This year International Massage Week will be held on July 15 – 21, 2007. International Massage Week is designed to raise public awareness of the benefits of therapeutic massage, and encourage individuals to take the extra time to care for their health through massage.
Massage therapy is a healing art, which uses manual manipulation of the soft tissues of the body, including the muscles and joints, to promote well-being, prevent injury, and relieve pain. Massages have been proven to reduce stress, pain relief, anxiety, depression and soreness. Massages also improve circulation, flexibility, posture and provide oneself to a better sleep and athletic performance. Consumers spend between $2 to $4 billion dollars annually on visits to massage and bodywork practitioners, totaling approximately 75 million visits each year.
Popular among all ages, massage can be attributed in part to the growing population of aging baby boomers and an increased awareness of the effects of stress and the physiological benefits of massage. Today, more Doctors and sports teams are prescribing massage to their patients and hiring massage therapists. Businesses and organizations are also offering massage in the workplace to decrease job stress and increase productivity.
For more information on International Massage Week, or Pacific College’s massage programs and clinic, please call (800) 729- 0941 or visit www.PacificCollege.edu.
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