How does Thai Massage increase flexibility and range of motion?
Our society has become much more sedentary over the past decades, making muscle injury more common. The cost of our sedentary lifestyle is that our joints tighten as we age more than if we were more active. Tight joints, in turn, reduce our range of motion and restricts our flexibility.
If you have come to Sirius Health for a Traditional Thai massage, I have probably talked to you about how Thai massage can help with flexibility and mobility. Though sometimes used interchangeably, flexibility and mobility are not the same.
- Flexibility: the capacity for a muscle or muscle group to passively lengthen through a range of motion.
- Mobility: the capacity for a joint to actively move through a range of motion.
Good joint mobility needs flexibility, but mobility also depends on the joint’s structure, the bones’ shape, how they meet and the condition of the ligaments and tendons that connect those bones.
Why Thai Massage Helps
Thai massage aims to improve the flow of prana (energy) in your body. Tight muscles hinder the flow of energy, which you feel is less flexible and more prone to injury. Over time, this reduced energy flow begins to shorten your muscles and connective tissues, which, in turn, externally worsens your posture and internally affects your immunity and the ability of your organ to function correctly.
Increasing the energy flow in your body helps loosen your body and improve the range of motion in all your joints. The combination of acupressure and stretching in Thai massage targets your muscles, connective tissues, tendons, ligaments, and joints. Thai massage will therefore improve the mobility of your joints and make them less prone to injury.
Incorporating exercises and stretches into your daily life is essential to maintain flexibility and mobility. If you prefer us to do the work for you, we have many excellent treatments to help you improve.
Our school offers group fitness classes and personal training if you are self-motivated. If you are new to exercise, our Qigong and Yoga classes will get you off the couch. Our callisthenics fitness and women’s strength training classes will challenge you at every level if you already have decent mobility.
Thai massage will take whatever level of mobility you achieve by exercising and help you improve those areas that are slowing you down. And most importantly, a regular Thai massage can then aid in the recovery and relaxation process. Ideally, however, Thai massage and fitness together make a powerful team.