A geriatric massage can be used as therapy for basic stress relief and relaxation. It can be considered as an alternative to therapy. However, it is not a medically renowned way of therapy. Still, it is an excellent remedy used worldwide for various health conditions such as chronic pain, muscle tension, and even anxiety.
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Various massages, such as a hand and foot massage or deep tissue massage, are targeted to people of all ages and all medical conditions. However, geriatric massage is a specific massage therapy geared towards elderly patients and clients.
Furthermore, geriatric massage can be considered one of the best types of therapeutic massage for elderly patients because of its ability to aid them through such problems and improve their overall health.
What is Geriatric Massage?
Geriatric massage is a type of massage therapy for elderly clients with various age-related conditions. People begin to develop various health conditions associated with advanced age, and geriatric massage is considered an excellent treatment.
Senior citizens usually go through various health conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, depression, stress, and other problems associated with older age.
Moreover, as one ages, their mental health begins to deteriorate, which can negatively affect their self-esteem. Geriatric massage can be beneficial for such individuals as it can help reduce stress and anxiety for older clients and also helps them recover from physical conditions.
Furthermore, it also helps regain physical functions in some areas that they may have lost with the progression of time.
The primary purpose of geriatric massage is to help an aging body relieve pain and regain many functions of the body. This type of massage has a lot of advantages for the elderly that can help with other certain physical functions.
Advantages Of Geriatric Massage
There are various benefits of geriatric massage for people of advanced age; with approaching old age, blood circulation starts to slow or decrease. However, through geriatric massage therapy, elderly patients greatly benefit because it will help improve blood circulation and lymphatic flow.
Furthermore, geriatric massage therapy helps increase flexibility for older adults. As the human body begins to grow older, muscles in the body start to tighten due to inactivity. Massage therapy softens up the tissues and joints and helps improve flexibility.
Another great benefit of geriatric massage is that it can help reduce the damage done after seniors suffer from a stroke. Usually, doctors would advise you to take bed rest after a stroke, but nowadays, doctors recommend that you stay physically active or exercise. Also, it can be very advantageous because it can stimulate the paralyzed areas and help regain movement.
Geriatric massage can hugely impact the mental and physical health of the elderly because one has to face many physical and mental challenges with older age. Therefore, such a therapeutic massage can be very beneficial to them.
The Impact Of Geriatric Massage On Mental Health
Mental health begins to deteriorate at an older age because you become more prone to stress and loneliness as you grow older. Geriatric massage can positively impact elderly clients’ mental health because many seniors are usually deprived of human touch due to the loss of their spouses.
Therefore, this therapy provides the elderly population with feelings of comfort and relaxation through the help of therapeutic touch.
Moreover, many experienced massage therapists make their clients feel comfortable even with basic massage techniques. They engage the older clients in conversation throughout the massage sessions to have a healthy social interaction.
A licensed or certified geriatric massage therapist can easily help enhance the positive effects as they often understand one’s situation and know how to tackle it. Most older people have trouble sleeping as they age and usually resort to sleeping pills.
However, these pills can have harmful effects on their health. Geriatric massage can help reduce sleeping problems as it provides one with a lot of comfort and stress relief. Through this relief of stress, many patients can sleep better at night.
The Impact Of Geriatric Massage On Physical Health
This massage therapy has a tremendous positive impact on one’s mental and physical health. Many types of research have shown that older adults who get a geriatric massage are less likely to fall sick than older adults who don’t get one.
Geriatric massage can strengthen a person’s immune system by releasing various toxic substances inside the body, which in turn helps strengthen your immune system.
Physical injuries caused due to falling is considered to be one of the main concerns for older adults. This is usually the case because as we get older, our bone health begins to deteriorate, and they end up becoming weak and unstable.
Geriatric massage can increase blood flow to the limbs, which helps improve your overall ability to stay balanced, preventing the chance of an older person injuring themselves due to a fall.
How Does Geriatric Massage Benefits The Elderly?
Geriatric massage has various benefits for the elderly, which can significantly impact their mental and physical health. This massage can promote stronger movements in older people, which helps improve their ability to recover from various health conditions such as a stroke or a paralyzed body part and helps increase their overall health.
Furthermore, it is an excellent way of providing older clients with much-needed comfort, relaxation, and pain relief. Many older people end up in nursing homes or residential care settings, so they are often deprived of proper human contact, leading to loneliness.
Loneliness can be one of the main factors that cause depression. Therefore, geriatric massage provides people with a breath of fresh air as they experience new conversations, and many people can find a friend in their massage therapists. Moreover, this massage therapy also helps release dopamine and serotonin, which are happy hormones.
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Geriatric massage also benefits older people in the long run because the massage helps them increase their flexibility, encouraging them to be more active and exercise regularly. Thus, this type of massage benefits the elderly’s health, helps keep their bodies active, and prevents issues such as mobility loss.
What Is The Difference Between Geriatric Massage And Other Types Of Massage?
There are various types of massage therapies, such as foot and hand massage therapy. The main reason geriatric massage stands out over other massages is that it is usually geared more toward the elderly.
Moreover, geriatric massage is usually done using a lighter technique and requires less friction to the skin. This is because it is made for people who are less physically active and require stimulation to increase blood flow, making it easier for people to move around.
Furthermore, compared to other massages, a geriatric massage therapist must be much more experienced. Many factors come into consideration, such as the patient’s skin condition or how their skin changes, their pain threshold, and what type of medications the patients are taking. All these factors are crucial, one of the main reasons why finding an adequately trained geriatric massage therapist can be more complicated than others.
It is a gentle massage, which requires a massage therapist not to be rough with the client on the massage table and to know how to tackle the client’s problem. Moreover, since massage therapists usually deal with older clients, they must understand the psychological factors related to the client and be able to converse correctly and make them feel comfortable.
Conclusion
Geriatric massage is a particular type of massage therapy geared towards older people, who are usually less physically active. This type of massage can impact a person’s mental and physical health in a very positive way. However, every other person cannot do this massage therapy because a massage therapist needs proper massage training.
Geriatric massage differs from other types of massages, such as Swedish massage, because it requires the massage therapist to be very gentle and soft towards the client’s skin. It is usually considered a complementary therapy, effectively promoting the better health of the elderly.
