Western Healing Therapeutic Massage

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Massage is the treatment and practice of manipulation of the soft body tissues with physical, functional, i.e. mechanical, medical/therapeutic, and in some cases psychological purposes and goals. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading," possibly from Arabic massa "to touch, feel, handle" or from Latin massa "mass, dough". (In distinction the ancient Greek word for massage itself was anatripsis

Massage involves acting on and manipulating the patient's body with pressure (structured, unstructured, stationary, and/or moving), tension, motion, or vibration done manually or with mechanical aids. Target tissues may include muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, joints, or other connective tissue, as well as lymphac vessels, and/or organs of the gastrointestinal system. Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, forearm, and feet. There are over eighty different massage modalities. The most cited reasons for introducing massage have been patient demand and perceived clinical effectiveness.

In professional settings massage involves the client being treated while lying on a massage table, sitting upright in a massage chair, or lying on a pad on the floor. The massage subject may be fully, partly or unclothed and the body covered with towels or sheets.

Ancient and medieval times

Writings on massage have been found in many ancient civilizations such as Rome, Greece, Japan, China, Egypt, and India. Hippocrates wrote in 460 BC that "The physician must be experienced in many things, but assuredly in rubbing." The ancient Chinese book called Huangdi Neijing by the Yellow Emperor recommended "massage of skin and flesh.] The technique of massage abortion, involving the application of pressure to the pregnant abdomen, has been practiced in Southeast Asia for centuries.In Romania some illnesses were treated by a massage in which the patient was trodden on by a tame bear..

Modern times

United States: Massage started to become popular in the United States in the middle part of the 1800 and was introduced by two New York physicians based on Per Henrik Ling's techniques developed in Sweden.

During the 1930s and 1940s massage's influence decreased as a result of medical advancements of the time, while in the 1970s massage's influence grew once again with a notable rise among athletes. Massage was used up until the 1960s and 1970s by nurses to help ease patients’ pain and help them sleep.

Because it is illegal to advertise or offer sexual services in most of the United States, such services are sometimes advertised as "massage".

United Kingdom: Massage is popular in the United Kingdom today and gaining. There are many private practitioners working from their own premises as well as those who operate from commercial venues.

Massage in sports, business and organizations: The 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta was the first time that massage was offered as a core medical service. Massage has been employed by businesses and organizations such as the U.S. Department of Justice, Boeing and Reebok.

Massage can be performed by a massage therpaist, or by other health care professionals, such as chiropractors, osteopaths, athletic trainers, and/or physical therapists Massage therapists work in a variety of medical and recreational settings and may travel to private residences or businesses.Contraindications to massage include, deep vein thrombosis, bleeding disorders or taking blood thinners such as Warfarin, damaged blood vessels, weakened bones from cancer, osteoporosis, or fractures.

Ayurveda is a natural health care system originating in India that incorporates massage, yoga, meditation and herbal remedies. Ayurvedic massage, also known as Abhyanga is usually performed by one or two therapists using a heated blend of herbal oils based on the ayurvedic system of humors.

involves a rolling movement over fascia, muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints. It is said not to involve deep or prolonged contact with muscle tissues as in most kinds of massage, but claims to relieve muscle tensions and strains and to restore

Medical Massage

Massage used in the medical field includes which can be used in conjunction with the treatment of breast cancer. Carotid sinus massage is used to diagnose carotid sinus syncope and is sometimes useful for differentiating supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) from ventricular tachycardia. It, like the valsalva maneuver, is a therapy for SVT.However, it is less effective than management of SVT with medications.Myofascial release

Myofascial release refers to the manual massage technique for stretching the fascia and releasing bonds between fascia, integument, and muscles with the goal of eliminating pain, increasing range of motion and equilibrioception. Myofascial release usually involves applying shear compression or tension in various directions, or by skin rolling.Reflexology massage.

Rolfing

Known in Thailand as นวดแผนโบราณ (Nuat phaen boran, IPA [nuɑt pʰɛn boraːn]), meaning "ancient/traditional massage", Thai massage originated in India and is based on ayurveda and yoga. It was believed that the massage art was brought over to Thailand by Shivago Komarpaj over 2500 years ago. The technique combines massage with yoga-like positions during the course of the massage; the northern style emphasizes stretching while the southern style emphasizes acupressure.

Traditional Chinese Massage

Two types of traditional Chinese massage exist - Tui na (推拿) which focusses on pushing, stretching and kneading the muscle and Zhi Ya (指壓) which focuses on pinching and pressing at acupressure points. Both are based on principles from Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Trager Approach

Trigger Point Therapy

Also called a pressure point massage, this involves stimulating hypothetical trigger point that may refer pain sensations to other parts of the body. Manual pressure is applied to these points. Trigger point therapy was founded by Travell and David SimonsVisceral manipulation.

Associated Methods

Peer-reviewed medical research has shown that the benefits of massage include pain relief, reduced trait anxiety and depression, and temporarily reduced blood pressure, heart rate, and state anxiety.Theories behind what massage might do include blocking nociception (gate control theory, activating the parasympathetic nervous system which may stimulate the release of endorphins and serotonin, preventing fibrosis or scar tissue, increasing the flow of lymph, and improving sleep .

Single dose effects

Pain relief: Relief from pain due to musculoskeletal injuries and other causes is cited as a major benefit of massage. In one study, cancer patients self-reported symptomatic relief of pain. This study, however, did not include a no treatment or placebo control group so these effect may be due to the placebo effect or regression towards the mean. Massage can also relieve tension headaches Acupressure or pressure point massage may be more beneficial than classic Swedish massage in relieving back pain State anxiety: Massage has been shown to reduce state anxiety, a transient measure of anxiety in a given situation.

Blood pressure and heart rate: Massage has been shown to reduce blood pressure and heart rate as temporary effects.

Attention: After massage, EEG patterns indicate enhanced performance and alertness on mathematical computations, with the effects perhaps being mediated by decreased stress hormones.

Other: Massage also stimulates the immune system by increasing peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). However, this immune system effect is only observed in aromatherapy massage, which includes sweet almond oil lavener oil cypress oil, and sweet marjoram oil. It is unclear whether this effect persists over the long term.

Multiple dose effects

Pain relief: When combined with education and exercises, massage might help sub-acute, chronic, non-specific low back pain Furthermore, massage has been shown to reduce pain experienced in the days or weeks after treatment.

Trait anxiety: Massage has been shown to reduce trait anxiety; a person's general susceptibility to anxiety.

Diseases: Massage, involving stretching, has been shown to help with spastic diplegiaresulting from Cerebral palsy in a small pilot study.The researchers warn that these results should "be viewed with caution until a double-blind controlled trial can be conducted".

Massage has been used in an effort to improve symptoms, disease progression, and quality of life in HIV patients, however, this treatment is not scientifically supported.

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