Massage therapy is one of the oldest healing arts mankind has ever known, with known documents dating back more than three thousand years. Accepted into today’s modern medicine arena for many physical rehabilitation programs, the benefits of massage are in no way limited to re-hab.
There are numerous chronic conditions that can be greatly helped with massage therapy, including diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, arthritis, fatigue, and infertility, along with many others. Massage also relieves one of the leading causes of illness and disease – stress.
Did you know that almost 90% of disease is related to stress? In addition, stress ages the body faster than nearly anything else you can think of. There’s not much you can do to totally eliminate the tension and pressure of our fast-paced lifestyle, but massage therapy can definitely help you reduce the amount in your own personal life.
With regular massage, you can more easily handle the day-to-day stress you encounter. You’ll enjoy the benefits of massage, such as better sleep, more energy, less anxiety, better circulation, and an increase in your ability to concentrate.
In general, massage therapy accomplishes all this by manipulating soft tissues in the body in a variety of ways, all of which ultimately achieve the same goals of increasing total body circulation and decreasing stress and fatigue. There are over 250 variations of massage therapy and each one utilizes different techniques or a combination of techniques to obtain the desired results.
Some techniques use the application of lotions, oils or powders that all help to reduce friction on the skin. Tissue manipulation can be accomplished in a number of ways, including kneading, rocking, applying pressure, tapping and vibrating, to name just a few. There are other techniques used, depending on the style of therapy involved.
Swedish massage is probably the most common type of massage therapy and is typically the one referred to when people mention ‘getting a massage’. Swedish massage therapists use long stroking motions, circular motions, and kneading movements to relax muscle tissue.
Using certain plant oils as part of the massage is called aromatherapy, which involves oils that are specifically selected to achieve particular results, such as relaxation, stress reduction, or increasing energy. Lavender oil is widely used in this practice for its calming properties.
Hot stone massage uses the application of smooth, heated stones placed on various points to the body to help loosen and relax tight muscles. Some therapists apply pressure to the body using the warm stones. This type of massage therapy is good for people who want a light massage, but have a lot of muscle tension.
Deep tissue massage is a more aggressive therapy, useful for people who have chronic pain or tension in their muscles, problems with posture, or those recovering from injury. In this type of massage, the deep muscle layers are targeted and it’s common to feel sore for a day or two following the massage.
Another popular massage therapy is Shiatsu, which involves the therapist using their fingertips to apply pressure to various points on the body for several seconds. This is done to help the body become more balanced and increase the flow of energy throughout the entire body. Shiatsu massage is relaxing, even though pressure is firmly applied, and normally there is no pain or soreness following the massage.
