Massage: pampering or therapy?

There are many things that are good for us. For example going for a run, eating healthily and getting plenty of rest make us feel better, both emotionally and physically. Treating ourselves to a new coat or big juicy burger can also make us feel better. There are many different ways to treat ourselves and improve our lives and one of the best ways is massage.

Massage is great

Massage is an excellent way to make you feel better. It is an excellent way to both treat yourself and also improve your health. Some people will only use it as a way of treating themselves whilst others might say they only use it to improve their health. We think massage is great either way.

For example using  massage in a pampering way. Going for a spa weekend away and enjoying a few sessions can really relax you. It can just give you a good time and help you enjoy yourself. A weekly massage session you might have can also do this. It might act as a chance for a socialising opportunity and a way of escaping the pressure of work and life perhaps.

What about using massage as therapy then? A lot of people will turn to a massage session to improve their situation and health. They will use it to fix a back or neck problem, they will use it to take stress away, they will use it to enhance their athletic performance. You might even use it to improve the state of your mental health. Massage therapy is very effective if used correctly.

Massage: pampering or therapy?

The benefits of massage above clearly suggest that is good for you. That whatever you use it for, you are likely to feel better in some way after it. Is it primarily an exercise in pampering or therapy though?

There is strong case to say that the industry is built around pampering. If you look at the number of health spas across the world selling massage sessions to relaxing holiday makers and weekenders it would be hard to argue that massage is not an act of pampering.

However you could just as easily say that the number of sports massage therapists and professionals that work day in day out treating injuries and helping people improve their health is huge. It is also a way of life to some people.

To us there is no right or wrong here, although we would lean towards therapy if we had to choose because there is an argument that a pampering session is a form of therapy.

When does a massage session move from pampering to therapy?

Massage is good for you and many people use it in different ways. The question we want to look at then is when does a pampering session become a therapy session?

It all depends on the circumstance. Sometimes it might never happen. A relaxing session to treat you at lunchtime can be a purely self indulgent treat. However most would agree that some of the benefits of pampering could actually count as therapy and that at some point the pampering session will change over to a therapy session.

The crossover might be a little bit murky but as soon as you use it for practical reasons such as athletic performance or injury recovery, or perhaps mental therapy it quickly becomes a session of therapy.

In short, massage can be used for either a pampering session or a therapy session but due it its excellent benefits on your physical or mental health, it almost always becomes a therapy session.