Massage offers myriad therapeutic properties, and is in fact one of the oldest healing traditions. It kneads and manipulates your muscles and other soft tissue in order to improve your health and overall wellbeing.
Our bodies are absolutely loaded with toxins—harmful substances that are derived from water, food, cleaning products, and other environmental sources that we are exposed to on a daily basis.
On a brighter note, our bodies have a sophisticated way of eliminating toxins that involve our kidneys, liver, skin, lungs, and digestive systems.
But these parts of the body can only remove toxins effectively if they are healthy, leading to the big question, does massage release toxins?
A massage can help dissolve and release toxin buildup in the tissues. The toxins are first released into the bloodstream, after which they are transported out of the body via excretion.
How Does Massage Release Toxins?
A massage provides a plethora of physical and psychological benefits, but toxin removal is an added bonus to enhance your health and long-term wellbeing.
Toxin removal through a massage also helps prevent future toxicity in your body by increasing the movement of the circulatory and lymphatic systems.
The primary way toxins are released with a massage is by improving blood circulation, which consequently helps your organs perform their natural detoxification functions.
When we get sick, one of our bodies ’ ways of fighting off infections and viruses is through a fever.
Similarly, when your massage therapist applies pressure to your skin, the action increases blood flow, and heat is released, and oxygenates cells and organs, improves circulation, and stimulates your immune system.
As the circulation increases, and the built-up toxins move through your blood, the liver and kidneys get to work.
Your liver filters the toxins in the blood coming from the digestive tract, before processing it to the other parts of your body.
Your kidneys filter irritants and toxins from the bloodstream, and send these waste products to your urinary tracts for excretion.
Sweat can also release certain toxins that are not meant to be removed by your kidneys and liver such as environmental toxins like ammonia, urea, sodium chloride and phosphate, creatinine, and fats.
What Types of Massages Help Release Toxins?
There are several different massage therapy options that aid in toxin removal from your body, most notably Swedish, lymphatic massage, and deep tissue massage.
Swedish Massage
Swedish massage and deep tissue massage are often regarded as the same type of massage, but there are some distinct differences between the two.
Swedish massage uses a series of long and softer strokes on the delicate and bonier parts of your body.
Also dubbed as classic massage, Swedish massage is a whole-body therapeutic massage treatment that is designed to soothe your muscles, improve your circulation, and ease muscle strain by flushing out toxins.
Deep Tissue Massage
Deep tissue massages are usually performed to treat musculoskeletal issues such as strains and sports injuries.
Unlike a Swedish massage, deep tissue massage involves applying deep strokes to help improve stiffness, and treat muscle pain.
Lymphatic Drainage Massage
Your body’s lymphatic system helps remove waste and toxins from the bodily tissues. This type of massage reduces swelling and improves blood circulation, and can help people experiencing different problems including digestive problems, and skin disorders.
Final Thoughts
Massage therapy releases harmful toxins from your body, which when accumulated can result in a number of health conditions.
Getting a massage allows your kidneys and liver to work their best, and release the toxins from your body. There are several different types of massages to release toxins such as Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, and lymphatic massage.
