What does massage therapy include?

Massage therapy (including myotherapy) is the practice of kneading or manipulating a person's muscles and other soft tissues to improve their well-being or health. It is a form of manual therapy that includes holding, moving, and applying pressure to muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia.

massage therapy

is used to help manage a health condition or improve well-being. It involves manipulating the soft tissues of the body.

Massage has been practiced in most cultures, both Eastern and Western, throughout human history, and was one of the first tools people used to try to relieve pain.

Massage

is the practice of rubbing and kneading the body with your hands. During a massage, a trained massage therapist will apply gentle or strong pressure to the muscles and joints of the body to relieve pain and tension. At the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, licensed massage therapists have years of experience and training in treating patients with complicated medical conditions, specifically cancer, and in using massage to improve overall health.

Massage styles offered are deep tissue, swedish, acupressure techniques, healing and therapeutic touch. It's common to feel relaxed, tired, or even sore after a massage. This is because the massage therapist is working on his muscles. After a massage, it may look like you've completed a workout.

It is possible to experience headache or nausea after a massage. The term massage therapy covers many different techniques (see box for examples). In general, therapists press, rub, and manipulate muscles and other soft tissues in the body. Most of the time they use their hands and fingers, but they can use their forearms, elbows, or feet.

Several evaluations of massage for low back pain have found only weak evidence that it may be useful. A couples massage is a massage that is done with your partner, friend or family member in the same room. You can usually choose what type of massage you would like to receive, and you and your partner can receive a different type of massage, depending on your preferences and the clinic's offerings. Just like when choosing other healthcare professionals, it's important to be a conscious consumer when selecting a massage therapist.

During the massage, the therapist will use the hands, palms, and thumbs to massage certain points on the body. Using soft tissue manipulation techniques, massage reduces stress and fatigue, while improving circulation.

Therapeutic massage

does not increase muscle strength, although it can stimulate weak and inactive muscles, helping to compensate for lack of exercise and inactivity caused by illness or injury. National Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork Certification Board certifies professionals who pass a national exam.

Massage is relatively safe; however, it should not be used if the child has one of the following conditions. Other theories suggest that massage could stimulate the release of certain chemicals in the body, such as serotonin or endorphins, or cause beneficial mechanical changes in the body. These studies looked at different types of massage and different types of headache, and their results are not consistent. Massages are increasingly being offered alongside standard treatment for a wide range of medical conditions and situations.

A common misconception about massage is that it's just part of a spa day and it's meant to treat yourself. Other styles include sports massage, clinical massage to achieve specific goals, such as the release of muscle spasms, and massage traditions derived from Eastern cultures, such as Shiatsu and Tuina. Shiatsu massage works on the whole body, but the therapist may focus on areas that need additional attention. The therapist can hold a stone while massaging different parts of the body with Swedish massage techniques with gentle pressure.

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