Lengthy road trips can be tough on anyone’s body. However, they can cause greater discomfort to wheelchair users. The pains and aches associated with being inside a moving vehicle for extended periods add to the inconveniences people with disabilities generally deal with when traveling.

Fortunately, massage can be therapeutic for individuals with accessibility needs. This form of self-care can make any journey enjoyable, even if you take the scenic route. The list of benefits of massage for wheelchair users with itchy feet is long, and these eight top it.

1. Relaxing Tight Muscles

Muscle tightness is one of your body’s reactions to danger before you feel pain to protect you from injury. Your muscles can also become stiff after a long period of physical inactivity.

Massaging your stiff body parts can relax your muscle fibers. This action works wonders for your body, as does stretching, which releases muscle tension to help you unwind.

2. Relieving Pain

Many wheelchair users are no strangers to chronic pain. A good rubdown can counter this unpleasant sensory experience.

The soothing sensation of a massage triggers the release of endorphins — the body’s natural pain relievers. These chemicals stimulate the production of dopamine — a mood-lifting hormone.

Massage is a tactile experience. It tells the brain to flood your bloodstream with oxytocin, which is another feel-good hormone.

3. Easing Anxiety

One 2022 study found that massage therapy was able to help female veterans enjoy relaxation and a sense of inner peace. The participants reported having less anxiety after the massage session. The finding was encouraging because most of the veterans had a schedule for an invasive procedure, which tends to be nerve-racking.

This piece of research should inspire you to embrace massage to manage your anxiety, especially if your health challenges trigger it or loud noises make you feel uneasy. Traveling to new cities can be exciting, but being in strange environments with many unfamiliar faces may cause feelings of nervousness and restlessness. 

Beyond self-massage for anxiety relief, proper travel preparation can significantly reduce pre-trip stress. When you’re a wheelchair user planning a road trip, anxiety often stems from the unknown—wondering if rest stops are accessible, whether your hotel room will accommodate your mobility device, or how you’ll navigate unfamiliar cities. 

Taking time to research these logistics before you leave can dramatically ease your mind. By combining practical travel preparation with self-care tools like massage, you’re addressing anxiety from two angles: calming your nervous system while building confidence through planning. 

4. Improving Blood Flow

Massage can get your blood pumping. This activity can increase circulation in the area you get massaged and surrounding ones. It can even help move your blood through congested spots in your body. Better blood circulation offers many health benefits, including strengthening your heart and cells.

5. Enhancing Range of Motion

Non-tense muscle fibers allow you to increase how far and in which direction you can move them without pain. Making the body parts you can move independently flexible might reduce the impact of your mobility challenges on your daily life.

A massage is an effective way to enhance your range of motion. The friction applied to your skin raises the temperature of these soft tissues, improving musculoskeletal function and breaking down adhesions.

6. Inducing Body Awareness

A renewed sense of body awareness is one of the most important massage benefits for wheelchair users. This mindfulness activity helps you remember where your body parts are, what happens when they move and how they react to stimuli.

Increased body awareness is necessary to reconnect with the world around you, encouraging you to interact with others and your surroundings. It energizes and awakens you, enticing you to seek more out of life.

Moreover, the more aware you are of your body, the better you can identify sources of discomfort. Knowing where it hurts is the first step toward proactively managing your health.

7. Releasing Pent-Up Emotions

Muscles are repositories for past emotions. They store the feelings you haven’t been able to express fully, like frustration for sitting in a car for too long or grief for a loved one you lost.

Trapped negative emotions can manifest in various ways. They include a sense of heaviness, physical pain, muscle tightness, teeth grinding and a choking sensation in the throat.

Releasing the emotions you’ve been bottling up can be cathartic. Let yourself be vulnerable momentarily to lift the weight off your chest, giving closure to unresolved past experiences that still follow you.

8. Promoting Good Sleep

The sum of all the benefits wheelchair users can enjoy from a massage is rest. Quality sleep is one of your body’s best defenses against illness and stress, especially while enduring a grueling, long road adventure.

Your vacation can get off to a flying start with you feeling refreshed. A percussive massager with noise reduction technology is quiet enough to help lull you to sleep more quickly as a passenger. Getting a few winks is a productive way to kill time as you head to your destination as a passenger, making your travel feel considerably shorter.

Experience the Impressive Benefits of Massage for Wheelchair Users

Myobuddy is the ultimate travel companion when traveling as a wheelchair user. Check out our selection of self-massaging devices, see how they work and decide which one is a perfect fit for you.