With everything going on in the world today, PTSD has been a talk on a lot of major news outlets. Not only from troops returning from war, but its been estimated that 70% of people in the US have experienced some type of trauma severe enough to result in PTSD. Massage Therapists are being called upon to treat people with PTSD more and more.
People with PTSD can suffer from bad dreams, fearful thoughts, flashbacks, anxiety and more. So how can massage help?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from a medical standpoint is effectively a chemical imbalance in the brain caused by severe trauma or stress. By reliving a traumatic event, people with PTSD are always in a heightened state of anxiety. Their brain is not able to turn off the fight or flight response, and their bodies are constantly flooded with cortisol, the stress hormone that cause physical pain and tense muscles. Massage relaxes those tensed muscles and ease pain. The released relaxation hormones to combat the stress hormones and essentially breaking the cycle of fight or flight.
With Massage, sufferers can have their sleep patterns return to normal, encourage relaxation and take time out to focus on themselves. Massage also helps provide a feeling of comfort, safety and control, something that can be difficult to achieve on your own. Our Massage Therapists can also provide guests with self-care strategies and stress management to help prolong the relaxed feeling they get during their massage.
CBD & PTSD
Have you tried our new Vitality CBD Line?
Findings in a new study published by Frontiers in Pharmacology suggest that cannabidiol (CBD) is effective for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and specific phobia. The study found that CBD provide both short term and long-lasting effects to reduce fear memory.
Sources:
(1) Massage for Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 10/27/2014 Mon - https://www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2014/10/27/massage-treatment-post-traumatic-stress-disorder
(2) Welcome to Hands For Heroes™ https://www.handsforheroes.net/
(3)https://www.integrative-healthcare.org/mt/archives/2005/07/the_therapeutic.html
(4) https://www.epigee.org/mental_health/ptsdtreatment.html