By WIN Contributor: Phil Rowland, RMT, ART provider, Certified Personal Trainer
As we close out February we take one last look at how to improve heart health. Visits with your Niagara Falls WIN Registered Massage Therapist can have a positive effect on your heart health. Your heart is a large muscle. Stress can limit its activity and the blood flow to the rest of the body which can result in lower energy levels, fatigue, pain and soreness.
A number of long-term studies have shown that regular massage can decrease blood pressure. Maintaining a healthy blood pressure can lower the odds of having a heart attack. Massage Therapy releases contracted muscles and pushes venous blood towards the heart easing the strain on the heart. Just one massage can see a drop in blood pressure by 10 mg Hg, and a drop in heart rate by 10 beats per minute. This is the same effect as taking blood pressure medication long-term.
Along with decreasing blood pressure, massage also improves circulation, which can strengthen your heart, it lowers the stress hormones in your body, specifically cortisol, which, if left unchecked and elevated, can dramatically raise the likelihood of death due to a stroke or heart attack. Massage can reduce stress, increase production of endorphins (the body’s natural painkillers) and also promotes recovery by flushing the toxins away from the heart so that new oxygenated blood can circulate.
With so many benefits to receiving Massage Therapy, now is the time to book your next Niagara Falls WIN massage appointment.