Depression: A 2010 meta-analysis in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found Swedish, shiatsu, and other massage types may ease depression. Massage reduces stress hormone levels, heart rate, and blood pressure, and boost mood and relaxation by triggering the release of oxytocin and serotonin.

 

Neck Pain: People with chronic neck pain reported a 55 percent improvement after 10 massage sessions, as stated in a study in the Clinical Journal of Pain.

 

High Blood Pressure: After people with normal blood pressure had deep-tissue massage for 45 to 60 minutes, their BPs fell, according to a study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

 

Lower Back Pain: Back problems can be complex. Common massage techniques can help you relax, and trigger an endorphin release that raises your threshold for pain. This might help people with all sorts of lower-back pain as stated in a 2009 journal, Spine.

 

Constipation: A 2009 Swedish study found that people who received a massage along with traditional constipation treatment felt significantly better than those who stuck with just laxatives.

 

Athletic Performance: Short-duration massage at the musculotendinous junction (hamstrings, hip, pelvic, etc.) induces greater range of motion. National Institutes of Health reports that even a 30-second round improved hip-flexor range of motion.

 

Stress: In a 2010 study from Sweden, one 80-minute hand-and-foot massage lowered people’s heart rates, cortisol levels, and insulin levels significantly.