The benefits of massage for older adults, individuals with limited mobility, and osteoporosis

An overview of arthritic conditions and osteoporosis

Massage therapy offers a range of features and benefits when offered to those who suffer from limited mobility or osteoporosis:

  • Massage offers stimulation to muscle tissue, allowing it to contract and relax, enhancing muscle tone and preventing muscle atrophy (wastage).
  • Thanks to massage, metabolism in the muscles increases, subsequently raising tidal volume and improving lung ventilation, thus enhancing overall body oxygenation. This, in turn, fosters heightened mental alertness.
  • Massage serves the purpose of nourishing cartilage tissue, aiming to prevent degeneration processes and halt ongoing ones.
  • Massage elicits a calming and relaxing effect through the nervous system’s response, aiding in the management of chronic pain.
  • Baroreceptors (nerve endings in the carotid artery responsible for regulating blood pressure) are stimulated by massage, causing vessel walls to stretch, increasing their lumen, and consequently reducing blood pressure.
  • Moreover, by mechanically assisting blood flow toward the heart during the massage, stroke volume (the amount of blood ejected from the heart with each beat) increases, while heart rate decreases.
  • Connective tissue provides essential support to other bodily tissues and organs. Massage can either excite or relax connective tissue depending on the techniques used, rendering it more flexible, leading to increased joint mobility and flexibility.
  • For individuals suffering from broken bones due to osteoporosis, which can cause chronic pain, massage can release feel-good hormones such as serotonin and endorphins, providing a sense of relief and relaxation.
  • It provides nourishment to bone tissue, maintaining a balance between organic (40%) and non-organic (35%) compounds, with the remaining 25% being water. Additionally, it aids in the removal of bone spurs (osteophytes), benign bony outgrowths that can develop on a bone’s surface.

Please note that all customers must have sufficient mobility to access the massage couch. I am here to provide assistance if needed.