With school and sports being in full swing again now is a good reminder that massage therapy isn’t just for adults. Kids today are moving at incredible speeds. From early morning practices and rehearsals to a full day at school, followed by more practices and rehearsals, then homework, it’s amazing they have time to eat dinner!

Bodies and minds get pushed to the max. Intense practice schedules following a Summer period of less activity can create a condition called compartment syndrome. Compartment Syndrome is when the muscle grows at such a rapid rate the fascia (or casing) surrounding the muscle can’t keep up and acts as a restriction to the muscle. This is painful! Massage can help to loosen the fascia’s hold around the muscle, which reduces pain and restriction.

Massage is not only a natural for sport injuries and increasing performance, but also to keep those young bodies flushed of toxins, viruses, and infections.

Crazy Schedules = Stress, which then = Decreased Immune System Function

Even for kids not heavily involved in sports, massage will help keep them protected from colds and flu passed around from classroom to classroom. This is true for babies as well as those entering college.

Another common occurrence now is ADHD. Two recent studies conducted by the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami reported that regular massage therapy is an effective treatment for kids with ADHD. Children are more focused in their schoolwork, fidget less, display longer-term behavioral improvement, and are happier. Massage also helps improve math computation performance, raises alertness levels, decreases depression, and increases mental focus.

I love working on kids of all ages. It’s a good idea to acquaint children at any age to the healing benefits and routine of massage therapy so they grow as centered and healthy adults. With littler bodies sessions are usually around 30 minutes; teenagers appreciate longer sessions as they’re bodies are developing and changing rapidly.

See you on the table!