Massage Therapy

History of Massage

Massage therapy dates back thousands of years. References to massage appear in writings from ancient China, Japan, India, Arabic nations, Egypt, Greece (Hippocrates defined medicine as “the art of rubbing”), and Rome.
Massage became widely used in Europe during the Renaissance. In the 1850s, two American physicians who had studied in Sweden introduced massage therapy in the United States, where it became popular and was promoted for a variety of health purposes. With scientific and technological advances in medical treatment during the 1930s and 1940s, massage fell out of favor in the United States. Interest in massage revived in the 1970s, especially among athletes.

About Massage Therapy

Massage therapy consists primarily of hands-on manipulation of the soft tissues of the body, specifically, the muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and joints for the purpose of optimizing health.

Massage therapy treatment has a therapeutic effect on the body and optimizes health and well-being by acting on the muscular, nervous and circulatory systems. Physical function can be developed, maintained and improved; and physical dysfunction and pain and the effects of stress can be relieved or prevented through the use of Massage Therapy.

Modern massage techniques can be traced back to the 1700′s and the development of Swedish massage, the first systematic method of therapeutic massage based on physiology. Today’s Massage Therapists use their knowledge of anatomy and physiology to combine traditional Swedish and modern Massage Therapy techniques with exercise and other therapies to treat their clients.

Your Treatment

Before a treatment, your Massage Therapist will propose a personalized treatment plan based on an initial assessment and health history. The assessment consists of various tests to determine the condition of your muscles and joints. Any personal and health information you provide to your Massage Therapist is completely confidential and will be safeguarded. Your health record cannot be released or transferred without your written consent.Your Massage Therapist must also obtain your consent to work on any part of your body, regardless of whether you are fully clothed, or fully or partially covered with sheets or blankets. Your privacy will always be respected, and you may withdraw your consent for treatment at any time.

Various specialized movements of the hands, over the skin or clothes, make up the Massage Therapy treatment. The Massage Therapist will work with your level of pain tolerance during the treatment, and the treatment can be stopped at any time should the treatment become uncomfortable.
Massage therapy is not covered by OHIP, but many private insurance companies cover treatment from a Massage Therapist as part of their extended health care plans. Please consult your policy.

BENEFITS OF MASSAGE

  1. Relieve Stress and emotional tension.
  2. Relax mind and body deeply.
  3. Helps you connect spiritually.
  4. Helps to generally get you back to optimal health!

 

TYPES OF THERAPIES

  1. Relaxation Massage
  2. Deep Tissue Massage
  3. Cross-Fibre Friction
  4. Trigger Point Therapy
  5. Myofascial Release
  6. Active Isolated Stretching
  7. Aromatherapy Massage
  8. Remedial Exercise

 

Massage Treatments and techniques

Because of the differences in definition of the “relaxation massage” it is a good idea to call beforehand and find out about what you will be getting. There’s likely to be some soft music – in spas and treatment rooms they tend to use a kind of music that is almost impossible to describe. It’s featureless yet calming. If you go to a private therapist, you may not get something so easy to ignore – if you have a spiritual dread of Enya or whale song, it might be worth taking along your own music, as these kinds of music tend to be favourites

Relaxation massage

Definitions vary, but in the UK, a relaxation massage is usually a full-body treatment involving soft music, soft lighting and aromatherapy oils. You will have a long, luxurious massage which will use all kinds of techniques including long strokes, gentle kneading and rolling of skin and muscle, and perhaps some rhythmic rocking from side to side. It is a passive treatment. You probably won’t be stretched or manoeuvred into any yoga-like positions, as you are, for example, in Thai massage. You just lie there and take it. This is the massage to choose if you just want to chill out, and be pampered and spoiled. A good relaxation massage relieves stress and tension in your muscles and will leave you oozing with a sense of wellbeing. It achieves this because of the general benefits of massage: it improves your circulation, so your organs and skin get more oxygen; it moves fluid through your lymphatic system. A relaxation massage encourages your body to digest its food, and get rid of its toxins. It will help you to sleep better. A massage will also help un-knot any muscles, soothe aches and sprains and encourage the skin to heal minor abrasions.

Deep tissue

Similar to Swedish massage, deep tissue massage uses slower and firmer strokes and pressure than other treatments – deep finger pressure that concentrates on particular areas, and follows or goes across the fibres of muscles and tendons. Some types of deep tissue treatments include:

Cross-fibre friction

This specialised massage treatment is used to treat chronic muscular tension, working across the fibres of the muscles.

Trigger Point Therapy

This treatment puts pressure on certain trigger points, temporarily stopping blood flow to a particular part of the body, and then releasing it, flooding that body part with fresh blood. It sounds weird and it feels weird too; you realise how powerful your blood is when it surges back into your arteries and the limb feels suddenly warm and strong. This treatment kick-starts your circulation as it pours and pumps fresh oxygen around your body. This technique is also a feature of Thai massage.

Myofascial Release

Fascia is a tough tissue that surrounds every muscle, bone, organ, nerve, and blood vessel in your body. Myofascial release is a stretching technique that releases tension and therefore pain deep in the body. It is used by physiotherapists to treat patients with some soft tissue problems. It is also called “connective tissue massage”. Deep tissue massage helps to refresh and relax muscles, increasing the blood flow and therefore the oxygen flow around your body. This gets rid of toxins in very sore and strained muscles, which helps them to strengthen and heal.

Deep tissue massage is often used to treat people who are recovering from
accidents, and for sports injuries as it increases blood circulation in muscles
that are underused, relieves chronic muscle tension throughout the body, and can
also break down scar tissue and “knots” deep in the muscles.

HR Stretching (hold and relax stretching)

Very similar to ART (active release therapy) , HR stretching puts the affected joint or joints through a range of motion while the therapist puts pressure on the affected muscle or tendon. By doing so, long term scar tissue can be broken up and normal motion, free of pain can be restored. This method gets the client more involved as well by getting them to engage muscles, then release and so on.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is commonly associated with the beneficial scent of various essential oils, but is more commonly used in applications to the body. An example would be inhaling eucalyptus for a lung infection or applying a mixture of mint, wintergreen and red thyme to the skin for a muscle strain. Aromatherapy is used in a number of ways, including:

  1. relieving stress and anxiety; it is used with older people with dementia to relieve distress helping you to sleep better; whether you have problems getting to sleep
  2. (insomnia) or staying asleep
  3. helping you relax
  4. relieving tiredness or aching muscles
  5. improving flexibility
  6. soothing chronic pain
  7. improving skin tone
  8. aiding concentration
  9. calming bad temper
  10. Aromatherapy massage can have short-term benefits on psychological well-being and a positive effect in reducing anxiety.

Remedial Exercise

Remedial exercise uses a combination of active and passive exercise to restore and improve the client’s musculoskeletal health. Remedial exercise is an integral part of one’s treatment. It is involved from the first assessment, through the massage treatment, and goes home with the client in the form of a self-care plan. Remedial exercise takes three forms: active and passive range of motion, stretching (static and dynamic), and strength (resistance) training.Your therapist will tailor your exercise plan and show you how and what you need to do to optimize your health or injury recovery.

Precautions

Before any massage treatment, avoid large meals or alcohol. It’s also a good idea to drink plenty of water, which will help your body to flush the toxins out of your body. It’s also a good idea to give yourself plenty of time either side of the
massage, so that you don’t feel rushed. Always remember to be very specific on your intake form, advising of
pregnancy, cuts, injuries, etc.

Whiplash – Massage Therapy May Help

  1. Decrease muscle spasm and strain
  2. Restore range of motion
  3. Improve muscle strength and endurance
  4. Reduce headache
  5. Improve function and return to activity

(Research:

Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task force on neck pain and it associated disorders)

Key findings:

Best evidence synthesis suggests that therapies involving manual therapy and exercise are more effective than alternative strategies with neck pain. Exercise training, mobilization and acupuncture are more effective in the short term than conventional medical care or “usual care.” A number of alternative and complementary medicine interventions have more evidence of efficiency than conventional medical care.

Low Back Pain- Massage Therapy May Help

  1. Decrease pain
  2. Decrease muscle spasm
  3. Improve function and range of motion
  4. Provide an exercise program to assist return to full function

Researchers have found that 70% of acute patients with nonspecific low back pain will improve within two weeks, and 90% will improve and resume normal activity within four to five weeks.

Research: Review of the evidence for the effectiveness, safety, and cost of acupuncture, massage therapy and spinal manipulation for back pain. The study showed that massage therapy was more effective and also more cost effective in the treatment of low back pain, than acupuncture or spinal
manipulation. (Daniel C. Cherkin et al, Annals of Internal Medicine 2003,
138:898-906)

Massage for low back pain

New, high quality trails show that massage gives some relief from back pain that has continued for many weeks or months-and the benefit may continue at least a year after the course of massage is over. Massage was more likely to work when combined with exercises (usually stretching) and education. There is a trend showing that the greatest benefit came with massage from an experienced RMT.
(Furlan AD, Brosseau, Imamura M, Irvin E., The Cochrane Database of Systematic
Reviews 2006 Issue 1, Copyright 2006 The Cochrane Collaboration)

Stress Release- Massage Therapy May Help

  1. Reduce muscle soreness
  2. Decrease stress and anxiety
  3. Promote relaxation
  4. Decrease muscle tension
  5. Improve sleep
  6. Decrease depression

Research:

Stress hormone is reduced by massage therapy
In this article the positive effects of massage therapy on biochemistry are reviewed including decreased levels of cortisol and increased levels of serotonin and dopamine. Research reviews included studies on depression (including sexual abuse and eating disorder studies), pain syndrome studies, research on auto-immune conditions (including asthma and chronic fatigue), immune studies (including HIV, breast cancer), and studies on the reduction of stress on the job, the stress on ageing, and pregnancy stress. (Field T,
Hernandez-Reif M, Diego M, Schaunberg S, Kuhn C., Int. J Neurosci.
Oct:115(10):1397-413).
Osteoarthritis

Registered Massage Therapy may improve the course of OA by:

  1. Slowing disease progression, reducing pain and relieving symptoms
  2. Improving function, flexibility and mobility
  3. Reducing disability
  4. Improving sleep
  5. Improving quality of life by providing home exercise advice

Research:

Ottawa Panel Evidence-based clinical practise guidelines for therapeutic exercises and manual therapy in the management of osteoarthritis. Based on their thorough review of research the Ottawa Panel recommends the use of therapeutic exercises, especially strengthening exercises and general physical activity, particularly for the management of pain and improvement of functional status. Manual therapy combined with exercises also is recommended in the management of patients with OA. (Ottawa Panel. Physical Therapy
2005;85(9):907-971).

Massage Therapy for OA of the knee

This study suggests that massage therapy using Swedish technique is safe and effective for reducing pain and improving function in patients with symptomatic OA of the knee. (Al. Perlam, A Sabina, AL Williams, V Yanchou Njike, DL Katz.
Archives of Internal Medicine. 2006; 166: 2533-2538
This study suggests that massage therapy using swedish technique is safe and
effective for reducing pain and improving function in patients with symptomatic
OA of the knee. (Al. Perlam, A Sabina, AL Williams, V Yanchou Njike, DL Katz.