Relaxation/Swedish Massage
What is Massage?Massage (derived from the French massage "friction of kneading," possibly from Arabic massa "to touch, feel, handle" or from Latin massa "mass, dough" is a treatment and practice of manipulation of the soft body tissues with physical, functional, i.e. mechanical, medical/therapeutic, and in some cases emotional purposes and goals. Massage involves acting 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, lymphatic vessels, and/or organs of the gastrointestinal system. Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, forearm, and feet, as far as there are over 80 different types of massage. The most cited reasons for introducing massage was patient demand and clinical effectiveness.
Why does it work?
Theories behind what massage might do include blocking pain signals to the brain (gate control theory), activating the parasympathetic nervous system, stimulating the release of endorphins and serotonin, preventing fibrosis or scar tissue, increasing the flow of lymph, and improving sleep.
Who does Massage? Massage can be performed by a professional Massage Therapist, or by other health care professionals, such as Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Athletic trainers, and/or Physical Therapists. Massage therapists work in hospitals as allied health professioners, in nursing homes, sports and fitness facilities, spas, beauty salons, cruise ships, private offices, and travel to private residences or businesses.
How is it done?
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. Except for modalities such as Acupressure, Shiatsu, Tui Na, Thai Massage, or Barefoot Deep Tissue, the massage subject is generally unclothed or partially unclothed, also referred to as disrobed, and their body would be "draped" with towels or sheets.
The client and therapist should discuss the type of treatment expected which includes the intention of the massage (relaxation, invigoration, etc.), preferred techniques, areas to be massaged and to be avoided, and the amount of pressure that is comfortable. They will then gather the patients medical history, informed consent, and data on their current physical condition.
Effects
There are many beneficial effects of massage, including pain relief, stress reduction but also relief of many diseases. Pain relief The reasons people cite that they use massage are to relieve pain from musculoskeletal injuries and other causes of pain. Massage diminishes pain in fibromyalgia patients. It also reduces chronic back pain more effectively than some other complementary therapies and easing post-operative pain. Cancer patients tends to self-report symptomatic relief of pain. Massage can also relieve tension headaches.
Acupressure or pressure point massage may be more beneficial than classic Swedish massage in relieving back pain. When combined with education and exercises massage might help sub-acute, chronic, non-specific low back pain. Diseases Massage increases health in several diseases and conditions. Massage increases pulmonary function in asthmatics, decreases glucose levels in patients with diabetes mellitus and increases natural killer cells in HIV and cancer patients.
Massage therapy also reduces blood pressure in stroke patients and alcohol detoxification symptoms. It also relieves temporomandibular joint dysfunction, Massage can help with spastic diplegia resulting from Cerebral palsy. Massage has been used in an effort to improve symptoms, disease progression, and quality of life in HIV patients. Mental health Massage also has mental beneficial effects. It reduces stress and decreases feelings of anxiety and depression, and increase general well being.
In a randomised controlled trial with dyslexic children to evaluate the efficiency of Sunflower therapy which includes applied kinesiology, physical manipulation, massage, homeopathy, herbal remedies and neuro-linguistic programming. There were no significant improvements in cognitive nor literacy test performance associated with the treatment, but there were significant improvements in self-esteem for the treatment group. This study did not control for the placebo effect. Stress reduction In addition to pain relief, reducing stress and therefore enhancing relaxation is a common reason to use massage.