The Therapeutic Effects Of Massage

Photo by massageubud (Flickr)

Massage is a procedure usually done with the hands, such as friction, kneading, rolling, and percussion. It has been used in ancient times and untill now. Massage is a modality or physical therapeutic method for medical purposes.

Many systems of massage have evolved and are currently popular but there has been a recent decline in use of massage that is attributable to several modern trends, including the great emphasis on medications in the field of medical profession today. There is also greater interest in the use of therapeutic tools that use advanced technologies rather than the hands. Nevertheless, in recent years, an increasing number of people are again seeking the benefits of massage therapy, the therapy of touch. 

Goals Of Treatment

There are mechanical, reflex, neurological, and physiological effects of massage. Any massage will elicit a combination of these effects.  The magnitude and exact characteristics of each of these depends on the techniques employed and the manner of which it is applied.

The goals of treatment or benefits include:

• Sedation
• Muscular relaxation
• Relief of muscular stiffness
• Relief of discomfort
• Counter-irritant effect
• Lymphatic drainage
• To mobilise fluid
• To break up tissue and muscle adhesions

Types Of Massage

The most commonly accepted types of hand movements used in massage are from the Swedish system.

The 4 Basic Stroke Types

1. Effleurage or stroking massage. It involves lightly running the hand over the skin. This may be performed with either superficial or deep pressure. Effleurage is specially effective in assisting venous return or lymphatic drainage, such as following joint sprains or muscle strains. 
2. Pétrissagé or compression massage. It includes kneading, picking up, wringing, rolling and shaking. Kneading indicates circular movements of one hand superimposed on the other, a single hand, the knuckles, the finger pads, or the thumb compressing superficial soft tissues against deeper ones. Picking up includes four basic steps: (1) compression of soft tissue against underlying structures, (2) grasping of the soft tissue, (3) release of the soft tissue, and (4) moving the hands to a new position. Wringing is performed like picking up, except once the tissue is grasped using two hands side by side, one hand pushes while the other pulls. Rolling is the motion of gathering skin alone or muscle and skin between the fingers and thumb and allowing the tissue to roll between these digits before releasing and taking another nearny grasp. In shaking, once the soft tissue is  firmly grasped between thumb and fingers, the hands are shaken vigorously side ti side as they move down the length of the muscle. The techniques are designed to mobilise fluid and tissue deposits, as well as to break up tissue and muscle adhesions. 
3. Friction massage. It is performed by applying circular or transverse motions through the fingers, thumb, or heel of the palm of the hand to a small area of tissue. 
4. Tapotement or percussion massage. It produces stimulation by rhythmic alternating movements of the hand on the soft tissue. Clapping, hacking, vibrations, beating, pounding, and tapping are all types of tapotement massage. Clapping or cupping is a technique wherein the open palms are cupped and repetitively strike the surface of the body. Hacking consists of repetitively strikingly the body with the medial border of the hands. Vibrations require a rapid up-and -down motion of pressure and released within the soft tissue without losing contact with the skin. Beating strikes the body oalm down and  pounding strikes the body with the medial border of the fist. Tapping uses the the finger pads to percuss.