Is there a Massage Age Limit?

 Is there a Massage Age Limit?




Are you ever too old or too young to get a massage? In short: not at all!


From birth, we are social creatures and reliant on touch to get our most basic needs met. It can be argued that touch is a basic need given the effect it has on the body, it is so important that without it babies suffer from failure to thrive and every person suffers from touch deprivation when they haven't been in contact with another human in a long time. 


Read this Psychology Today article for more on the importance of touch. 


So, with that in mind it can be claimed that massage can be used to benefit all ages and stages of a person's life.  In this post we will discuss different life phases and how massage can be used to benefit the well-being of a person in that phase of life from before birth to old age and even end of life. 


Before Birth

Prenatal massage has been shown to be beneficial for both mom and baby. For mom it helps her body prepare for birth: it reduces anxiety, loosens tense muscles, reduces risks of tearing and to a degree helps minimize interventions during labor which can help support more positive outcomes for mom and baby. More flexible muscles and calmer mom helps labor to be more effective and smooth which can help it go faster and be less painful in turn helping baby to make the transition easier: more calm mom means more calm baby. 


                              Preterm Baby


In the event that the baby comes early, there has been positive proof for using massage on babies in the NICU to help them be more healthy and grow stronger. Teaching parents to massage their preterm infants can increase bonding in families and support faster weight gain, improvement on development scores and quicker discharge from the hospital. For more information read this PubMed article. 


Infants


Infant massage has been in the world for centuries especially in Asian cultures. In the western world it picked up a more mainstream feel in the 1990's and although more research is needed there is enough to indicate strong connections to increases in healthy weight gains, and reaching developmental milestones on a more regular scale. Infant massage also helps with parental bonding and decreases anxiety or depression symptoms for both parents and infants. For more information on the effects of infant massage read this PubMed article. For more information on the history of infant massage read this Baby Chi article. 



Children Under 12


Massage for children aged 2 and up has not been studied very widely but there are still some noted positive outcomes for them receiving massage. This is an age full of growth spurts and high physical activity in play. Oftentimes, this is the age children are enrolling in sports and outdoor play becomes more prevalent. Due to the combination of rapidly growing structures and increased mobility/activity massage can benefit young bodies in multiple ways. Decreasing growing pains, increasing stability and flexibility, improving cognitive function and decreasing chances of injuries are just a few of the benefits these guys can see when given regular massage. Even adolescents prone to anxiety and depression or going through cancer treatments have seen improvement with regular massage.The biggest trick is getting them to sit still long enough to receive treatment which makes short targeted treatment a better fit in most cases as opposed to a long session for their whole body. Read this PubMed article about trials done on pediatric clients for more information on how massage affects children, this Pub Med article about the effects of massage on depressed adolescents or this AMTA article about how massage helps benefit children going through cancer treatments.



Teenagers



Life for teenagers becomes more intense in many ways. Their ever changing bodies and social structures as well as their role in society and school leave them open for many different kinds of tension and stress. Teens today are far more likely to experience mental health struggles than any other generation. Teen athletes have higher expectations and fierce competition for a place on the team than ever before. There are many different ways to help combat stress and tension but massage can definitely help this group to live their best lives without sacrificing their bodies or cutting short their dreams due to injury. Massage has shown to decrease overall stress and tension leading to decrease in anxiety and depression. It promotes flexibility and muscle repair after injury lowering occurrences of injury, faster recovery times and decreasing need for stronger medical interventions by a marked degree. Read this Science Research article about massage and wrestling teens to get a better idea about how is affects teen athletes, or read this Massage Magazine article about the benefits of massage for teens.



Young Adults



Whether a person chooses to go to college, the workforce, or any other endeavor: from age 18-25 can be a challenge for a persons body. As growth comes to a close most people are figuring out how to use and treat their bodies. For college athletes and students the same benefits they saw has teenagers in high school are now becoming a vital part of their self care and recovery program. For young people running a household and/or working to support themselves massage can be the difference between burnout and longevity/ productivity in their chosen field. Massage promotes boosted immune function, improvement in physical and mental health, better sleep and better cognitive function for this age group allowing them to rush at the world more effectively and setting them up for a future with less chronic fatigue, pain and health issues. See this AMTA article for more detail about the benefits of massage on wellbeing, or this PubMed article about massage for college kids.




Adults


As life gets into motion and the chaos of the grind settles in, our bodies start to experience all kinds of different symptoms, stresses and problems. Being active and eating well are more important than ever and so is taking care of yourself by getting a massage. Massage has been shown to help promote a healthy lifestyle and possibly even help slow down the toll age can take on your body by decreasing symptoms that make you "feel you age" such as back pain, stress, anxiety, and muscle tension. It can also help regulate blood pressure and increase your immune system function by helping your lymphatic system work optimally. Additionally, who doesn't just need an hour to check out and recharge their batteries when the work/life/family balance gets to be too much, massage is a great way to just get yourself reset and ready to face the world again. Check out this article on Emotional Wellness by Massage Therapy.com and this article on Active Adults by AMTA for more information on the benefits of massage for adults.




Aging Adults


With an ever growing aging population it is no wonder there has been a lot of research done regarding the health benefits of massage for this group of people. Aging populations face unique issues with their bodies that take a special set of skills to handle. Their skin tends to be thinner, their muscles more lax or tight and they have more medical concerns and physical limitations than their younger counterparts overall. This really means that they need to get massage more than most other ages in order to keep doing all the things they want to do in life. There are amazing benefits for aging people who get massages regularly: they are mentally and physically more healthy, capable and happy, their bodies more better and they just feel better about themselves when they see how much better they feel. Whatever the health concerns aging people have massage can benefit them as long as they have a therapist that knows what they are doing. Aging athletes who still run marathons or play tennis competitions every weekend use massage to keep their body moving with fewer injuries and faster recovery times. Cancer patients, medically fragile or people struggling with disability can use massage to help chronic pain and boost their immune system. And people who are at the end of their life and are on hospice care just need someone to gently touch them and remind them that they are cared for, there is so much power in touch therapy in all ages but most people overlook elderly people when the best thing you can do for them is just listen to their words and touch their bodies. Check out these articles about the benefits of massage for aging individuals here  on NCBI, PubMed and AMTA for more information. 




Closing Thoughts


Now, with all the information given you can clearly see that massage can benefit anybody, any body, everybody and every body. There is no limitation on age for massage because human touch is a universal need: the benefits of stress reduction and pain relief are for all ages. There are benefits that are more important for each age but there are so many more that are applicable to life at any age.



Stay strong. Stay healthy. Keep fighting for yourself, you’re worth it.

From: Ame Hinman at Hinman Healing



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