Massage / Body Work
Massage is the practice of applying structured pressure, tension, motion or vibration to the soft tissues of the body, including muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, joints and lymphatic vessels, to achieve a beneficial response. Massage can be applied to heal injury, relieve psychological stress, manage pain, and improve circulation. Where massage is used for its physical and psychological benefits, it may be termed "therapeutic massage therapy”.
Deep tissue massage is generally designed for more focused massage work. Working a specific joint, muscle or muscle groups, the practitioner can access deeper layers of the soft tissue. Starting superficially and easing into the depth of the muscle slowly often allows more movement.
For Management of Soft Tissue Injuries, Pain and Musculoskeletal Dysfunction. Treatment techniques include:
- Trigger point therapy for the alleviation of fibrous muscle spasms.
- Myofascial (muscle and fascia) therapy for flexibility/mobility of the connective tissues of our body, or for alleviating adhesions and decreasing the severity of scars.
- Broad handed techniques for reducing swelling or inflammation
- Frictions for the ridding of adhesions between fascial layers, muscles, compartments and the like. Frictions also promote healing in tendon pathologies as well as decreasing pain perception.
- Sustained pressure (digital pressures) to alleviate hypertonic (tight)areas within muscle and fascia
- Stretching - static, dynamic, and/or PNF stretches (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation)
- Muscle Energy Technique (MET)
- Other techniques such as Active Release Therapies, Myofascial Release and deep tissue massage are all derivatives of the techniques above. They are NOT unique techniques with unique results.