If you suffer from constipation, you've probably tried medications, exercise, and changing your diet in order to ease your symptoms. However, these methods aren't always effective for everyone, or they only improve symptoms slightly. If you've tried all these steps and still haven't found significant relief, you might be surprised to learn that massage can help you.

How Massage Can Help

The digestion system winds through your entire upper and lower belly, weaving through a complex combination of muscles. Some of these muscles help the body to move fecal matter through your colon and out of your body. When your muscles are too tight or stiff, they can't perform their job effectively, which can lead to constipation.

Massage doesn't just help you to feel good; it can help to stretch and relax your muscles so that they can properly contract. When combined with a good diet, exercise, and medication prescribed by your doctor, a simple massage that targets the muscles in your lower back and belly can help to make you more regular.

Massage Methods That Target Digestion

In addition to the better-known massage methods like shiatsu and Swedish massages, there is another variety that's specifically designed to improve the health of your stomach and digestive systems.

Chi Nei Tsang is a variety of massage that specifically targets the abdomen and the organs within it. Massage therapists use gentle but firm pressure to encourage improved qi flow to the abdominal organs, and to encourage physical blockages in your digestive system to move. Chi Nei Tsang practitioners believe that this variety of massage is particularly useful for people who are having difficulty with constipation, so it could be a useful style to seek out.

Finding Help

When choosing a massage practitioner, it's important that you look for one that's properly certified. Depending on the area you're in, a legitimate massage practitioner may have a license, a state registration, or another form of certification. Seeking a massage practitioner with proper accreditation will ensure that your massage practitioner is adequately trained in technique and has spent hundreds of hours practicing as part of their training.

If you're unsure if your massage practitioner is adequately trained, ask to see their credentials before agreeing to a massage therapy session.

Constipation can cause a lot of discomfort and complications in your life, so consider giving massage a try. This gentle healing therapy can potentially help to ease your problems and make you feel better right away.