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You must be familiar with the uneasy feeling in your stomach when you are under stress or experiencing negative emotions. So how to get rid of them? By availing of the benefits of abdominal massages, easy!
But what are the benefits of abdominal massages? Abdominal massage is not a new thing, it has its roots in Chinese medicine.
The Taoist monks used it to help strengthen and detoxify their bodies to gain the energy of the internal organs to improve emotional and physical health.
10 Must-Know Benefits of Abdominal Massages
For centuries, an age-old practice of abdominal massage called Chi Nei Tsang has been used.
Chi Nei Tsang comes from the belief that unresolved emotional issues are stored in the digestive system, and when they are left unchecked, they can lead to illness or disease.
It is used to treat a series of health concerns – particularly those related to the stomach. It is also beneficial for the overall well-being and comfort of the body. This massage produces several health benefits such as improved digestion, facilitating fertility, and overall health.
It is an external non-invasive manipulation. It repositions the internal organs and restricts blood flow, the nervous system, lymph, and energy. This massage can be done along with other forms of massage or can be done independently.
When this abdominal massage is carried out with acupuncture and herbal medicines, it encourages your blood flow to the uterus. It improves the function of abdominal organs, stimulates the vagus nerve, and increases nutrient absorption in the body.
After receiving an abdominal massage, most people describe their experience as feeling lighter, more energized, calm, and more integrated.
How is Abdominal Massage Done?
Before delving into the benefits of abdominal massages, let’s discuss what it is first. To perform an abdominal massage, the person is made to lay on their back with sheets draped over their neck. A large sheet is placed over the chest area and held in place by the person to ensure your complete coverage.
The sheets are then carefully arranged to the level of the patient’s waist or hips, it should be tightly secured in place so that only the abdominal region is exposed. This would cover everything else, covering the rest of the body securely.
The massage therapist works in a clockwise hand motion, stopping at certain points to apply more pressure or smaller concentrated rotations. Gentle pressure is applied on areas that feel tender.
The massage is done from the left to right side of the abdomen and then along the bottom of the rib cage. This process is repeated until the tight areas of the abdomen feel relaxed.
Benefits of Abdominal Massage
If you suffer from digestive issues, insomnia1, tension, anxiety, or any other wellness issue, you can try abdominal massage.
You can try it at home or go to a massage parlour to get abdominal massage therapy2. It has several benefits. Some of them are listed below:
1. Reduce Scar Tissue
Ranking first on the list of best benefits of abdominal massages, an external scar is usually formed after having abdominal surgery.
But there are inner scars (tough tissue bands that form between abdominal tissues and organs which develop after surgery) that are usually overlooked. Abdominal massage helps the internal tissues and organs stick together.
When pressure is applied with gentle hands in a circular motion, abdominal massage aids in releasing muscle spasms. It promotes internal heat and breaks down the adhesions and scar tissues from surgeries.
If you are looking for a deeper effect, you can look at Deep Tissue Massage Benefits: Top 6 Amazing Facts.
2. Decrease Low Back Pain
The abdominal massage applies pressure on the abdomen that helps release the deep muscle spasms3, it relieves stress on the front of the spine. This also helps in correcting the misalignment of posture.
The stomach massage can also strengthen the weak and relaxed abdominal muscles and elevate the distressing issues, down attention course kart issues.
3. Reduce Stress
One of the main reasons people go for massage therapy is to relieve stress. Anxiety and stress often lead to the feeling of having a knot in the stomach. Massage provides the much-needed self-care and attention that the body misses in this rush life.
Abdominal massage can reduce the feeling of fatigue. It decreases the feeling of a “knot” in your stomach. It gives you peace of mind. Creating a state of relaxation relieves the body from stress, anxiety4, and depression.
It also relieves abdominal ache, which is usually accompanied by gas and pain. The soothing effects can alleviate the painful symptoms and decrease the overall feeling of stress.
4. Improve Gastrointestinal Health
The massage of the abdomen improves digestive function, it stimulates the blood flow and oxygen to the abdominal region. This stimulates the intestines and other organs like the liver and gallbladder responsible for keeping the digestive system working efficiently.
The gentle pressure of hands applied in a clockwise circular motion helps in getting everything moving. Studies have proven that people with serious digestive issues have found relief through abdominal massage.
A 15-minute massage performed twice a day for three days can improve digestion—Abdominal massage age in reducing abdominal circumference and a significant decrease in constipation.
5. Reduces Bloating
Another of the amazing benefits of abdominal massages, abdominal massage reduces the built-up waste and gas in the body that causes bloating of the stomach, and a massage can help regulate metabolic functions.
6. Improved Breathing
The massage around the rib cage combined with terminal breathing can relax the muscles around the diaphragm. It allows a better flow of air throughout the body, creating balanced and complete breathing.
7. Better Menstrual Symptoms
The benefits of abdominal massage are not just limited to the stomach. Massaging techniques like circular stroking of the abdomen and kneading of feet and thighs could help improve the PMS symptoms such as distress pain and water retention.
During the menstrual phase, abdominal massage can reduce painful menstrual cramps in women by loosening the knots and stiff muscles.
8. Relieves Constipation
Another much-needed benefits of abdominal massages, it improves the body’s defence mechanism by maintaining good gut health. It can also stimulate bowel movement that becomes irregular or infrequent due to stress5, dietary issues, medication, or other health conditions.
Massaging in clockwise circular strokes can stimulate peristalsis and help your colon move waste through the digestive system to elevate constipation issues and related abdominal pain.
If the peristalsis 6doesn’t occur, the movement of the bowel becomes sluggish or nearly stops.
9. Stimulate Internal Organs
Many essential organs like the liver, diaphragm, gall bladder, and small intestine are located in the abdominal region of the human body.
Abdominal massage stimulates the internal organs, which include these various organs. The massage increases the blood flow and oxygen flow which helps to improve organ function.
The work function of organs like the gall bladder and liver is improved, and there are an efficient release and removal of waste products.
10. Psychological Benefits
When your body feels healthy, your mind is at peace. Emotions can have a deep impact on how our digestive system works.
Abdominal massage contributes to the physical wellness of the body and various aspects of psychological well-being. A proper stomach massage provides you with peace of mind and releases stress.
The massage increases the stimulation of blood flow around the abdominal region, helping the digestive system run at its peak level.
It can increase the effectiveness of all the surrounding organs and the tension associated with those organs, it can also release the energy and emotions carried in the core.
A human has more serotonin receptors in the gut than in the brain. Manual stimulation of abdominal structures transmits and produces a feeling of being soothed and cared for.
Things to Keep in Mind
• It is always recommended to empty our bladder before an abdominal massage.
• If you have some medical concerns or are pregnant, take your doctor’s advice before beginning the practice.
• Be sure to breathe throughout the massage, deeply inhaling and exhaling.
• it is advised not to eat any heavy or spicy food for a few hours before and after having an abdominal massage.
Cautions
• These massages should be avoided by people having gallstones and kidney stones, calcium deposits in the bladder.
• It is not recommended to work over the area of an IUD implant as it can move the IUD out of place or cause scarring.
• People suffering from stomach ulcers or internal bleeding, and patients with hernias should avoid abdominal massage.
• People having gastrointestinal disease or conditions like Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, or ulcerative colitis are suggested to avoid abdominal massage.
EndNote
When performed regularly, abdominal massage can contribute to the lifelong wellness of a person. Make sure you talk to a doctor before getting an abdominal massage if you are pregnant or have any health concerns.
The benefits of abdominal massages are great, but you must consult a doctor or an expert if you have any disease or undesirable condition. Asking an expert always helps you to be on the safer side.
Stay safe and healthy!
Click here to read fun facts about the nervous system.
- Riemann, Dieter, et al. “Insomnia disorder: State of the science and challenges for the future.” Journal of sleep research 31.4 (2022): e13604. ↩︎
- Zhang, Qing, et al. “Signaling pathways and targeted therapy for myocardial infarction.” Signal transduction and targeted therapy 7.1 (2022): 78. ↩︎
- Riikonen, Raili. “Infantile spasms: outcome in clinical studies.” Pediatric neurology 108 (2020): 54-64. ↩︎
- Chellappa, Sarah L., and Daniel Aeschbach. “Sleep and anxiety: From mechanisms to interventions.” Sleep medicine reviews 61 (2022): 101583. ↩︎
- O’Connor, Daryl B., Julian F. Thayer, and Kavita Vedhara. “Stress and health: A review of psychobiological processes.” Annual review of psychology 72 (2021): 663-688. ↩︎
- Carlson, Dustin A., et al. “Validation of secondary peristalsis classification using FLIP panometry in 741 subjects undergoing manometry.” Neurogastroenterology & Motility 34.1 (2022): e14192. ↩︎
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