Massages are often marketed as a form of self-care. A 30-60 minute shortcut to calm down, relax, ease anxiety, tension, and even sleep better. But can it do more than just help a person relax? After such positive results with mental health, scientists have been wondering if massage therapy does anything to our physical health as well. Spoiler alert, it does! “Researchers working with patients with compromised immune systems have found massage therapy can improve how the immune system functions,” said Jeff Smoot, 2015 President of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA). “Those same benefits can translate to people seeking to fight off the common cold, flu and other seasonal illnesses.” In other words, massage therapy is an immune system boost!
Clinical studies and research have found that while massage does help alleviate stress and mental strain, it also naturally increases the immune system as well. There are a few reasons massage therapy boosts the immune system, keep reading to find out how.
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