Celebrities enjoy lavishing their pets with some rather extraordinary treatments and considerations through dog studios and pet spas. One popular treatment offered by cat and canine spa retreats is massage. With all the outlandish pet pampering of the rich and famous, it comes across as a ridiculous trendy hype, but this method of special treatment wasn’t conjured up as some Hollywood pet money-making scheme. Actually, animal massage began pushing its way into the mainstream back in the 70s when a massage therapist named Jack Meager used his skills to massage race horses. People laughed back then, but over the years the visible benefits of therapeutic touch have become clear, and the idea has produced scientific studies, college classes, and even animal massage schools. If you’re not massaging your furry friend, there are clear reasons for you to start today.
Circulation
If you’ve had a professional massage, you’re surely familiar with how a good massage puts you into a coma-like state. We simply dub this effect as “relaxation,” but massage is about much more than loosening up muscles – for humans or dogs. Therapeutic touch literally calms the body by lowering blood pressure. In addition to this benefit, it also increases blood flow to joints and tissues. This is an enormous benefit because the stimulation of movement within stiff and stagnant points in the body will allow fresh and revitalizing fluids to make their way back in so that they can do important repairs. Thus the pains of inflammation are eased, and the circulation improves, enabling proper physical and cellular function.
Physical Health
Given the help offered to circulation, massage obviously benefits sore and tired muscles. But the pros go even deeper into the tissues. Proper circulation ensures that the blood can effectively transport oxygen and nutrients, and that contributes to immunity, digestion, metabolism, and energy as much as healing and repair. When it comes down to it, massage is as much a tool for healing and repair as it is an anti-aging treatment — and it can both slow and ease degenerative and inflammatory diseases. Maybe even prevent them all together.
Prevention
The hard thing about maintaining your pet’s health lies in knowing what isn’t right with them. A healthy diet combined with regular exercise is imperative in making this happen. Issues can still flare up though, and that’s where massage steps in. Massaging your pet gets you familiar with their body, so you’re able to recognize swelling and injury that might otherwise escape your attention. It may not seem like much, but detecting abnormalities early allows for interventions that can reduce the issue or resolve it entirely. The longer a health problem goes, the more serious it becomes. Early detection means everything when it comes to avoiding fixable pains and potentially-disastrous health conditions. In fact, health experts like Dr. Mercola argue that many diseases simply couldn’t exist without inflammation. So, massage may be a means of prevention in and of itself.
Mental Health & Well-Being
Therapeutic touch does great things for the body, and affectionate touch does amazing things for both the mind and soul. Massage produces a state of bliss and relaxation which can promote trust as much as appreciation. A good kneading session will only deepen the animal-human bond you have with your pet. Such a connection has a powerful effect on how we cope with anxiety, stress, and our emotions. Thus, the benefits apply to both you and your favorite animal.
How
If you’re interested in massaging your pet, it only requires basic massage techniques and as little as 5-10 minutes of your time. Older or injured animals will be in need of extra care, and will certainly benefit from therapeutic touch. Consult with your vet for special considerations and then research the modifications that can maximize the health affects of your massage efforts. You can start by taking a look at the resources listed below.
Further Reading:
- Five Tips To Keeping Your Furry Friend Healthy And Well Fed
- What We Should Know About Our Lymphatic System
- Cancer Cure (for Dogs Only, with Raw Dog Food Recipe)
Sources:
- How To Massage Your Dog – Modern Dog Magazine
- How To Give Your Cat A Massage – Petfinder
- Why You Should Massage Your Cat – Care2
- The Benefits Of Massage For Animals – Self Growth
- Equine Massage May Benefit Your Horse – ElectroBraid
- Animal Massage: Touching All Creatures, Great And Small – Massage Therapy
- Canine Massage: Benefits And Differences From Human Massage – Massage Magazine
- How Inflammation Affects Every Aspect Of Your Health – Dr. Mercola
- Treatment Of Pain And Inflammation – Merck Manual