Which Is Better, Massage or Stretching?

Massage and stretching are beneficial ways to keep your muscles relaxed, reduce tension, and help recovery after an injury. But you may ask yourself, which is better, massage or stretching?

Stretching helps flow blood to your muscles, which is great if you’ve injured yourself. It is also good if your muscles are stiff because they’ve contracted due to inactivity.

Suitable stretching can stop your muscles from going into painful spasms or cramps. And it also prevents knots from forming in the muscles. These knots take so much work to get rid of when you have a massage!

On the other hand, regular massage improves your flexibility and range of motion, keeping your joints more fluid and making them minor injury-prone in the first place.

What are the differences between massage and stretches – and how do they work together to promote muscle and joint health?

Massage

What is a massage? Simply put, massage manipulates muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue. Of course, there are many different types of massage and techniques suitable for other things, but your therapist will do it when you go for a massage.

What’s massage suitable for?

We love a massage for general wellbeing, but medical massage is recognized for more than just making you feel good.

Massage can:

• Help strained muscles to heal faster
• Reduce swelling and scar tissue from an injury
• Relieve stiffness and tension in your muscles
• Reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, and fatigue

Stretching

Stretching has many similarities to massage as we talk about its benefits. But its primary benefit is relieving the tightness and tension built up in your muscles when you’ve used (and over-used) them.

An excellent, effective stretch can increase the blood flow to your muscles, leading to a better range of motion that helps your joints stay aligned.

What’s stretching good for?

Proper stretching can:

• Improve your circulation
• Boost your nerve health – a contracted muscle around a nerve can create pressure to constrict the blood supply to the nerve.
• Make movement easier
• Improve flexibility

How can massage and stretching routines work together?

Daily stretching – to a point where you can feel it pulling on your muscles. It can help increase your flexibility, and you can feel the effects in a few weeks.

Enjoying a regular massage helps to keep your body relaxed and flexible. Massage can release trigger points and muscles in spasms, making your stretching routine more effective.

You could even opt for a Thai massage that uses stretches and massage all in one session. Thai massage can give your muscles and tendons a comprehensive workout.

You can also ask your massage therapist for advice if you have injuries or are experiencing muscle stiffness.

You can contact us or book a relaxing massage with stretching on the side to experience a much better massage or stretching.

Brilliant Massage & Skin

Burlington, Vermont