Are you stressing over your work that keeps piling up?
The pressure at work or home can become a source of anxiety and stress for many. Both stress and anxiety stimulate mental and physical responses that may affect your overall health.
Therefore, no matter the situation, you need to allow your body to relax mentally and physically. This is why we are here with our two cents on percussion massage therapy and its benefits.
Fortunately, there are plenty of tools like Exogun to practice percussion massage and relax your muscles. In this article, you can find in-depth information on using modern percussion massagers along with the benefits of percussion massage therapy.
Let's get started.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Does Massage Therapy Help with Anxiety?
- How to Use a Percussive Therapy Device for Anxiety?
- Sports and Percussion Massage Therapy to Fight Anxiety!
Does Massage Therapy Help with Anxiety?
Massages and Anxiety
If you are suffering from anxiety disorders, you may tend to overthink and excessively worry over everything. Depending on your condition, the level of anxiety may vary from mild to severe.
Here are some symptoms of General Anxiety Disorder:
● Restlessness
● Increased heart rate
● Tensed muscles
● Feeling weak or tired
● Difficult to focus/concentrate
● Insomnia
The most common treatment for anxiety is through cognitive behavioral therapy. However, according to the research, massage therapy can be a possible alternative as well.
Why is that?
Because it has a calming impact on individuals with anxiety, which helps reduce the symptoms mentioned above.
An hour session of massage therapy can help lower cortisol (a hormone released due to stress) by 30 percent. It can induce calming effects if you are regular with the therapy, which decreases stress, anxiety, and stress-related insomnia.
The point here is to remain consistent with your therapy sessions. Another research says that if you follow the therapy for twelve weeks straight, you will notice an almost 50 percent reduction in your anxiety symptoms.
After 14 weeks of massage, the symptoms may further reduce, and they may not increase once you stop with the therapy.
Moreover, massage therapy helps promote muscle movement to remove toxins and induces proper blood circulation in your body. It can also treat your sore neck and back if you are regular with the treatment.
How does Percussion Massage Therapy help with Stress and Anxiety?
Percussion massage therapy rapidly induces blood flow to the soft tissues in our muscles, tendons, and ligaments. By providing a series of pulses on a particular spot, this method of massage therapy helps ease connective tissues and increases the flow of white blood cells.
Furthermore, it also stretches your muscle fibers and helps relieve your joints. This method induces a calming effect, which can help you relax mentally and physically.
Regular massage therapy uses finger, thumb, and palm movements to apply pressure to different areas of the body. Similarly, percussion massagers like Exogun use percussive therapy to imitate this movement and pressure to relieve pain, tension, and tightness in your muscles.
Moreover, it tries to reinstate balance in your body by promoting muscle movement, blood circulation, and energy flow.
As mentioned earlier, stress and anxiety often trigger fatigue and may cause stiffness in muscles. The quiet motor in the Exogun, which delivers around 1,200 to 3,200 percussion per minute, helps relieve this stress and anxiety by allowing the lactic acid in your stiff muscles to move out.
Moving on:
You can even alter the percussion speed settings while using the machine on your muscles for better control.
However, you must know how to use the Exogun before you start with your percussion massage therapy.
How to Use a Percussive Therapy Device for Anxiety?
If this is your first time a percussive therapy device, like the Exogun Dreampro, make sure to follow everything they tell you in the guidance.
Here is a guide that you can use with all percussive therapy devices.
Keep in mind that the maximum pressure you can use is up to 60 pounds. We also suggest taking precautions when first testing out the device. For maximum protection, it's best to start at a lower speed and pressure, and then slowly make your way up.
How to Choose the Right Head Attachments?
The Exogun, in particular, comes with four different attachment heads; each has a specific purpose.
Let's see what they are useful for:
● Ball Head Attachment:
Ball head attachment has a large surface area which is perfect for massaging the large or medium-sized muscles.
If you're in the mood for a deep massage, then this attachment is the right pick. It does a great job of loosening the tense muscles in your chest and lower hip areas.
● Bullet Attachment:
Has stress made your muscles bunch up into knots? Use this attachment when you want to focus on a specific area. We recommend using it to treat the muscles in your shoulder area or ligament attachment points.
However, if you're dealing with a particularly painful knot, we suggest you avoid using the machine directly on the knot.
First, massage around the knot for a while. You may use the ball attachment over the knot after this.
Another important thing: let your muscles rest for at least twenty-four hours before you repeat the routine.
● Fork Head Attachment:
You may have some sore muscles if you spend a lot of time working on a laptop, especially if your posture isn't straight. The dual-pronged, forkhead attachment is the best way to deal with the backache.
As it is designed for the spine area, you can easily use it without the risk of hitting your bones. This attachment is also suitable for massaging your calf muscles or your Achilles tendon.
● Flat Head Attachment:
If your focus is on the pecs or glutes, we recommend using the multi-purpose flat head attachment. This attachment has no sharp edges, which is suitable for a dense massage. In other words, the risks of hitting a bone and hurting yourself are very slim.
What’s the Right Time to Use Exogun for Anxiety?
A great way to relax your muscles and help the calming effect settle in is to use the Exogun just before you get ready for bed.
To begin with the percussive therapy session, all you need to do is turn the device on and select your preferred speed setting. Next, allow the device to massage your muscle groups for around two minutes each.
Do you know what another plus point of using an Exogun is? The machine does most of the work for you. This means you don't require the help of a massage therapist. You can use the massager whenever convenient, without worrying about setting an appointment.
Sports and Percussion Massage Therapy to Fight Anxiety!
How Does Sport help to Fight Anxiety?
You probably know the benefits of sports and physical exercises on your overall physical health. But what if we tell you, they have an amazing impact on your emotional stability as well?
Yes, that's what the research says.
If you are suffering from anxiety, physical exercise is another excellent way of distracting the mind and releasing all the pent-up stress.
Here are some ways in which sports and physical exercise can help with anxiety:
● Decreases Stress Hormones:
Increased muscle movement can help lower stress hormones while also bringing up endorphin (feel-good chemicals) levels. When the level of endorphins in your body increases, you can expect a significant improvement in your mood.
● Provides Distraction from Negative Emotions:
This one is pretty obvious. We all know that sports/physical exercise serves as a great way to distract ourselves from negative feelings and thoughts. It allows you to redirect and release your pent up emotions in a healthy way.
● Helps Gain Confidence:
Physical exercise keeps your body active. It not only helps you stay in shape, but it also gives you a healthy glow. The next time you look into the mirror and notice these changes, we're sure you will feel good about yourself.
● An Active Body Keeps the Mind Healthy:
An unhealthy lifestyle or a prolonged illness may also become a cause for anxiety and stress. An overall shift towards a healthier lifestyle might help you reduce stress from your life.
Moreover, exercise can help strengthen your immune system, which is necessary to fight diseases and remain healthy.
Percussion Therapy and Sports for Stress
How do you destress when anxiety and stress become too much? Do you curl up and read a book? Or do you turn to movies and tv shows to help you relax?
While sitting hunched over a laptop or TV screen is a great distraction from the stress, it isn't the healthiest way to deal with the situation. It is quite harmful to you, mentally, and physically.
A better alternative is to incorporate sports or physical exercise with percussion therapy.
We recommend you incorporate both into your daily routine. There is a wide variety of sports for you to pick from. You could join a sports club or simply play some badminton in your backyard. You can also just develop a simple workout routine to keep your body moving.
However, the best practice is to select a time during the morning and afternoon for sports.
For your percussion therapy session, night-time is preferable. The Exogun massager will help your body feel more relaxed before you get ready for bed. Moreover, it'll help you sleep better at night.
Conclusion:
Developing a daily routine for percussion massage therapy may prove beneficial for both your emotional and physical state. Not only does it help remove toxins from your muscles, but it also helps you deal with some of the physical symptoms of anxiety.
Now that we've laid out all the basics, you should have a better grasp of how percussion therapy using an Exogun can help you combat stress and anxiety.
Just a few minutes of percussion massage therapy and regular sports is all you need to deal with stress and anxiety.