What is Spot Massage?

Have you caught yourself unconsciously putting pressure on the body areas you experience pain and discomfort? That’s a simple move of spot massage most of us perform almost every single day.

Spot massage is a type of massage that focuses on a specific area of our body where tension tends to build up. It is the ultimate tune-up for the spots that cause grief, discomfort and even disrupt our routine activities, such as sleeping and working. 

The most common body areas of tension are the neck, shoulders and lower back. Receiving a massage in any of these sore areas relieves pain, loosens up the stiff muscles and boosts overall health and well-being. 

Spot massage can be performed with hands, thumbs, elbows or a spot massage device. The best part about this massage type is that it’s easy for everyone to do it at home. Get some self-care tips from your therapist or follow the how-to instructions of the spot massage tool and get ready for ultimate relaxation!

What Are the Types of Spot Massage?

Spot massage is an effective technique to alleviate your pain in a specific area of your body. The type of spot massage depends on the body part where you feel discomfort. Let’s delve into the primary areas of the body that hold stress, causing our muscles to contract and develop tension. 

1. Neck & Shoulder Massage

Shoulders and neck tend to carry all the stress caused by our hectic lifestyle, poor posture, anxiety-inducing thoughts and more. Stress can result in headaches, fatigue and pain at the back or side of the head due to muscle knots and cramps. Ignoring the symptoms might lead to chronic pain, which can spread to other body areas like a chain reaction.

Applying pressure to the sore areas of the neck and shoulders helps reduce muscular tension, stimulates blood circulation, eases off aches and increases relaxation. It also keeps tendons, joints and ligaments flexible. For boosting enjoyment and comfort even further, try this massage while listening to relaxing music. 

You can have a neck & shoulders massage as a lunchtime treatment or at the end of a long day. Use your hands or an at-home massage device made for the neck and shoulders area. High-quality neck and shoulder massagers include massage roller balls that provide deep tissue relief. They also have speed strength levels for optimal pressure according to the user’s needs. Some of them include an infrared heat function that further soothes sore muscles.

Popular types of neck and shoulder massagers include:

  • Massage guns
  • Percussive massagers with heat
  • Pillow neck massager
  • Wireless neck & shoulder massagers
  • Neck & shoulder massagers with wire (Perfect for Shiatsu Massage)
  • Massage balls
  • Acupressure mats

 

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2. Foot Massage

Our feet work hard for us, bearing the weight of the whole body and allowing us to move around. Most of us spend a significant amount of time on our feet throughout the day. That’s why we often feel our body crying out for a pause to treat this body area that does so much for us.

Foot massage improves blood circulation, reduces tension, stimulates muscles and even eases pain. That’s particularly beneficial for people wearing tight or pointed shoes, such as high heels. These shoe styles hinder blood circulation in the area, which often causes pain and discomfort. In addition, pregnant women might suffer from “edema,” a typical condition of swelling in the feet and ankles due to fluid retention. 

A foot massage can do the work in all these cases. It is the ultimate relaxing and soothing way to end off a tiring and stressful day and alleviate swelling in the area. In short, foot massage promotes our physical and mental health.

Ten minutes of foot massage per day helps transport oxygen to the body’s cells, making our ankles stronger and more flexible. Focus on the bottom of your feet and ankles, and use warm olive oil or coconut oil to enhance pain relief and relaxation. Or treat yourself to the best at-home foot spa experience with an electric foot massager. 

High-quality foot massage devices are equipped with rolling balls and heating. They have an ergonomic design for offering the most comfortable massage therapy at the convenience of our personal space. Especially for people suffering from foot knots, a heated foot massager is the best option. However, people with burns and open or healing wounds on their feet or patients with severe osteoporosis should get advice from a medical expert before opting for foot massage.

3. Back Massage

Our back has so many muscles and ligaments that it’s common for people to experience pain and strain every now and then. It usually starts as a short-term discomfort in the area, but if left untreated, it might lead to a chronic back pain problem (more than 12 weeks). 

Back pain usually comes as a symptom of ageing, sitting for long periods, heavy lifting and lack of exercise. A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians revealed that back massage offers great relief to people experiencing back pain.

Back massage alleviates muscle spasms in the area and helps the body maintain a higher level of relaxation. As a result, stress levels decrease, falling asleep at night becomes easier, and there’s a noticeable increase in the endorphins levels, which boosts a good mood. Also, back massage offers greater flexibility and metabolic waste is kept away from internal organs due to enhanced blood circulation.

There are various types of massage suitable for relieving back pain. Deep tissue massage offers deep pressure on the stiff muscles, while Shiatsu massage combines rotation and stretching of joints to release energy and restore a natural balance to the body. However, visiting a massage therapist every day is an expensive sport. 

So, people who want to enjoy the benefits of back massage – whenever they wish – opt for equipping their personal space with a back massager. For example, a cushion massager offers a full back massage experience that replicates the Shiatsu kneading therapy at home.

What Are the Benefits of Spot Massage?

Rubbing and pressing our skin and underlying muscles makes us feel better. As we’ve already mentioned, spot massage therapy has many other therapeutic benefits apart from offering deep relaxation. It eliminates pain, relaxes tight muscles, improves blood circulation and eases stress and anxiety. Now, let’s talk about some spot massage benefits that have not been emphasised that much yet.

1. Boosts Positive Mood

Have you heard about the mood-boosting abilities of spot massage before?

When you feel moody and overwhelmed, think about massaging a sore body area with your hands or a massager. Spot massage increases the endorphin levels in our brain – also called “feel good” hormones as they are responsible for making us feel happy. 

Besides endorphins, spot massage increases the production of other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, which lowers hormones associated with stress and depression. It also controls the presence of other stress hormones in our body, like cortisol.

Next time you feel under the weather, opt for a spot massage therapy and enjoy its amazing effects on your wellness and well-being.

Spot Massager Naipo

2. Accelerates Recovery of Muscle Soreness

A powerful perk of spot massage is that it boosts the speed at which muscles recover from fatigue. That’s particularly beneficial for athletes and gym fanatics who like exercising, lifting weights and other intense workouts. Many wellness professionals suggest massage as an essential part of the training process.

Using chemical creams blocks muscle repair, recovery and growth. In contrast, a spot massage reduces inflammation and accelerates muscle healing, while making you feel better and more relaxed.

3. Helps Reduce Headaches

Have you ever experienced this tightening ache stemming from your knotted neck and wraps around the head? Tension headache is a common symptom of a stressful lifestyle. Luckily, spot massage in the neck, head and shoulders area can work wonders for tension headaches.

A recent study showed that regular neck and head massage significantly reduced tension headache’s duration and frequency. The participants’ therapy included half-hour massages twice a week for four weeks. Headache frequency decreased within one week of spot massage treatment. The research concluded that spot massage in the neck and head is an effective treatment of chronic tension headache.

The Bottom Line

Embrace the perks of spot massage today! You don’t have to wait for severe body pain to hit before you offer your neck, shoulders, back, feet and other sensitive body areas the massage and care they deserve. 

Don’t have time to visit your massage therapist that often? Luckily, there are plenty of quality massagers available that you can easily use at home. So go ahead and enhance your health and well-being with a good spot massager.