Myth #5: Massage is a luxury that may feel good, but doesnʼt have lasting benefits.

It's true that massage can serve very well as a luxurious indulgence for yourself or for your pet. I've been thankful for this great benefit a few times myself : ) It's also true though, that massage and other forms of bodywork

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Copyright © 2010 All About Animal Massageoffer many health benefits that last well beyond the day of the massage. In fact, some benefits don't even become apparent till a day or two later, because the body needs time to respond and adapt to the releases that happened during the session.

For a list of some health benefits offered by massage, please visit http:// AllAboutAnimalMassage.com . You can also check out these links to many

research articles documenting massage benefits. Most of these studies have been done with human massage rather than for animals, though the first in the list you'll find is on back pain in horses. The other research information is still useful for animals, since our physiology, or how the body works, is virtually identical when it comes to how the body responds to massage. In my books, The Dog Lover's Guide to Massage and The Horse Lover's Guide to Massage, you'll find a chapter on "How Massage Works" that describes much of this physiology in everyday language. I include descriptions of how massage helps by freeing restrictions and adhesions in muscles, balancing the skeletal structure (through working with connective tissue), stimulating the immune system, affecting proprioception, influencing the nervous (neurological) system, and supporting the circulatory system. Some of these mechanisms are also more briefly described in my free e-book, Animal Massage: A Consumer Guide.

For many individuals, human and animal, massage and bodywork is no luxury at all, but a necessity that can keep them (more) sound, healthy and comfortable. For others it's less necessary, but no less beneficial. And in addition to the direct health benefits, regular massage can also result in earlier detection of potential health problems, catching them as they develop when conditions are easier to control or even reverse.