Poor circulation can cause a variety of health problems. From cold hands and feet, fatigue, varicose veins and muscle pain, to more serious problems like heart attack, stroke, eye disease, kidney disease, dementia and cirrhosis. Your circulatory system, made up of the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems, is so very important.
The circulatory system detoxifies the body by moving nutrient-rich blood throughout the body and filtering out waste. When your circulatory system isn't working properly, your blood flow is impaired and your heart has to work extra hard to pump blood, and that's where the problems can arise.
But there's good news for those suffering from poor circulation....Massage stimulates the flow of blood and lymph, thus enhancing circulation! The pressure created by the different massage techniques actually moves blood through restricted and congested areas. The release of this same pressure causes new blood to flow in. The squeezing and pulling also flushes waste from the muscles and improves the circulation of the lymph fluid which carries waste away from muscles and internal organs.
The ability of massage to improve circulation is validated in a study, The Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, which reports that massage therapy not only soothed muscle soreness and boosted vascular function after exercise, but also improved vascular function in people who didn't exercise. According to this study, regardless of your activity level, a massage can alleviate tension (both physical and mental) and stimulate blood flow.
You can read more on this study
here. And
here's another article on a different study done on the effects on circulation with massage.
