Massages are often sold as a purely indulgent treat that you get when you visit a spa or go on vacation, but there’s so much more to massage than just a feel good treat. Did you know that the symptoms of many health problems can be reduced and even eliminated with regular massage?

Here are a few conditions that massage can work really well on; a few you probably know and some that may surprise you!

Stress
It’s no surprise that a regular dose of massage therapy is good for your stress levels, it works by helping to lower your blood pressure, improve your quality of sleep, and by reducing your stress levels, it’s also thought to help reduce the risk of heart disease. In 2008 the journal Psycho-oncology published a study which came to the conclusion, “A significant reduction in cortisol (the main stress hormone) could be safely achieved through massage, with associated improvement in psychological well-being.”

Lower Back Pain
This is such a common problem, often caused by bad posture at work, so no wonder many employers are drafting in massage therapists to help. Poor posture and sitting for too long can cause a lot of lower back problems, as can simply getting older. Get your massage therapist on the case and you can hopefully wave goodbye to a sore back.

Sports Injuries
Fitness and sport are great for your health but they can sometimes lead to injuries and overworked muscles. A regular massage can help to heal any wear and tear on your muscles and tendons, and can also help you manage the pain from a chronic or acute sports injury. Having well looked-after muscles may also help prevent future injuries – one more reason to book those regular sessions.

Joint Stiffness
Massage can be a blessed relief for people dealing with the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis and other joint problems. Research published in 2013 in the Complimentary Therapy in Clinical Practice journal said that people with rheumatoid arthritis reported some relief from pain and stiffness after four once-a-week moderate-pressure massages, topped up with self-massage at home in between treatments. Massage can also help with your range of motion and flexibility, which can relieve pain in your shoulders, knees, and hips.

Circulation
There are a whole range of health problems that can be caused by bad circulation, so it figures that boosting your circulation will be a bonus for your whole body. Regular massage helps to get the blood moving, getting essential nutrients to where they are needed in your tissues and vital organs much faster. The squeezing and pulling actions involved in a good massage also help to flush lactic acid out of your muscles and improve the circulation of lymph - the fluid that carries metabolic waste away from your muscles and internal organs.

Migraine symptoms
Nobody really knows what causes migraines, and there isn’t a cure, but if you’re a migraine sufferer you’ll be pleased to hear that studies have shown that massage can help reduce the frequency of attacks, and lessen the severity of the symptoms. Some migraines, especially those triggered by stress, are especially receptive to massage treatment.

Skin Cancer
Of course, we wouldn’t tell you that massage cures cancer; it can’t. But in some cases your massage therapist can notice abnormalities in your skin that you can’t see or just haven’t picked up on, and alert you to them. Regular massage can also be good for your skin as it gets the circulation going and the nourishing oils used in a treatment help to keep skin feeling soft.

Allergies
A massage helps to stimulate lymph flow around your body, which boosts your immune system and can help to reduce the severity of allergic reactions. Sometimes a therapist might be able to tell just from your lymph nodes if you are an allergy sufferer as they can feel tender or swollen.

Did any of those surprise you? Of course, you don’t need to make an excuse for wanting a massage, but if you are dealing with any of these health issues, it’s good to know that your regular massage habit is helping.

She has shown you some amazing things in your time. Mothering Sunday is coming up soon - it's Sunday 11 March. If your mum is still around, make a fuss of her!

If things go as nature intends, you will outlive her and then you will look back and wonder if you ever did enough to show her your gratitude and appreciation for everything she's done for you and your family.

I thought that the tradition of Mothering Sunday started in England when girls who worked away from home would get time off to go home to visit their mothers, and usually took a bunch of flowers. I looked online for further history and found this.. 

'Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate mothers and all mother figures such as grandmothers, stepmothers and mothers-in-law and everything that they do. A special effort is made on this day when children or daughters and sons-in-law buy cards, flowers or gifts for their mothers.

The origins of Mother’s Day date back to the ancient Greek times, but the way in which we celebrate it today began in America in 1908. The ancient Greeks dedicated an annual spring festival to maternal goddesses, and ancient Romans also celebrated a spring festival called Hilaria which was for a mother goddess called Cybele.

More recent origins of Mothering Sunday date back to the 1600s in England when it was held on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Some stories say that people would return to their mother church, the church that they were baptized in or attended services in when they were children. and this would bring together communities who hadn’t seen each other for a while. Other stories say that this date was to honour mothers. A prayer service was also held in church for the Virgin Mary and children would bring gifts and flowers to pay tribute to their mothers.

This day had almost died out completely by the 19th century.

After this, in America the idea of an official celebration for all mothers came in 1872 from Julia Ward Howe, an activist, writer and poet. She suggested that June 2 should be annually celebrated as Mother’s Day and should be a day dedicated to peace. Julia also delivered a passionate appeal to women in 1870 in Boston and urged them to rise against war, and she initiated a Mothers’ Peace Day service on the second Sunday in June and annually held the meeting for a couple of years. The writer worked hard to have Mother’s Day declared as an official holiday, but it was later replaced by the holiday now celebrated in May in America. 

Anna Jarvis is recognised as the woman who invented Mother’s Day in America after she held a memorial for her mother in West Virginia in 1908. Her mother had previously expressed how much she wanted to have a mother’s day and Anna wanted to fulfil this for her. Anna held the ceremony for her mother and sent carnations to the church service for this as they were her mother’s favourite flower. After this, she and her supporters sent letters to those high up in positions of power and asked for an official holiday to honour mothers. 

Eventually in 1911, Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state and on 8 May 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a joint resolution document that confirmed every second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Today in the UK, Mothering Sunday and Mother’s Day have merged and it is celebrated on the second Sunday of Lent which usually falls in either March or early April.'

So there you go. That's everything I know about Mothering Sunday. Do you call it Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day - and if you call it Mother's Day where do you think the apostrophe should go - is it for mothers in general, or one mother's day?! I think it would be Mothers' Day.