| In Depth |
Definition of
Massage and Massage Therapy
History of Massage
Types of Massage
Massage Therapy Today
Massage and Health
Benefits of Massage
Due to the large amoubt of information contained within the
"In Depth" section, we have broken up this information into
2 pages in order to allow for faster download times. After browsing
the information on this page, feel free to explore the second half
of these topics. Click the "More Topics" link below when
you are ready.
 More
Topics |
| Definition
of Massage and Massage Therapy |
Therapeutic massage involves the
manipulation of the soft tissue structures of the body to prevent
and alleviate pain, discomfort, muscle spasm, and stress; and, to
promote health and wellness. AMTA defines Massage as, "a
manual soft tissue manipulation that includes holding, causing movement,
and/or applying pressure to the body."
Massage therapy is "a profession in which the practitioner
applies manual techniques, and may apply adjunctive therapies, with
the intention of positively affecting the health and well-being
of the client." (AMTA)
Massage therapy improves functioning of the circulatory, lymphatic,
muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems and may improve the rate
at which the body recovers from injury and illness. Massage
involves holding, causing movement of soft tissue, and/or applying
pressure to the body.
Massage comes in many forms, including:
Swedish a gentle, relaxing massage;
Pressure point therapy for certain conditions or injuries; and
Sports massage which focuses on muscle groups relevant to the particular
sport.
back
to top
|
| History of Massage |
Massage may be the oldest and simplest
form of medical care. Egyptian tomb paintings show people being massaged.
In Eastern cultures, massage has been practiced continually
since ancient times. A Chinese book from 2,700 B.C., The
Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, recommends 'breathing
exercises, massage of skin and flesh, and exercises of hands and feet"
as the appropriate treatment for -complete paralysis, chills, and
fever." It was one of the principal method of relieving pain
for Greek and Roman physicians. Julius Caesar was said to have been
given a daily massage to treat neuralgia. "The Physician Must
Be Experienced In Many Things," wrote Hippocrates, the father
of Western medicine, in the 5th century B. C., "but assuredly
in rubbing.. . for rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose, and
loosen a joint that is too rigid." Ayurveda, the traditional
Indian system of medicine, places great emphasis on the therapeutic
benefits of massage with aromatic oils and spices. It is practiced
very widely in India.
Doctors such as Ambroise Pare, a 16th-century physician to the French
court, praised massage as a treatment for various ailments. Swedish
massage, the method most familiar to Westerners, was
developed in the 19th century by a Swedish doctor, poet,
and educator named Per Henrik Ling. His system was
based on a study of gymnastics and physiology, and on techniques borrowed
from China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Physiotherapy, originally based
on Ling's methods, was established with the foundation in 1894 of
the Society of Trained Masseurs. During World War I patients suffering
from nerve injury or shell shock were treated with massage. St. Thomas's
Hospital, London, had a department of massage until 1934. However,
later breakthroughs in medical technology and pharmacology eclipsed
massage as physiotherapists began increasingly to favor electrical
instruments over manual methods of stimulating the tissues.
Massage lost some of its value and prestige with the unsavory image
created by "massage parlors." This image is fading as awareness
of the value and therapeutic properties of massage grows.
Massage is now used in intensive care units, for children,
elderly people, babies in incubators, and patients with cancer, AIDS,
heart attacks, or strokes. Most American hospices have some kind of
bodywork therapy available, and it is frequently offered in health
centers, drug treatment clinics, and pain clinics.
A variety of massage techniques have also been incorporated into several
other complementary therapies, such as aromatherapy, reflexology,
Rolfing, Hellerwork, and osteopathy.
back
to top
|
| Types of Massage |
Relaxation Massage:
A smooth, flowing style that promotes general relaxation, improves
circulation and range of movement, and relieves muscular tension.
Remedial Massage: Is a paramedical treatment that helps to
restore function to injured "soft tissues" (muscles, tendons
and ligaments). Therapy may involve the use of various types of Massage,
as well as a range of other physical treatments to assist your recovery.
In addition, you may be asked to perform some activities at home to
assist the process of recovery.
Sports Massage: Combines different Massage techniques
to enhance sports performance and recuperation. An effective component
of any training program.
Aromatherapy Massage: Combining the therapeutic properties
of essential oils with specific Massage techniques to promote health
and well-being.
Reflexology: Using thumb and finger pressure on the
reflex points of the feet (which correspond to all areas of the body)
to assist in achieving balance within the body.
Oriental Therapies: Oriental-based systems of finger pressure Massage,
such as Acupressure and Shiatsu, that treat points along theacupressure
meridians, aiming to release discomfort and rebalance energy.
back
to top |
| Massage Therapy
Today |
These days massage isn't just
for feeling good anymore. It has lost the ancient stigma
associated with blue light districts. It is a holistic therapy that
reduces the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation
and lymph flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion, and increases
endorphins, the body's natural painkillers.
Therapeutic massage enhances medical treatment and helps people feel
less anxious and stressed, relaxed yet more alert. It had been said
that, "Massage is to the human body what a tune-up is for a car."
Fueled by the popularity of the alternative therapies, consumers are
using more and more services of licensed massage therapists. Consumers
spend $2 billion to $4 billion a year on visits to massage therapists,
according to an American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) analysis
of a study by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical
School published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1993.
Current research shows that people are getting more massages, and
that therapeutic massage is becoming more mainstream, appealing
to everyone from young adults to seniors. People are
experiencing the therapeutic benefits of massage. They are getting massages
mostly to relax, to relieve aches and pains, and to help reduce stress.
A national survey conducted by the State University of New York at
Syracuse found 54 percent of primary care physicians and family
practitioners said they would encourage their patients to pursue massage
therapy as a treatment, and a third of those said they are
willing to refer patients to a massage therapist.
The American Massage Therapy Association's membership has increased
nearly four-fold in the past decade, to more than 28,000.
More and more employers are offering massage during break
times to their employees. They have found that massage therapy
isn't just a perk, but actually increases employee productivity
and morale. For example, according to a 1996 survey of employees
who regularly receive therapeutic massage on-site at Reebok
International Ltd., 98 percent said it helped them reduce
work-related stress; 92 percent said it increased alertness,
motivation and productivity; 83 percent said it had in some cases
sufficiently addressed a problem so medical attention was not necessary;
and 66 percent said it had enabled them to stay at work when they
would have otherwise gone home sick.
back
to top |
| Massage and Health |
Massage is a holistic therapy. It
has effect on both body and mind. Massage increases the circulation
of blood and flow of lymph. The direct mechanical effect of rhythmically
applied manual pressure and movement used in massage can dramatically
increase the rate of blood flow. Also, the stimulation of nerve receptors
causes the blood vessels (by reflex action) to dilate, which also
facilitates blood flow. This has a profound effect on one's
health.
The following are the key effects of massage:
Reduced muscle tension. Massage affects the muscles throughout
the body. Massage affects the muscles and other soft tissues throughout
the body. It loosens contracted, shortened, hardened muscles. Massage
can stimulate weak, flaccid muscles. Chronic muscle tension reduces
the circulation of the blood and movement of lymph in an area.
Improved blood circulation. The oxygen capacity of the blood can increase
10-15% after massage. By indirectly or directly stimulating nerves
that supply internal organs, blood vessels of these organs dilate
and allow greater blood supply to them.
Better lymph movement. Lymph is a milky white fluid that
drains impurities and waste away from the tissue cells. A component
of these wastes is toxins which are the by-products of metabolism.
So, it is a vital to our health. Muscular contraction has a pumping
effect that moves lymph. Massage and exercise help to move lymph.
Increased mobility and range of motion of joints. Massage
provides a gentle stretching action to both the muscles and connective
tissues that surround and support the muscles and many other parts
of the body, which helps keep these tissues elastic.
Stimulated or soothed nervous system. Massage balances the nervous
system by soothing or stimulating it, depending on which effect is
needed by the individual at the time of the massage.
Enhanced skin condition. Massage enhances the skin condition
by improving the function of the sebaceous and sweat glands, which
keep the skin lubricated, clean, and cool.
Better digestion and intestinal function. Massage
increases the body's secretions and excretions. It increases the production
of gastric juices, saliva, and urine. There is also an increased excretion
of nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus, and salt. As a result, the metabolic
rate increases.
Relief of acute and chronic pain. Massage can promote
recovery from the fatigue and from minor aches and pains
Beneficial effects on the internal organs and the immune system
Reduced swelling
Reduced stress
General relaxation
Overall improvement in physical health and the quality of life.
(Source: Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, Jennifer Jacobs,
MD, MPH, Consultant Editor)
back
to top |
| Benefits
of Massage |
Research in massage therapy has been
ongoing for more than 120 years. Here are some reported benefits of
massage:
Medical school students at the University of Medicine
and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School who were massaged
before an exam showed a significant decrease in anxiety and
respiratory rates, as well as a significant increase in white
blood cells and natural killer cell activity, suggesting a benefit
to the immune system.
Preliminary results suggested cancer patients had less pain
and anxiety after receiving therapeutic massage at the James
Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio.
Women who had experienced the recent death of a child were
less depressed after receiving therapeutic massage, according
to preliminary results of a study at the University of South Carolina.
Studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found
massage beneficial in improving weight gain in HIV-exposed infants
and facilitating recovery in patients who underwent abdominal surgery.
At the University of Miami School of Medicine's Touch Research Institute,
researchers have found that massage is helpful in decreasing blood
pressure in people with hypertension, alleviating pain in migraine
sufferers and improving alertness and performance in office workers.
An increasing number of research studies show massage reduces heart
rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph
flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion, and increases endorphins
(enhancing medical treatment). Although therapeutic massage does not
increase muscle strength, it can stimulate weak, inactive muscles
and, thus, partially compensate for the lack of exercise and inactivity
resulting from illness or injury. It also can hasten and lead to a
more complete recovery from exercise or injury.
Research has verified that:
• Office workers massaged regularly were more alert, performed
better and were less stressed than those who weren't massaged.
• Massage therapy decreased the effects of anxiety, tension,
depression, pain, and itching in burn patients.
• Abdominal surgery patients recovered more quickly after massage.
Premature infants who were massaged gained more weight and fared better
than those who weren't.
• Autistic children showed less erratic behavior after massage
therapy.
According AMTA, massage helps both physically and mentally.
"Often times people are stressed in our culture. Stress-related
disorders make up between 80-and-90 percent of the ailments
that bring people to family-practice physicians. What they require
is someone to listen, someone to touch them, someone to care. That
does not exist in modern medicine.
One of the complaints heard frequently is that physicians
don't touch their patients any more. Touch just isn't there. Years
ago massage was a big part of nursing. There was so much
care, so much touch, so much goodness conveyed through massage. Now
nurses for the most part are as busy as physicians. They're writing
charts, dealing with insurance notes, they're doing procedures and
often there is no room for massage any more.
"I believe massage therapy is absolutely key in the healing process
not only in the hospital environment but because it relieves stress,
it is obviously foundational in the healing process any time and anywhere."
Joan Borysenko - Massage Journal Interview, Fall 1999
back
to top
More
Topics... |
  |
|
|
