintenance that you do for your car, you can parallel that to your own body. You take your car in for oil changes and regular maintenance so that it won’t break down at inconvenient times. The same goes for your body: you need to feed it high quality, balanced food, get regular exercise (aerobic, strength, and stretching), and get treatments like massage, physio, medical check-ups to make sure everything runs smoothly.
It is horrible when the body breaks down just when you need it most, so keep it healthy and ready for anything. Here are some key benefits and what massage can help you with:
Keeping you primed and ready for your chosen sport and help to increase your performance.
Treat any sprains and strains from sports, work, or blue list chores.
If you have a physical job with a lot of lifting or working in tight awkward positions massage can keep your body balanced and healthy and able to keep working. A job that has a lot of lifting will fatigue the muscles of the back, even when you are lifting properly and especially when the worker gets too casual and starts lifting improperly. When the muscles are fatigued they will get very tight and painful. This will lead to the joint being less supported and then things like disc herniations happen. If your job involves a repetitive posture or movement the muscles of that movement will get overworked and will be stronger and/or tighter than the other side. This leads to body imbalance and can lead to postural issues, joint range issues, eventual joint wear and arthritis, this list can also go on and on. Jobs with repetitive motions often lead to tendinitis issues which take a lot of work and time to heal properly.
If you work at a desk job in front of a computer or on a phone there are a lot of body restrictions that can occur by sitting in those positions for long periods. Massage will help to manage those imbalances.
Treat, give homecare, and therapeutic exercises for specific injuries like: disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, tendinitis (ie elbow), headaches, whiplash, rotator cuff injuries, pre and post hip/knee surgery, job related imbalances, ankle sprains, carpal tunnel, the muscles reactions to arthritis, etc…
Massage is known to help people with anxiety and depressive disorders. For more information and explanations see my article on anxiety and depression. Massage from an RMT can be a safe and therapeutic form of touch, which can be very beneficial for people who have little physical contact with others.
Time is precious these days and we work long, hard hours. We have less time to take care of ourselves and do the fun activities we like. This, in-turn, can promote the weekend warrior lifestyle that often leads to injury. Say you have a family and a full time job – you work all week and before and after work you have responsibilities at home. When is there time to work-out or go and have treatments? Then, the weekend comes around and you have a long list of blue chores around the house. Plus, you want to have fun with your family and friends as well as do the sports you love. So, you pack it all in! A couple of mountain bike rides; or 2 rounds of golf; or baseball games/tournaments; or a triathlon and a long run; or getting out on your off road bike or ATV; or any number of intense physical activities. It is okay to pack in all this fun on the weekend, but you also need to take care of yourself. Things to remember are: drink lots of water and keep your electrolytes balanced to stay properly hydrated (and beer is not an hydrating drink!), feed yourself a healthy diet, stretch the sport and work specific muscles, and get regular treatments to keep your body a well oiled machine.
Most men may need a push to come in for their first massage, but after only a few treatments many start to realize just how beneficial it is to take care of their bodies. It is not a luxury or a spa treatment, it is a legitimate medical treatment to help your body function optimally at work, home, and/or play.