The heatwave continues in Britain and many of us find ourselves behaving as though we are on our summer holidays.
Relaxing afternoons and evenings in the garden, with friends, by the river or sea, in pub gardens and generally relaxing in the sun. New activities and fondly remembered ones, days at the races and weddings galore.
What is not to like? Whilst we typically enjoy a week or two in these 30+* temperatures on holiday, we rarely experience this in the UK whilst we continue with our daily lives. Work, school, life etc, can take its toll in the heat,
What happens to our bodies?
Our bodies need lots of extra fluid and nutrients in this hot weather. It is important to keep water with you during the day so that you can hydrate when needed. People can become light headed or dizzy, sluggish and lethargic without sufficient water. Our habits change too, we may miss out on our regular exercise classes and muscles can stiffen and contract, or we may take on more extreme or sporadic physical activities as we have fun. One of the most common injuries we see in the summer is that of people playing sports that they haven’t played for years, the brain remembers the moves and the muscles over stretch. As we use our muscles in different ways tthe lactic acid build up can become entangled in the muscle fibre and cause knots .
If we carry on with our daily lives at the same pace as in colder weather, we may stiffin up from the reduced water in the body whilst sitting for hours at the computer or in the car.
How can massage help?
Pulled muscles – Massage can help by stretching contracted , tight muscles, improving circulation to ensure the right balance of nutrients reach the muscles.
Tiredness – It helps with the lethargy often experienced in hot weather, by releasing feel good hormones around the body.
Swollen legs – It helps with swellings or odema, by encouraging the lymphatic system to flow more freely.
Stress – Massage lowers blood pressure and rebalances all 13 systems in the body
Headaches – Indian head massage relieves pressure in the head neck and shoulders, it uses acupressure, lymphatic drainage and massage to soothe nerves and tiny muscles.
Pregnancy massage – massage heps women during pregnancy ( after 12 weeks) reduce swellings, ease pulled muscles and relieve pelvic girle pain
Sports injuries – deep tissue massaeg helps work muscles deep under the surface that may have been overworked through exercise and sports.
Massage is is a time to rebalance the body and summer is an especially good time to do this
So enjoy the summer, keep cool and covered up, and take a massage to help you feel like yourself again.