Don’t get stuck watching everyone else enjoy the warm weather.

Now that the weather is getting warmer and the sun is out it means everyone is getting active and participating in outdoor activities. Whether you’re in a football league, going swimming or planting a garden. With an increase in activity comes the many benefits of increased strength, better mental health and improved joint mobility- but there is also a higher risk of injury. The last thing you want is to injure yourself and become restricted in how much you can do during the summer months. Ask anyone, being sick or injured during the summer is the worst!

That is where massage therapy fits in; it can be an effective piece of self-care to help anyone recover from either an acute or ongoing injury as well as help prevent future injuries. Specific to summer-Massage therapy will:

Decrease Swelling and Inflammation

In the summer months, the increase in heat and humidity can lead to an increase in swelling and inflammation. Heat can change the amount of fluid in your joints, affecting people with arthritis or individuals who are prone to swelling. Massage therapy can help reduce swelling in joints and limbs. It can also decrease the pain and symptoms associated with inflammation.

Optimal Adaptation to Exercise

If you are a runner, an athlete, or enjoy working in your garden, the summer is the time to maximize your strength and endurance gains. To prevent injury and optimize your body’s ability to increase its strength and endurance, massage therapy can:

• Improve blood circulation

• Reduce post-exercise soreness

• Decrease exercise recovery time

Manage and Reduce Pain

Chronic pain is prevalent throughout the UK, more than two fifths of the UK population experiences chronic pain. For many people it can hinder their ability to do the things that they enjoy. Massage therapy is effective in reducing and managing chronic pain by:

• Decreasing pain responses

• Minimize the occurrence of tension headaches

• Produce a relaxation response and improve sleep

• Reduction of muscle tension

Increased Joint Range of Motion

Flexibility and range of motion are important to maintain throughout the year, but a lack of flexibility may become more apparent in the summer. A change from watching movies to hiking on weekends and you may notice that your body is stiffer than you realized or remember. Massage therapy has been shown to increase joint range of motion and improve the flexibility of muscles.

Decreased Injury Recovery Time

Getting back to activity post-injury is the ultimate goal and no one wants to spend their entire summer trying to recover. Massage Therapy can reduce injury recovery time and help you get back to regular summer activity. Mechanisms behind this include:

• Pain management

• Improve blood flow to injured tissue (removal of metabolic waste and increase oxygen uptake)

• Prevents or reduces tissue adherence and contracture (aka good scar formation)

• Restores range of motion

• Relaxes compensating muscles and structures

The benefits above aren’t exclusively for the summer, getting regular massage will promote year round health and reduce the effects of stress and injuries. Massage therapy can be used for preventative medicine as well as pain management and injury recovery.

Have a safe and healthy summer!