Massage Therapy for Elderly

Elderly massage is pretty different to massage that is applied to youngsters. Aging body of elderly has different needs and requirements. It changes physically and psychologically and thus a therapist should be well aware of how bodies and minds of aged clients would be different from those of their young aged clients. It is vital to make sure that while getting massage, your elderly client should be completely comfortable and at the same time this massage should turn out to be most effective therapy for them. Massage for aged is not so popular because of lack of awareness and understanding among people. Not many people from our aged population realize the benefits they can reap from massage therapies.

Why Elderly Massage is Important?

The prime reason that makes an elderly massage quite important is that as you age, you tend to become less active. Your exposure to physical activity is reduced and thus this reduction in your body movement has negative impact on the quality of your life. This is a general problem with senior citizens in any society. Gaining support from massage therapies at this age would not only reduce the signs of aging but would work as a barrier against many diseases that rise because of these reduced physical activities.

How it benefits Society?

Elderly and aged population is a part of our society and being a part of it is our social responsibility to take care of our whole society. Elderly people from the population would be our parents, grand-parents, relatives, friends or others. Taking care of them would actually lead us to building a society who cares for elderly and as we would lead towards the same path to become aged; we will be facing less traumas and difficulties. Massage and healing therapies would be reducing or even eradicating negativity from our society, thus growing and grooming it with positivity, health and success in true sense. A happy and healthy society would thus prove more to be more successive towards making progress.

Massage therapy for elderly would involve a combination of various techniques but it surely would be different from that applied to young aged men or women. This involves working on some specific points within human body with light pressure, stroking, stretching and kneading. These methods would not only give you relaxation but would also prove beneficial for relieving arthritis pain with massaging techniques. It improves joints’ lubrication and would release your tensed muscles. It is important to make sure that massage therapies are completely safe for elderly people. A massage therapist must not exert more pressure on muscles and tissues of body than it could sustain.

Benefits of Massage Therapy for Elderly:

Various researches have been carried out related to this subject and researches conclude that massage therapies have beneficial effects on mental and physical health and well-being of elderly. Such treatments have been proved to give positive impact on patients suffering from Alzheimer. Following are some of the advantages of massage therapy for elderly:

• Massage therapy gives them relaxation and comfort.
• It helps in dealing with depression of old age.
• It improves their communication.
• It enhances their movement range by lubricating their joints naturally.
• These treatments work wonders for relieving pain of arthritis patients.
• Massage improves mental health of elderly.
• It enhances their level of energy.
• It builds co-ordination of muscles and increases strength.
• It improves blood circulation within your body.
• It helps in pain management related to various ailments and improves their quality of life.
• It improves their body posture by de-stressing your tensed muscles.
• It makes your body more flexible.
• Massage therapies affects sleep routines and duration and enable elderly to enjoy longer and peaceful duration of sleep.

Overall these treatments tends to reduce overall ailments and troubles related with the process of aging and makes you feel comfortable and relaxed.

Geriatric Massage for Elderly:

This is a certain type of massage that is specifically designed to give a therapy according to needs and comfort level of aged people. This massage therapy includes use of light stretching and would include use of a light massage oil or cream for gently relaxing tensed muscles and tissues of a stressed body. This therapy offers most of the benefits that we have discussed above.
Elements that are included in a geriatric elderly massage:

• Gentle movement of hands with aim of offering comfort and relaxation to your whole body and mind.
• Stiff and tensed muscles of your hands and feet are relaxed with gentle massage. Gentle massaging is combined with rare strong pressure movements in order to give your body more flexibility.
• Massage sessions for elderly people are usually short; no more than 20 to 30 minutes so that you don’t end up overdoing anything. 
  

Important Note: Before opting for any massage therapy in particular at an old age, it is recommended to get advice from your physician and he/she will be able to give you better guidance whether a certain therapy would be good for you or not according to your particular health conditions. There may be certain ailments, injuries or age-related disorders with which a massage therapy is not recommended and thus we suggest you to take advice of your doctor before proceeding with any therapy at your age.

Conclusion

Studies reveal that many of the age related diseases and issues are often result of depression that enhances in old age because of a lack of physical activity. It is important to keep your mind and body relaxed and a certain healthy co-ordination between two would lead you to a better healthy life even at an old age. Massage is one of the best alternatives to many other medical procedures and it has worked surprisingly well with old age people giving them a chance to feel and look younger than their age and yet healthier.

This article was originally posted on bestmassagechairguide.com on 22/2/18. Author unkown.