The Elderly & Massage
The elderly are a group of people often plagued with muscle and joint pains and deteriorating health and sicknesses that many persons are unable to relieve. Elderly massage is supposed to improve the well being of senior citizens. Elderly therapeutic massage just means it’s for the elderly. The technique used is vastly different than the one used in younger persons. Massage therapists must be aware of several issues such as the physical changes the elderly body goes through. For this reason the techniques used during therapeutic massage is different as massage therapists have to be cautious and extra sensitive in certain areas.
When persons get older they partake in less activities, that includes walking, running or just simple exercise. Reducing physical activity decreases the quality of life for elderly people. Therapeutic massage helps manage and smoothen out aging. Illnesses such as arthritis, aching joints, swelling and general pain can be alleviated through therapeutic massage.
The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, or NCBTMB for short, spend a lot of time promoting elderly therapeutic massage. Many people may know that massage is around, but may not know it’s benefits.
In toady’s society it is very important for the elderly to partake in regular therapeutic massages. The population is ageing every day and it is important to take care of the elderly by seeking effective methods of care such as therapeutic massage. Within western society a large percentage of health care expenditure is spent on caring for the elderly. Therapeutic massage is highly beneficial to the ageing population as it helps to reduce and relieve the negative effects of getting old. This will further benefit society and possibly enable the elderly to have longer and more pain free lives. Society will then have a happy and healthy elderly population.
There are several benefits to elderly therapeutic massage:
● It has a high calming effect to the elderly person which in turn helps them to deal with medical issues with more stride and hope.
● It greatly improves both posture and muscle tension. Older people tend to have bone loss and slouch. Massage helps with muscle tension no matter how old you are. It also helps them to receive a higher quality of rest enabling them to sleep deeper and longer and wake up fully refreshed and rejuvenated. This has a significant benefit to their general heath.
● Therapeutic massage helps to boost mental awareness and energy levels.
● It also increases muscle coordination, range of motion and overall strength.
● It assists the control of arthritic pain and also enables the elderly to manage other types of pain well.
● Lastly, according to the Touch Research Institute, therapeutic massage is a very beneficial treatment for persons with Alzheimer’s disease. It has been shown to increase communication and relaxation throughout the debilitating disease.
Therapeutic massage is a very beneficial process for the elderly and it is very important that they attend regular sessions. This is a natural solution to the effects of ageing and can help to slow down the ageing process which improves their quality of life.
I write for AML Stone Source, the leading hot stones supplies provider. They carry products for hot stone massage, as well as many other accessories for hot and cold stone therapy.
