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 Therapeutic Massage consists of many professional touch modalities intertwined within each other to alleviate pain and tension to achieve a specific outcome.
Basic methods of Therapeutic Massage and bodywork are used to stimulate sensory receptors. This stimulation changes the rhythmic order in the body functions or disrupts an existing pattern in the central nervous system control centers, which results in a shift in nerve and chemical patterns to reestablish homeostasis, or balance. The very same method can be applied in a different way to change the consistency or position of connective tissue or shift pressure in the vessels to facilitate blood and lymph circulation.
Massage has been one of the most natural and instinctive means of relieving pain and discomfort for centuries; dating back as far as 2,000 B.C., where its strong roots took hold in Chinese folk medicine, Indian herbal medicine, and Persian medicine, and has been written about extensively in books since about 500 B.C. Massage can be considered part of manual medicine, although it has also stood independently to promote health. Manual medicine has grown to become the foundation of osteopathy, chiropractic, and physical therapy.
Popular Methods in the Bodywork Profession:
1. Oriental (Asian) Approaches
Amma, acupressure, shiatsu, jin shin do, do-in, hoshino, tui-na, watsu Tibetan point holding, Thai massage
These methods derive from original Chinese concepts and from offshoots of the Chinese base. These compressive manipulations and stretches, which focus on specific areas of the body, elicit responses in the nervous and circulatory systems. The efficient use of the therapist's body and the performance of these techniques on a clothed client have many benefits.
2. Structural and Postural Integration Approaches
Bindgewebs massage, Rolfing, Hellerwork, Looyen, Pfrimmer, Soma, Bowen therapy
These techniques focus more specifically on the connective tissue structure to influence posture and bio-mechanics. The approaches are systematic and effective because they are grounded in the fundamentals of physiology and bio-mechanics.
3. Neuromuscular Approaches
Nuromusular techniques, muscle energy techniques, strain/counterstrain, orthobionomy, Trager, myotherapy, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, reflexology, trigger point
Many of these techniques are similar to those found in Rolfing, Asian methods, and Swedish massage and gymnastics. As the name implies, the approach is a nervous or reflexive methods. The common thread running through all the styles are the basic concepts of activation of the tonus receptor mechanism, reflex arc stimulation, positional receptors, and applications of stretching and lengthening.
4. Manual Lymphatic Drainage
Vodder lymph drainage
Emil Vodder developed an excellent system that uses the anatomy and physiology of lymphatic movement with both mechanical and reflexive techniques to stimulate the flow of lymphatic fluid. The variations of this system sometimes are called systemic massage.
5. Energetic (Biofield) Approaches
Polarity, therapeutic touch, Reiki, Zero Balance
Subtle energy medicine in under study at the Meninger Foundation. Polarity and similar energetic approaches use near touch or light touch to initiate reflexive responses, often with highly effective results.
6. Craniosacral and Myofascial Approaches
Craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, soft tissue mobilization, deep tissue massage, connective tissue massage
These systems focus more specifically on the various aspects of both mechanical and reflexive connective tissue functions. Both light and deep touch are used, depending on the method.
7. Applied Kinesiology
Touch for Health, Applied Physiology, Educational Kinesiology, Three-in-One Concepts
The approach blends many techniques but works primarily with the reflexive mechanisms. A specific muscle testing procedure is used for evaluation; this process acts somewhat like a biofeedback mechanism. Some of the corrective measures use Asian Meridians and acupressure; others rely on the osteopathic reflex mechanisms that seem to correspond to traditional Chinese acupuncture points.
8. Integrated Approaches
Sports massage, infant massage, equine massage, on-site or seated massage, prenatal massage, geriatric massage, massage of abuse survivors, Russian massage
Many styles of bodywork that focus on specific type of population are combinations of methods rather than physiologic interventions.
Information found in:
Fritz, Sandy. Mosby's Fundamentals of Therapeutic Massage, 2nd edition. Lapeer, Michigan: Mosby, Inc., 2000
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