As a professional massage therapist or bodyworker, it is likely you know by now that a massage cream can be much more than a basic lubricant. The massage creams on the market today often offer an array of benefits beyond the necessary friction and glide. As always, it is important to use massage creams that best enhance your own hands-on work. However, the top option is to find a massage cream that can do that and also bring other perks to your client base.
One of the most common reasons people tend to seek out the healing hands of massage therapists and bodyworkers is pain. Whether the pain stems from aching muscles, an old injury that never quite healed or even sore joints, it seems clients are driven to find relief.
If the above paragraph resonates with you and your client base, then you might want to look for a massage cream that can bring added relief to those sore joints and muscles, which may speed and intensify the results of a massage or bodywork session. In addition, if a large number of your customers are either athletes or senior citizens, it is quite possible you are seeing a high number of people with ongoing aches and pains.
Whatever the case may be, if your daily practice involves quite a few clients who present with aching muscles or joint pain, then it may be wise to search out a massage cream that offers not only the ultimate texture, but also an ingredient called glucosamine, which is used to ease pain and prevent damage to the joints.
You may have seen glucosamine in your local drug store, where it is sold over the counter in the form of a pill, taken orally to improve joint health. There are also health drinks available that contain glucosamine for the same reasons. What you may not be aware of is the fact glucosamine has been added to cosmetics as well, and even to certain massage creams.
Applying glucosamine topically to your clients’ skin, via your massage cream, may bring about benefits for those who have joint issues and pain. According to experts, the body’s natural glucosamine production declines with age, which means the body’s ability to create and repair joint cartilage declines with age as well.
The supplement glucosamine is typically manufactured in a lab from a substance called chitin, which is found in the shells of shrimp, crabs, lobsters and other sea creatures with exoskeletons. If you wish to find a plant source for decreasing joint pain, as well as aching muscles, those are also available in massage creams.
Look for such ingredients as boswellia, lemon bioflavanoids and devil’s claw on the label of a massage cream, as all three of these have been associated with increased mobility and reduced inflammation.
By choosing to use a massage cream that may help ease joint pain and aching muscles, you are choosing to offer your clients extra perks, in addition to your own healing hands.
–Brandi Schlossberg