Massage Therapy
What is massage therapy?
Massage therapy balls in the family of therapies referred to as bodywork. The therapist with hands on the body feels the muscle knots, stiffness, rigidity, energy blockages, in a general condition of the patient’s body. In addition to the therapeutic effects of massage and agenda recognized that patients almost universally feel up lifted and have a sense of well-being at the completion. The process of massage includes stroking and kneading the soft tissues of the body in order to induce relaxation and release of body tensions.
What are the key points and principles of massage?
As is the case with many other alternative treatment modalities, massage as a technique goes back thousands of years, with origins in the Asian sphere. In an Egyptian to dating back to 2200 B.C. an Egyptian priests is shown giving a foot massage. Hippocrates was involved in many of the ancient therapies including massage. The Julius Caesar was pinched daily in an attempt to relieve his neuralgia and headaches.
It is said that a good practitioner especially massage practitioner needs to have the gifted healing. Researchers are examining the concept of the healing touch and its seeming power to go far beyond the obvious. The sense of touch producers signals to the brain of both the practitioner and the patient. Research has shown that the therapeutic physical massage induces a reduced heart rate, lower blood pressure, in the release of endorphins which are a form of natural narcotics of the brain that help create a sense of well-being.
There are many forms of massage including: shiatsu, rolfing, reflexology, reiki, and circulatory massage. The latter form of massage moves blood and lymph through the tissues. It is accomplished by kneading and stroking the muscles in a fairly intense level of pressure. American massage therapy often referred to as intuitive massage, is distinguished from Swedish massage because, they are different forms of bodywork. Intuitive massage treats the body as a whole, rather than just concentrating on physical conditions, and its movements are generally slower and more meditative.
What is the method of massage?
The process of massage in includes up and down stroking with hands against the body, varying direction and intensity. Areas of stiffness are discovered particular attention is applied to those areas in order to bring the muscle tissue into a state of relaxation by releasing the tension forces.
The massage therapist uses a systematic pattern to massage a person’s body, beginning on the back and working down from the head to the feet. The patient is then turned over and the front of the body is massager, working down from the top. The massage therapist often alters his/her approach and circumstances indicate the need. There are many variables that influence the effectiveness of any specific massage session: the person’s outlook, the person’s energy structure, the time of day, the last time the patient took in food, as well as many attitudinal consideration regarding the therapist. In
Deep breathing prior to the massage releases pent-up tension and can help to reduce myofascial inertia (which commonly requires a soft-tissue manipulation and sometimes patient self-care and follow-up exercises). Neck rolling and neck strengthening are other pre-massage exercises that may or may not be a part of the therapist’s massage regiment. In addition to centering and balancing exercises employed prior to the session, aromatherapy and the application of essential oils is a very important part of the massage process. The major function of the oils is to provide a suitable lubricant so that the massage therapist can slide his or her hands smoothly on the individual’s body without friction.
Each therapist has a set of favorite strokes chosen from the basic strokes, which include: gliding strokes (the long stroke, feathering, broad circling) medium-depth strokes (kneading, pulling, wringing), deep tissue strokes (heel of hand pressure, thumb-rolling, fingertip pressure), and percussion.
Common conditions and ailments where relief can be experienced:
OSTEOLOGY
back pain
fractures
MUSCLES AND FASCIA
chronic fatigue syndrome
sports injuries
muscular cramps
hiccups
in tendonitis
JOINTS
sprains
REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS
menstrual cramps
excessive menstruation Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
asthma
bronchitis
influenza
SENSORY ORGANS
vision disorders
dizziness
SKIN
acne
cellulite
psoriasis
edema
NERVOUS SYSTEM
epilepsy
flatulence
stroke
sciatica
Multiple Sclerosis
depression
stress
VASCULR SYSTEM
Raynaud’s disease
varicose veins
heart disease
hypertension (high blood pressure)
Diabetes
IMMUNE SYSTEM
common cold
swelling
Colaborative theraputic efforts:
Massage therapy is a holistic field of therapy, which utilizes many other disciplines of alternative medicine. Aromatherapy, energy medicine (chakra therapy), therapeutic touch, and meditation are alternative therapies that massage therapists frequently take ideas, practices, and theories from. flower essences therapy, and other headache techniques are other alternative therapies that massage uses.
Massage and Modern Medicine:
Massage is experiencing tremendous growth and wide acceptance in the U.S. An estimated 95,000 practitioners of massage will provide 28 million Americans with 70 million therapeutic massages in 2000. Massage is now being taught and studied at major universities such as Harvard, Duke, and the University of Miami. Health insurance companies such as Blue Cross Blue Shield are recognizing massage therapy as a legitimate health practice; patients of massage therapy are now receiving financial benefits for their treatment. More importantly, more and more people are receiving massage, and the massage therapy clientele is expanding to include many conventional medicine professionals.
