Our Massage Club is growing as more clients recognize the benefits of getting regular massage therapy. The 2007 Annual Consumer Survey of the American Massage Therapy Association indicates that the number of massage clients is also increasing. More than 40 million American adults are getting a massage annually. 25 million more Americans each year are getting massages than 10 years ago. Many people still depend on massage for relaxation (22%): however, the trend (30%) is to use massage therapy “for medical purposes such as injury recovery, pain reduction, headache control, and for their overall health and wellness."  FirstHealth makes it easy (and more affordable) to get the benefits of massage. When you buy 5 massages, you will get the 6^th free! It is also a wonderful and highly appreciated holiday gift.

Dr. Tim Pan, a certified massage therapist and physician at the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, points out that the cascade of benefits occurs because the nervous system is deeply embedded in every organ and tissue, and massage therefore touches far beyond the outer physical layers of the body. “Two of our most important organs for life, the heart and the brain, are essentially structures of muscle and/or nerve” he says. “As daily stressors accumulate, the muscles tighten into knots, and the nerves become sensitive and possibly painful.” Massage triggers the release of natural chemicals that affects muscles, nerves, blood circulation, and deeper body structures. (Spa Magazine Jul/Aug 2007)

Research demonstrates that massage modifies the neurochemicals that play a role in pain sensation and increases the flow of nutrient-rich blood to injured muscles, cartilage, and ligament. Dr. Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, which has conducted hundreds of studies on the positive effects on massage, explains that the therapy ”reduces substance P a chemical involved in the transmission of pain: lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol: and encourage deep sleep,” all of which influence the perception of pain. (SpaMagazine Jul/Aug 2007)