How to Feel Better Through Massage Therapy
Clinical Massage is the manipulation of the bodies soft tissue to relieve specific complaints of pain and dysfunction. A good massage therapist has an extensive knowledge of what muscle is being worked on, where it is attached and what problems it can cause. This allows tratment that deals directly with your problem.
Clinical Massage uses a wide variety of massage techniques such as effleurage, pettrisage, compression, cross fibre friction, trigger point therapy, tapotement and stretching. Effleurage and pettrisage is used to warm the muscles to prepare for deeper work. Compression works on the circulatory system. Cross fibre friction and trigger point therapy work on specific muscles to allow the muscle to return to their original resting length, which is where it will work optimally. Tapotement and stretching encourages the muscle to maintain this resting length. Matching the physiology of the pain and dysfunction with the physiological effects of the treatment techniques offers the most effective treatment.
The Principles of Clinical Massage Therapy
The individual is a whole organism: everything is connected and related. Therefore the part must be seen in context of the whole. For example, a person with a sprained ankle will favour the injured leg, causing muscles in the hip and lower back to tighten (shorten). The resulting imbalance in the back can affect the neck muscles, causing a headache. Treating the neck muscles alone will not solve the problem.
Shortened muscle tissue cannot work optimally - All movements, even the most basic are complex as they require a perfect orchestration of groups of muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and nerves. This orchestration is called a kinetic chain. Kinetic means movement. Every part of that kinetic chain has to work properly so you can coordinate the movement. To do this you must have the strength and accuracy to complete the movement. If there is a weak link (a shortened muscle) somewhere on this chain, a trigger point will arise at that point on the kinetic chain. This weak link often inhibits the kinetic chain's ability to work in the correct sequence which is why aches and pains, other than the injury, occur. Utilising trigger point therapy, cross fibre friction, tapotement and stretching, the muscle returns to its resting length and is then able to play its important role in the kinetic chain. This significantly reduces the risk of further injury to the whole length of the kinetic chain.
Soft Tissue responds to touch - The earliest known writings on massage date back to the Chinese, around 3000BC. History also shows the Ancient Romans and Greeks used massage, along with exercise to promote health, around 1000BC. It was very common for war heroes to be rubbed and anointed to allow them to rest, refresh and to aid in recovery. It has been proven through scientific research that massage:
Increase circulation
Reduce swelling
Ease pain
Reduce stressful feelings such as anxiety
Improve flexibility
Alter reflex activity in the nervous system
Massage can positively influence your wellbeing physically, physiologically and psychologically.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6896141
posted by Eye Born Facts @ July 17, 2020
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