Let’s start off with the good news—massage is a great health aid that has been shown to reduce stress and its accompanying physical health threats. An Internet search on “effects of stress” supplied over 250,000 related articles, and most of the references in this issue are excerpted from the results. For instance:
Under severe stress, when muscles are over-worked, the body shows many weakening symptoms such as soreness, stiffness, and even muscle spasms. Heightened stress responses accumulate lactic acid in the muscle and waste air inside the body. It exhausts the body and de-motivates the mind to remain energized and active.
