In the case of massage therapy, the first recorded application was some 5000 years ago, although arguably massage therapy has been practiced for many thousands of years prior to this.



Such longevity for any therapeutic therapy suggests that there is significant merit for its continued use, in fact massage therapy has never been more popular, and is now firmly established as an invaluable tool available to any medical practitioner in the pursuit of good health and wellbeing for their patients.

The benefits of massage therapy extends beyond the physical, and are widely acknowledged to bring huge psychological improvements. Anyone who's had a massage will confirm the ?feel good' factor they experience immediately after, a state which comes about because of the direct effects of massage.

What's the cause of this ?feel good' factor?

The most likely candidate is endorphins. Endorphins are naturally occurring wonder drugs produced and released by the brain. They are released during massage or exercise and are directly responsible for the state of euphoria often experienced by the lucky recipients.

If massage therapy produces such highly desirable results, a reasonable question to ask is, where do I start?. A quick glance in the yellow pages reveals any number of masseurs, clinics or health spa's in your area, so accessibility should be no problem. Unfortunately for some strange reason, massage and massage therapy, when not prescribed by a physician, seems to have become the preserve of the wealthy, which is extremely unfortunate, not least because of the benefits that can be enjoyed by all.

Most massage requires an additional pair of hands, however, facial massage is an activity which can be learned and performed by any individual. The appeal of self massage goes a step further due to the fact that every individual can control their environment completely with the addition of aromatherapy and relaxing music and all important privacy.

So do yourself a massive favour, start by giving your face a very satisfying therapeutic massage, in the comfort of your own home and in no time at all, you'll start to look and feel good, and who knows where your new found feel good factor will lead.

Happy massaging.