With Mental Health Day this week, it only felt right to talk about some of the benefits receiving regular treatments can have on your mind.
It’s safe to say it’s important for all of us to take care of both our physical and mental wellbeing.
But when we break it down, what really makes us feel so much better after a treatment…
…within Sports Therapy?
To begin with, consultations can be a vital component in relieving mental tension as they not only provide you with an opportunity to tell us what’s wrong but allow you to offload on how you’re feeling particularly if you’ve ever felt alone.
It’s been proven time and time again that there are huge benefits in talking to someone about how we're feeling and, in this context, with pain and injury. Particularly for those experiencing chronic pain where symptoms aren’t often visible – telling someone how you’re feeling can sometimes feel like a weight has been lifted.
Moving onto treatments - take soft massage techniques. It’s no secret that massages allow us to relax and unwind and this is partially due to the mechanical and psychological effects they can have on the brain.
Excuse us for a second whilst we go a little technical.
There are two different types of nerve fibres called Nociceptors; A fibres (which detect and warn our bodies of damage) and C fibres (which convey chronic pain, forcing our bodies to stop an activity causing symptoms like muscular spasms) which send signals from the spinal cord where they are stimulated by things such as a heat, chemicals and pressures.
In the ‘A fibre’ category, we have three types: A alpha, A beta (the focus of today) and A delta.
Alpha-beta fibres are responsible for conveying sensations of touch to the brain, which impulse much faster than others inhibiting the transmission of A delta and C fibres.
So, in a less wordy way, by rubbing the thing that hurts, we can stop/prevent the feeling of pain going to the brain and massage can play a big role in this as it enhances the efficiency of this process.
It's like a natural pain relief. Cool right?
The final add-on for today’s post is how our minds are affected by massage regarding stress levels.
Ever heard of the ‘fight or flight’ response? Well, this is to do with the sympathetic nervous system where the body responds to a crisis or dangerous situation.
However, massage triggers the opposite to this - the parasympathetic nervous system.
When this system is stimulated, the body releases certain hormones such as serotonin and dopamine as well as increasing our endorphins and decreasing our levels in cortisol (the stress hormone).
Soft tissue therapies are just one of the many beneficial treatments that we as therapists can help you with, but to conclude, having regular treatments can be incredibly beneficial for your mind as well as your body.
