Massage Therapy Basics

What Is Massage Therapy?

Massage Therapy takes many forms. In my experience, many people hear the term "Massage Therapy" and only hear the first word--"Massage". What's commonly misunderstood is that massage is very therapeutic on many levels.
Let's break it down:

Mas = sage [muh-sahzh, -sahj] noun
1. the act or art of treating the body by rubbing, kneading, patting, or the like, to stimulate circulation, increase suppleness, relieve tension, etc.

2. Slang. attentive or indulgent treatment; pampering

Wow... even the dictionary only has limited knowledge of this subject... not to mention perpetuates the notion that massage is for luxury only.


Ther = a = py [ther-uh-pee]
noun
1. the treatment of disease or disorders, as by some remedial, rehabilitating, or curative process: speech therapy.

2. a curative power or quality.

4. any act, hobby, task, program, etc., that relieves tension.

Ok now we're getting somewhere. My frustration here is that the medical community "owns" words like "cure" and "treat" so it becomes difficult to define Massage Therapy as the treatment of disease or curative process through the act or art of rubbing, kneading etc...

However, if you put these two definitions together you begin to see just how Massage Therapy really does fit into our modern definitions of health care.
One online medical dictionary defines the term Massage Therapy as:

"the scientific manipulation of the soft tissues of the body for the purpose of normalizing those tissues and consists of manual techniques that include applying fixed or movable pressure, holding, and/or causing movement of or to the body."

So when you hear words like "sceintific", "curative", "treatment" etc., do you think of a luxurious pampering experience? I sure hope not. I am NOT trying to say that a massage cannot be a luxuriously enjoyable or frivolous experience. I am simply pointing out that this is ONLY ONE type of massage experience. Massage has much higher value in the area of health and wellness than simply something you treat yourself to while on a cruise.

I have created a model of Massage Therapy that is made up of three constructs. Although there are literally thousands of modalities around the world, for simplification I have narrowed the field down to three basic types or styles of therapy.

• Relaxation
• Rehabilitative
• Spiritual

Since it is virtually impossible to have any one of these types of massage without experiencing the benefits of the other two, it becomes a sort of "holy trinity". You can choose whichever style of massage you would like to receive, but you cannot avoid getting at least some of the benefits of the other two--at least on some level.

Relaxation massage is the kind most people think of when you think of massage. (Google the word "massage" and look at the images.) Very soothing, usually gentle, incorporating techniques designed to relax mental and physical stress and tension. Typically incorporates oils or lotions and utilizes long gliding strokes over the skin. Examples are: Swedish, Hot Stone, spa style wraps and body treatments.

Rehabilitative style is geared toward acheiving some sort of goal related to a specific problem, ailment, injury, pathology or other abnormality regarding a person's health. "Deep Tissue" is one of the most common modalities and in itself has many identities. It can be relaxing but can also be uncomfortable if the manipulation is to have the desired long-term goal-related effect on the soft tissues of the body. (note: SHOULD NOT BE PAINFUL) Some styles are: Myofascial Release (MFR), Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT), and Sports Massage.

Spiritual therapies vary greatly in philosophy, practice, and treatment--even so much so that there are many that don't even involve touching the person receiving the massage. Many practices involve a sort of leap of faith involving phenomena that may not be easily explained by standard western medical definitions. Things like qi (chi) energy, chakras, accu-pressure meridians etc. are practiced in different cultures and have found there way all over the world. Hawaiian Lomi Lomi, Reiki, Seimei, and Tuina are just a few examples.

Hopefully this answered some basic questions for you... but I hope even more that it made you curious enough to have LOTS MORE QUESTIONS (like What Does Massage Therapy Do? ) so you'll keep reading and keep learning about MASSAGE!

Mahalo,

Kevin