The doctor told about the benefits and harms of massage

Many people associate massage with a pleasant kind of relaxation, however, it also has its own contraindications, which are dangerous to ignore. Ekaterina Demyanovskaya, an expert at the Hemotest laboratory and a neurologist, told Izvestia about its benefits and harms on March 1.

According to her, wellness massage strengthens the immune system, relieves muscle hypertonia, which can cause headaches, and also helps to relax and save from insomnia.

At the same time, therapeutic massage should be prescribed exclusively by a doctor, the expert emphasized. It is necessary, for example, as one of the measures of comprehensive treatment for diseases of the musculoskeletal system, musculoskeletal system, during recovery from injuries and strokes. Therapeutic massage is indicated for certain diseases of the spinal column, bone tissue, intervertebral hernias and radiculopathies without exacerbation, she added.

"Regardless of the direction, massage can be harmful if applied incorrectly. First of all, this applies to various devices for massage — tapes and rollers, electric massagers, both portable and stationary like chairs. If a person does not know how to use them and does not know which parts of the body need to be massaged, how and for how long, and which should not be touched, it is not recommended to use them," Demyanovskaya said.

She added that both an inexperienced master and a professional massage therapist can cause harm if the specialist has not been warned about the individual characteristics and diseases of the client.

The doctor noted that massage is contraindicated in certain diseases and conditions. So, it can not be done with active inflammatory processes, elevated body temperature and exacerbations of chronic diseases. It is also not recommended to do massage if there are unhealed lesions on the skin due to injury, bacterial, viral or fungal lesions. In addition, massage is contraindicated for people with blood diseases, kidney or liver failure, varicose veins, oncological diseases and patients with increased neuropsychiatric excitability, poorly controlled epilepsy and mental illnesses, she stressed.

"Only a qualified specialist with medical education who knows which muscle groups need to be worked out with such a diagnosis can massage a person with a protrusion or hernia. Otherwise, there is a risk of aggravating the situation. ... It is also important to immediately inform the massage therapist about all atypical sensations during and after the procedure, whether it is pain, back discomfort or numbness in the extremities," concluded Demyanovskaya.

On February 21, Roxana Portnova, a general practitioner at the Sberbank Health medical company, told Izvestia about the causes of the "widow's hump" on the neck. The scientific name of this phenomenon is cervical hyperlordosis, it is characterized by the deposition of fatty tissue on the border of the neck and back. According to the doctor, it occurs with osteoporosis, as well as with hormonal changes in women during menopause. In addition, a sedentary lifestyle can provoke cervical hyperlordosis.