RMT Massage Benefits for Short-Term & Long-Term Health
RMT, short for Registered Massage Therapy is a therapy session provided by a licensed massage therapist.
It is a form of therapy conducted by professionals who are experts in your muscles and joints. RMT is a proven form of therapy with amazing health benefits.
In this article, we will be outlining some details where you can learn about short-term and long-term health gains after receiving RMT.
How RMT works
Each RMT session usually consists of a detail assessment by a massage therapist. The therapist will first work with you to gain an insight about your past medical history, pain/injuries or any other goals that you might have.
This is to develop a detail treatment plan and to address your needs. This will be followed by various types of manual techniques such as kneading, pressing and stretching of soft tissues.
There are a range of specific treatment techniques that massage therapist would employ for various outcome.
Example
For example, Swedish massage would be utilized for relaxation and improving circulation. Deep tissue massage to target chronic muscle tension or injury.
Trigger point therapy to release “knots” that we feel in our muscle tissues.
Myofascial release to release restriction in the connective tissues in our body.
Sports massage for improve performance and recovery after physical activities. Lymphatic drainage to simulate lymph flow and reduce swelling.
What to Expect After an RMT Session
With the conclusion of a RMT session, there will be a few response to treatment in the first 24-72 hours. First off, there might be instances of mild soreness or tenderness which comes with pressure applied on our body. Tiredness or fatigue is common given that your body is now in a more relaxed state. On the cognitive side, a feeling of emotional release, possibly due to release of stored tension from stress. Lastly a sensation of thirst or need for urination due to improved circulation and lymph flow.
Short Term benefits of RMT
Noting all the signs and response that you have come across after the 24-72 hours, you will likely receive the following short term gains from the session.
Enhanced Mobility and Flexibility
First off, an immediate increase in flexibility with better range of motion in your joints. You will feel that you are reaching further and easier. This is due to the RMT session having an effect of lengthening your muscles. Your muscles were likely holding you in a more contracted state prior to therapy.
Circulation and Recovery
Secondly, you will also experience better circulation and blood flow which helps with better recovery time after physical activities. Improved blood flow helps to flush out toxin from our body and to rid of inflamed particles. As well with effects on improving lymph movement through better lymphatic drainage. This will often result in a reduction in swelling.
Injury Rehabilitation Support
The combination of improve flexibility and blood flow also provides tremendous support in terms of rehabilitation from an injury, like a sports injury during your weekend soccer practice. RMT is often use in conjunction with physiotherapy since it largely aligns with post injuries goals of improving range of motion and reducing swelling.
Mood Enhancement and Better Sleep
There are also short-term psychological effects in terms of a RMT session. Massage techniques aids our body for release of natural hormones such as endorphins and serotonin. These will ultimate help us in reducing anxiety, lowering stress and improve our general mood. We will usually see this in terms of better sleep quality the same night after treatment and a boost of energy level the day after.
Long Term benefits of RMT
When we follow through with a customized RMT treatment plan, we will also start to experience several more long-term benefits with subsequent massage therapy sessions.
Chronic Pain Management
First off, ongoing RMT can help tackle tricky chronic pain conditions. Chronic pain goes through phases of acute flare ups which could limit our actives of daily living. With a proper RMT maintenance schedule, we can keep any chronic pain at bay and reduce the chances of unwanted acute flare ups of pain. Conditions such as osteoarthritis, repetitive strain injuries are such that can benefit from RMT management. On top of that, a proper chronic pain management plan is also very helpful.
Postural Improvements
RMT can also help with regulating our posture and changing our alignment. Our body is exposed to daily overuse which creates muscles imbalances.
Over time, these imbalances take over and alters our overall postural alignment. Regular RMT appointments can help overcome these imbalances such that we can maintain our optimal posture at all times.
Preventative Health
Consistent RMT appointments can also prevent injuries by promoting optimal muscle health. With our muscle in optimal flexibility, this largely reduce chances of acute strain injuries.
Chronic Condition Support
On the cognitive side, ongoing massage therapy can provide long term health benefits for added protection agains stress. Massage therapy has been shown to help regulate stress through the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-adrenal axis, short for HPA axis.
A part of our brain known as the hypothalamus, it is responsible for a release of hormone known as CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone). This hormone induce a pathway of chemical release through the pituitary glen and the adrenal glen which in turn releases cortisol (a stress hormone) to our body.
Chronic Stress Mitigation
RMT helps with stress by activating our parasympathetic nervous system, which down regulates the hypothalamic activity, This in turn reduces the production of cortisol, which in turn slows down our heart rate and results in a deeper breathing pattern. This often provides for a much clearer and calmer mind with ongoing benefits.
Cognitive Function Benefits
Furthermore, RMT can help to provide various cognitive benefits. RMT can help regulate various hormone levels such as serotonin, dopamine and endorphins. Serotonin is a “feel good” chemical that promotes the feeling of calm thus improving your overall focus. Dopamine aids in enchaining motivation thus further providing support to concentrate and act. Lastly, endorphins are natural pain killers of the body which provides a boost in overall mood.
How to integrate RMT into your schedule
Given all these great benefits of continual RMT session, we should definitely look into the implementation of RMT into our lives. In reality, our lives are filled with commitment from family to work to other forms of leisure activities.
Realistic Scheduling for Busy Lives
A regular commitment to anything is not an easy task, but it is one that we must make sacrifice for the better of our physical health. Here a few strategies when it comes to incorporating massage therapy in our schedule:
- Create a plan – Establish a frequency of RMT sessions between yourself and the therapist that you work with. A proper treatment plan goes a long way as well as adhering to it. A proper treatment plan lays out the main concerns that is to be addressed. Proper adherence to schedule will ensure that our condition can be managed continuously. We can largely avoid relapse in conditions in this sense.
- Change your mindset – Think of RMT appointment as an important routine of our daily lives. Think of brushing your teeth in the morning for oral hygiene, and provide self talk that the RMT appointment is a part of our muscular health.
- Use technology – Adopt the use of calendar and schedule reminders on your phone and computers. Set reminders on electronic devices on the day of the appointment and before the day of the appointment. Also at Amberlea Physiotherapy and Rehab clinic, we provided text/email reminders for our clients such that you can attend your session with ease.
Get RMT Massage in Pickering Ontario
At Amberlea Physiotherapy and Rehab clinic, we understand that we are going to be pressed for time in certain days of the week. Our clinic offers evening hours and weekend availabilities to best accommodate, We want you to be able to commit to your health meanwhile juggling busy lives. We offer RMT sessions at different lengths which can be tailored into your treatment plan. Shorter session for those press for time, and longer sessions for times that requires a deeper dive into physical conditions.
Proper care starts with a proper plan, proper plan is one that is based on best medical evidence. At Amberlea Physiotherapy and Rehab clinic, we believe that there is no short cut in designing the proper treatment plan that best fits your needs. A proper detail assessments from our expert therapist can outline long term management for best results. Also with various complex medical conditions, the use of multi-disciplinary care can be a better approach.
Ready for your appointment? Book your Free 15-Minute Consultation Call with our team.
