Massage

Interestingly, the word massage is derived from the French word for friction of kneading! The word meanings from other cultures include ‘to touch or feel’ and ‘mass or dough’. Massage is the therapy for the treatment of the soft body tissues with physical and functional methods to relax the muscles. Many a times, the purpose of the medical and therapeutic massage is to serve pre determined psychological purpose. The art of effective massage involves manipulating the muscles with pressure. The pressure could vary according to requirement and thus be structured or unstructured or stationary or moving. The tension or vibration could be manipulated either manually or with the help of special mechanical aids.

In a massage, the muscles and tissues targeted usually include the tendons, ligaments, joints and the lymphatic vessels and organs within the gastro intestinal system. Massages are now designed for relaxation of the hands, feet, fingers etc. It is interesting to note that there are over a hundred massage modalities! A massage may be opted for either by patient demand or as prescribed by the physician for clinical effectiveness. The benefits of massage, according to dedicated medical research, include relief from pain, reduction of muscle tension and anxiety or depression. Massages are also effectively used to reduce blood pressure and heart rate.

The massage actually blocks the ‘pain’ signals to the brain and activates the nervous system that in turn, stimulates the release of the hormones like endorphin and serotonin. This helps in preventing scar tissue and increases the flow of lymph, which is known to induce and improve sleep. A massage can be effectively given by a trained masseur, a chiropractor, athletic trainer or osteopaths and physical therapists. There are massage therapists who are an integral part of hospitals and nursing homes and various sports and fitness facilities. The technique is much appreciated and is catching up fast. Today, along with the regular beauty treatments, a number of spas and beauty salons also offer the services of trained masseurs.

It is important to be educated that massage therapy cannot and should not be used to treat damaged blood vessels, weakened bones, cancer, osteoporosis or any bleeding disorders. In a professional massage setting, the client is treated while he or she is in the reclined position on a massage table. There are forms of massages that are even extended to clients who sit upright in special massage chairs or lie down on a pad, on the floor. During a massage, the person could be either clothed or unclothed or partially unclothed. In the latter, the body is draped with special towels or a sheet. The commercial massage tables are very comfortable. They have a heavily padded surface and a head support designed to allow the client to breathe easily even while lying face down.

The massage table may be stationary or portable and now there are special orthopedic bolsters that are available to correct the body posture. The massage chairs are ergonomically designed to create a similar setting as the massage tables. The chair designs make it easy for the practitioner to maneuver around the client. The oils used for massage include coconut oil, grape seed oil, sesame oil, pecan oil, olive oil, almond oil, pine oil and macadamia oil. These are usually fractionated or mixed with certain prescribed carrier oils.

The Ayurveda massage is a natural health care system from the orient. Ayurvedic massage is also referred to as Abhyanga and is part of a therapy that involves the expertise part of two therapists. The massage is given with a warm blend of herbal oils, with the aim of loosening and relaxing the muscles through kneading and rubbing motions. There is the barefoot deep tissue massage therapy also, where the therapist applies pressure to sense and manipulate the tissues and search for and attack the anxiety trigger points. There are therapists that apply the ‘rolling’ movement on the target body part, to relieve muscle tension and to restore the normal lymphatic flow.