How Massage Can Relieve Seasonal Allergies

As the seasons change yet again, one in five Americans suffers from at least moderate allergy symptoms. Most US residents rely on over-the-counter or prescription medications to control their seasonal allergies. These drugs help to alleviate the symptoms, but usually have some unwanted side effects of their own.

What many people fail to consider is that massage can help with many of the symptoms of seasonal allergies, without any of the negative side effects associated with drugs. Reducing stress and increasing circulation are key to making you feel better quickly, and massage does just that.

Stress can worsen allergy symptoms by increasing your body’s production of histamines: the chemicals your body makes in reaction to the allergen, which in turn create the negative symptoms you experience. Lowering stress through massage or other means will decrease your production of histamines, essentially decreasing your body’s reaction to the allergen and lessening your overall allergies, at least for a time.

The increased circulation that massage delivers also helps, by clearing out your sinuses. Other massage techniques, particularly ones that focus on lymphatic draining, can also help. These specialized techniques work to enhance the movement of white blood cells and lymphatic fluid around your body, getting them to the areas where they are needed most.

If you’re not ready for a lifestyle change, continue taking your medicine while you try out the massage method. If you feel noticeably better, you might be able to ditch the medicine, and the nasty side effects, and trust your body to the powers of massage therapy instead.