I’m often asked, at what age do people receive massage? Any age is a good age for massage!
Prenatal Massage
Prenatal massage is a great place to start for the new momma-to-be. Following a similar schedule with seeing your doctor, a monthly massage in the beginning and weekly massages in the last trimester can help tremendously at reducing stress and managing some of the body discomforts that come along with this new exciting adventure of parenthood.
Infant Massage
After birth, the new mom can be shown how to massage her baby. This encourages bonding with the new infant. In addition, it helps the new mom to understand the cues a baby gives, increasing the effectiveness of communication. In a study done on preemies, infant massage had a positive effect on weight gain. Colic and gastric distress can be effected by abdominal massage, reducing gassiness and sleeplessness. That’s something that is surely welcome in any newborn’s home. Positive touch is almost considered an infant’s first food.
Peer Massage In School for Social Inclusion Issues [Anti-Bullying]
In an article in waldorftoday.com, Thea Blair states
Peer massage is done between students and is facilitated and supervised by the teacher with a story or song. It is done with clothes on, and only on head shoulders, back, arms, and hands. Most importantly, peer massage is always done with consent. By always asking permission the students learn respectful, appropriate boundaries. Because nurturing touch stimulates the secretion of oxytocin, peer massage promotes social inclusion! Other benefits of peer massage are calm, focus, increased creativity and reasoning, better digestion, and a stronger immune system.
Adult
Massage can help with a variety of things- from stress, limited range of motion, pain, discomfort, gastrointestinal issues, and can be an enjoyable part of a wellness plan. With the rise of a nation of computer users and workplace stress, there are many who can benefit from making massage a regular part of their life.
Senior
As people age, they can become more and more socially isolated. Sometimes mobility issues make getting out of the home more difficult. After retirement, without a place to go to everyday with built in socialness, seniors can feel a bit lonely. Add on top of this, many of them are not getting regular amounts of touch that used to be such a common part of their life. Massage can be an important way to address both of these issues. Many seniors thrive with regular touch thru massage.
So from beginning to the very last bits of our experience in life, the age for massage does not matter, massage can be an important part of enjoying this ride we call life. Call today to schedule an appointment for you or your loved ones.
