Did you know massage can help alleviate allergy symptoms? It can!
Seasonal allergies are an immune response to what the body perceives as a foreign invader. If you have noticed the recent carpet of tree pollen covering our lawns, and if you have seasonal allergies you can certainly see why they feel especially bad this year!
Massage Therapy, and specifically Craniosacral Therapy, can help your body by reducing the immune response. When our immune systems are under attack from seasonal allergies, the chemical Histamine is released. What does Histamine do? The release of Histamine is how the body ‘sweeps’ out the perceived pollen invaders. This ‘sweeping’ is what produces the watery eyes, the itchy/stuffy nose, the sneezing and the coughing. All of this Histamine in the body also elevates the body’s level of inflammation.
Did you know what else elevates our levels of histamine in the body?
Stress.
Your body interprets stress as something harmful and tries to ‘sweep’ it out by releasing Histamine. So when you are stressed, your histamine levels are high – then add the attack of the tree pollen…
One way to treat the effects of all these Histamines is to take Anti-Histamine medication, which blocks the body’s response to the perceived attack from the pollen.
Another way?
Help the body’s natural response which will make the allergies feel less severe. That’s where massage and Craniosacral Therapy come in!
Here are some ways that massage can help with alleviating the impact of seasonal
allergies:
● Alleviating neck and shoulder tension- This will allow your sinuses to open up and help alleviate the sinus pressure.
● Overall stress reduction- The immune response adds a lot of stress to the body. What is massage amazing at? Reducing overall stress!
● Moving of lymphatic fluid- Which helps with the reduction of inflammation
● Improving the overall health of your immune system- A healthier body is better able to defend itself from the effects of allergies.
Massage supports your body to do its own wonderful job of reacting less and recovering more quickly from seasonal allergies.
How does Craniosacral therapy (CST) fit in? CST is extremely effective in alleviating allergy symptoms by using gentle pressure that focuses around the spine, head and tailbone.
“CST uses a light touch to examine membranes and movement of fluids in and around the central nervous system. Relieving tension in the central nervous system promotes a feeling of well-being by eliminating pain and boosting health and immunity.
The focus of CST is a gentle placement of hands to assist release of the body’s connective tissue, or “fascia.” Fascia (Latin word for “band”) is a covering found throughout the body including organs, glands, nerves, muscles, blood vessels, brain and spinal cord. This covering forms a body-wide connective network. CST is based on the idea that the body is interrelated at all levels.”
Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/17677-craniosacral-therapy
Curious if massage therapy or craniosacral therapy can help alleviate your allergy symptoms? Book your next massage and tell your massage therapist you want to focus on a massage for allergy relief.
Want to try craniosacral therapy? Book your massage with our very own CST-trained Christine Maggio.
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