Massage Is Therapy For Relaxing - The Simple Science of Why Massage Works

When you touch, rub, or press on a part of your body, it sends signals to your spinal cord and brain that travel along certain nerve pathways. These pathways are faster and stronger than the ones that carry pain signals. So when you gently rub or stimulate a sore area, the brain gets the “gentle touch” message first—and this can actually block or reduce the feeling of pain.

This is known as “Shutting the Pain Gate.” It’s why things like rubbing your elbow after bumping it, using vibration, or applying heat can make the pain feel less intense.

Why Massage and Other Therapies Work

Understanding how the body responds to pain helps explain why treatments like massage, acupressure, acupuncture, or TENS machines (which use a small electrical current) can help. These methods don’t just feel good—they help interrupt the pain signals being sent to your brain.

And remember: pain itself is not bad—it’s your body’s way of saying, “Hey, something’s wrong here!” But there are ways to manage it without always turning to medication.

Skills Before Pills?

Massage doesn’t just block pain—it also encourages your body to release its own natural painkillers (feel-good chemicals like endorphins). When combined with positive thoughts and emotions, these natural responses can really change how much pain you feel.

All of this happens in your brain. That’s why learning simple techniques to manage pain can be so helpful. Of course, medicine has its place—especially when someone isn’t able or ready to try these methods—but learning these skills is empowering and healthy.

Your Body Knows How to Heal

Your body is designed to repair itself. Cuts heal, bones mend, and infections clear. This self-healing process is called homeostasis. But how well your body heals depends on many things: your genetics, your lifestyle, and how much stress your body is under. It is effected by what characteristics your born with and what you acquire.

When stress builds up too much, your body might need some extra help—like treatment or support from others.

Relax Your Muscles, Relax Your Mind

When you’re in pain or feeling anxious, your muscles naturally tense up. This tension can make it harder for you to relax—and can create a cycle where stress, tiredness, and pain feed into each other.

But there are simple ways to break this cycle. Proper breathing, regular exercise, and massage can all help your body relax more easily.

Why Breathing and Blood Flow Matter

Tight muscles need more oxygen. But if you’re breathing too shallowly (which often happens when you're stressed), your muscles may not get enough of it. On top of that, tense muscles squeeze your blood vessels, making it even harder for oxygen-rich blood to get through.

And that’s not all—waste products from your muscles don’t get cleared out properly when you're tense, which can cause even more discomfort and stiffness.

This state of high tension is known as “fight or flight”—your body’s natural reaction to danger. While it helped our ancestors survive, staying in that state too long today just leaves us worn out and in pain.

“When the alarm is raised, adrenaline is released, which automatically causes your muscles to tense. At the same time your heart and breathing rate and blood pressure all increase to service the anticipated demands of the body. Many other instant-reflex events occur

- these are all reversed as soon as the danger has passed. However, if there were an extended period of emergency, and alarm and stress continued, your muscles would stay permanently tense and you would remain constantly prepared for action. This prolonged state of sympathetic arousal is a recipe for exhaustion and pain.

In time, muscle tension can become habitual.

This physical unease can feed back to the brain messages that you are anxious or agitated, taking you still further away from a state of relaxation. You may reach a point at which you are no longer even aware of how tense your muscles are, and releasing them becomes increasingly difficult. This means that if you try to relax, the effect will probably be the opposite - you may tighten your muscles even more, because you will have forgotten what relaxation feels like. In such a situation relaxation has to be relearned.

A word of caution is needed here. When someone who has not been able to relax for a long time finally achieves feelings of release, the first experiences of letting go can be almost frightening, as though they are losing control. So be prepared to feel slightly "lost" when you begin to relax. You are, however, perfectly safe - all that is happening is that you are undergoing a new (or old, but forgotten) set of sensations.

Remember that everything that is happening as you relax is ultimately within your control. You can stop when you wish, restart when you wish, or even tense up again - if you wish.” - Leon Chaitow in his book “How to Overcome Pain”