It could be that ache in your back, or that pain in your hip. It could be what the doctor prescribes for your postsurgical recovery. It could be because your 10 work deadlines, five appointments, and three kids’ soccer games have just about put you over the edge this week.

There are many reasons you might seek out massage, and each session might find you on the massage table for different objectives. Here are just a few of the reasons you should call your massage therapist today.

In the quiet of a school-day afternoon, Johnny gives his classmate a “bear walk,” with a “cat grip” thrown in for good measure. It’s not a game, it’s massage, and it’s working to prevent bullying and decrease aggression in school-age children.

Soothing Salve

Science has shown us that touch is an important part of every child’s development. Its importance, however, doesn’t stop at infancy, but continues throughout life in creating happy, healthy, stress-free individuals.

Fibromyalgia has been described as a deep and superficial, soft tissue aching pain of at least three months’ duration, characterized by specific tender points in 11 of 18 locations. This is a perfect definition for this painful condition, which can be profoundly affected by intelligent and thoughtful massage therapy.

Cody Nance first climbed aboard a bull when he was 14 years old. He was so energized by the experience he wound up riding three bulls that night, and by the end of the evening he’d decided to abandon his other sport—football—to concentrate on rodeo. The 23-year-old has been climbing onto bulls ever since. He eventually turned pro and was the 2009 Rookie of the Year on the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit, bringing in more than $160,000 in winnings that year.