Massage Therapy

Massage Therapy

The use of massage therapy as pain management tool continues to gain popularity in the United States. One survey found that 5 percent of 31,000 participants had used massage therapy in the previous year and nearly 10 percent had engaged in therapy at least once in their life. And, increasingly, healthcare providers are discussing massage therapy with their patients as a way to complement their conventional medical treatment (another survey found that 63 percent of massage therapists received referrals from healthcare professionals).

There are dozens of massage therapy methods, but all follow the same basic principles and practices: pressing, rubbing, and manipulating the body’s muscles and soft tissues, in an effort to relax the patient and decrease his or her physical pain. This is achieved by increasing the flow of blood and oxygen to the massaged areas, warming and relaxing them.

Massage therapy is performed by a licensed therapist who may use a number of different techniques. Long strokes and friction on the muscles is the hallmark of a therapist who prefers Swedish massage. Patterns and deep pressure applied by individual fingers to the knotted muscles and muscle layers is part of a therapist’s deep tissue arsenal. And a therapist who applies varying, rhythmic pressure from the fingers to zones on the body corresponding with the body’s vital flow of energy is engaging in shiatsu massage.