APEX Electrolysis & Bodywork

One of the oldest and simplest forms of medical care is used to ease pain and anxiety and promote good health.

Massage is the kneading and stroking of the body's soft tissues (skin and muscles) with varying degrees of pressure and is incorporated in a number of traditional health systems such as Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine. Practitioners of modern complementary therapies like aromatherapy and reflexology use various massage techniques.

What does it do?

Gentle massage affects the nervous system through nerve endings inthe skin. This stimulates the release of endorphins (the body's 'feel good' chemicals) to help induce relaxation and a sense of well-being, to relieve pain, and to reduce levels of stress chemicals such as cortisol and noradrenaline. It helps to reverse the damaging effects of stress by slowing the heart rate, respiration and metabolism and lowering raised blood pressure.

Stronger massage stimulates blood circulation to improve the supply of oxygen and nutrients to body tissues and helps the lymphatic system to flush away waste products. It eases tense and knotted muscles and stiff joints, improving mobility and flexibility.

Massage is used more and more frequently in conventionaly healthcare to relieve anxiety and reduce pain in the elderly and in patient with cancer, AIDS, hearth attacks, and stroke.

How does it work?

Touch is our first sensual experience and remains, along with smell, the most immediate and evocative link between mind and body. The skin is the body's largest sensory organ and thousands of specialized receptors in the dermis (the second layer of the skin) react to external stimuli such as heat, cold and pressure by sending messages through the nervous system to the brain. Massage is said to increase activity of the vagus nerve, one of ten cranial nerves, which affects the secretion of food absorbtion hormones as well as heart rate and respiration.

What is it good for?

Studies at the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami, Florida, show that massage reduces anxiety and depression, relieves back and muscle pain, lowers high blood pressure, eases PMS symptoms, re-energizes stressed office workers and boosts the immune system which fights infections.

Massage is also commonly used to help insomnia, headaches and other stress-related conditions, as well as arthritis and digestive disorders such as constipation.

What to watch out for-

• Massage of the abdomen should be avoided in the first three months of pregnancy
• Consult a doctor before having a massage if you have phlebitis, thrombosis, varicose veins, acute back pain, cancer, a personality disorder, psychotic illness or any undiagnosed pain, lumps or bumps
• Do not massage bruises, fractures or skin infections