Hot Stone Massage

What is Hot Stone Massage?

Hot stone therapy is a specialist massage using smooth, hard, heated basalt stones that are put in the palms of your hands, around your legs and between your toes. Basalt stones are usually used for massage from river beds, since they have a rich iron content that retains heat. Cold marble stones are also used to facilitate the detoxification and regeneration of the body in the therapy.

How does hot stone therapy work?

It is used all over the body to help you relax and relieve stressed muscles and weakened soft tissues.

Smooth, warm stones are put over different parts of your body during a hot stone massage. The stones typically consist of basalt, a type of volcanic rock which retains heat. The hot massage stones are heated to between 130 and 145 degrees, according to the University of New Hampshire Health Services.

A hot stone massage can begin to prepare your muscles with a traditional Swedish massage technique. Your spa therapist will then placed the warm stones on your body at key acupressure points. The stones warm and relax your muscles, helping you to apply more pressure during your massage.

Enable plenty of time to clean your hot stone; arrive 10 minutes early to let yourself relax. If it's your first time in the spa, you'll be asked to complete a health questionnaire for pretreatment. Avoid eating a big meal before medication, or consuming alcohol.

Your spa therapist will massage your spine, back, arms and legs using massage oil and a mix of strokes and techniques, with and without the stones. Whether the stones are too warm or the pressure is too high you should always tell your spa therapist.

5 benefits of Hot Stone Massage

All massage usually come under the umbrella of complementary medicine. To many conditions they become a common supplementary therapy. Here are some benefits of having a massage in hot stone:

1. Relieve muscle tension and pain

For a long time, sunlight has helped to relieve muscle stress and pain. It helps to increase blood supply to the region affected. This may also decrease muscle spasms, and improve strength and motion range. Cold treatment tends to reduce swelling. It may be beneficial to mix hot and cold stones during your massage, depending on your symptoms.

2. Reduces stress and anxiety

It's the Chicago Massage Therapy Association's stance that "massage therapy can be successful to alleviate stress." This view is backed by research. A research in 2001 found that a 10-minute massage enhanced cardiovascular responses, such as volume of stroke. A 1997 study found that on-site chair massages in the workplace decreased tension dramatically compared with a 15-minute break without massage.

3. Boost immunity

Massage will provide some boost to your immune system. A single session of Swedish massage therapy has had a strong and acute effect on immunity, according to a 2010 studyTrusted Source. Blood tests taken before and after the massage showed decreased levels of arginine-vasopressin, a hormone that helps to control blood pressure and water retention.

4. Relieve symptoms of autoimmune diseases

Hot stone massage can soothe painful conditions including fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a disease that causes chronic pain and is common. Nonetheless, further work is required before massage becomes a normal treatment for fibromyalgia.

5. Decrease cancer symptoms

A massive, three-year study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management explored how, in 1,290 people with cancer, massage influenced pain, exhaustion, stress and anxiety, nausea and depression. The study revealed massage, especially in Swedish massage, improved cancer symptoms even in those with severe symptoms. Scholars claim it has played a part in the calming use of human touch.