Human touch: an essential need - by Cindy Montambault
What are you missing the most since last March? Touching, hugging, kissing? We have not shared our smiles for over a year now. Even though our brains are to this situation, is it possible that we are forgetting some of our essential needs as human beings?
Touch is in fact one of our 5 senses. Of course, we can still touch everything around us, but what about real touch or contact between people? Remember human contact? How do our body’s internal systems react when this sense is overlooked or non-existent?
As a full-time athlete for many years, I decided to use the opportunity of staying home to work as a massage therapist at Scandinave Spa Mont-Tremblant. I am fascinated by the demand for massage therapy treatments and in, I am astonished to work more than I originally expected!
How can we explain this interest in massage therapy?
In addition to the need for human contact, people also suddenly found themselves working from home, without any proper preparation or consideration for a convenient workstation. They set up their computer on a table corner, between a plate and a bowl of cereal, in a hurry to dedicate themselves to the company they work for.
Unfortunately, many stayed with a temporary workstation and it became part of the routine. I hear stories of people who work from their beds. Passing aches and soreness became chronic pain and thankfully, some of you turned to us for help.
Back pain is the most common form of tension right now. Inadequate workplaces do not support a healthy posture but also, the lack of core muscles and general exercise contribute to the general discomfort. A session with a skilled massage therapist will help you ease your tensions, improve your blood circulation and increase your flexibility, which will greatly contribute to the relief of your body’s aches and pains.
Here are a few simple tips for working from home:
- Rest your feet on the ground or on a footrest;
- Support your back and sit tall;
- Level your chair level so your elbows are at the same level as your keyboard;
- And so that your knees are leveled with the seat;
- Vary your postures and take 5 to 15 minute breaks every hour, depending on the intensity of keyboard and mouse use.
This PDF document, issued by the government, will greatly help you set up your computer workstation.
Impact on stress
I hear it every day when I work at the spa, the current situation preoccupies everyone. Built-up tension and stress are at the core of the fundamental need to relax and unwind, event for a moment. Massage therapy is an effective tool to alleviate physical pain and so much more. A significant number of researches have shown that massage therapy reduces stress and improves the quality of life. This bodywork approach has an impact that goes way beyond relaxation. Therapeutic touch provides a calming effect to the nervous system, which, in the short and long term, plays a determining role on overall health.
Essential, therapeutic and preventive health care
Stress reduction, improved quality of sleep, pain relief, improved blood circulation and strengthening of the immune system, it is no coincidence that massage therapy services are among the essential needs of our society and that it is a good complement to other medicines.
Come and see us, we’ll look after you!
Cindy