A short summary of the benefits of receiving regular massage
Written by Andreas Margarites
This site is for educational purposes only
The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and a scented massage every day.
-Hippocrates
Massage therapy is one of the oldest health treatments in the world. Many ancient cultures relied on massage to promote healing and wellness in their communities. Using touch to heal has been a technique that has been around for thousands of years and over the years there have been many different techniques developed to address different ailments. A lot of massage that we see today in the western world is heavily based on swedish massage, which is a general massage modality that is based on skin to skin contact, long gliding strokes, and kneading muscles to help them relax. More often than not, if you walk into a spa that offers massage, you'll find that the bulk of the massage will most likely be swedish massage. A good therapist will be able to sit you down, talk to you about your issues that you'd like to address, and come up with a treatment plan that involves a wide variety of modalities that are mixed into the session to address your needs. There are a few titles that therapists go by. Bodyworker, Myomassologist (Here is a breakdown of where the meaning behind Myomassologist: Myo-Latin root for muscle, massology-the study of massage, Myomassology-the study of muscle massage, Myomassologist-Someone who studies muscle massage), and Masseur/Masseuse are commonly used titles. It is usually ok to use any of those terms to describe your therapist with the exception of Masseur/Masseuse. Over the years, the terms Masseur and Masseuse have gained a negative connotation as they imply a promiscuous lifestyle. When in doubt of what title to refer to your therapist as, use the terms Bodyworker, MT(Massage Therapist), or Myomassologist.
There are many benefits to receiving massage regularly. Below is a list and the next section will contain details on how these are achieved during a massage session.
Getting massage regularly can help to reduce swelling and increase bloodflow throughout the body. The constant kneading and gliding strokes help to promote healing by pushing old blood out of muscles and allowing oxygenated blood to be brought into the muscle. Have you ever cooked a steak? Did you notice that when the steak is cooked or manipulated, it will secrete blood? Just like a sponge holds liquid, your muscles hold blood within them. Blood can pool and become stagnant within a muscle causing aches and slowing healing. By applying pressure to the muscle, old deoxygenated blood will be pushed out and new oxygenated blood will be allowed in. When a massage therapist works on your body, they aren't exactly healing you using their hands. They're just giving your body a jump-start to heal itself. Massage is also extremely relaxing and with relaxation being one of the main goals, it can help you sleep better, boost your mood, and lower blood pressure. It can help to reduce pain, improve posture, and improve flexibility when active modalities such as stretching, active resistance, and passsive movement are integrated into a massage session. There are also certain modaliities that focus solely on each of these benefits and those will be discussed next!
Although there are many modalities that work wonderfully for treating a wide range of ailments, there are some that massage could have adverse effects on. Always remember to let your therapist know what medications you're on and what health issues you have. General relaxation massage may not be a good idea for people who have low blood pressure as it may drop their blood pressure even more. If you're on blood thinners, it could affect whether or not you're able to receive massage as well. Also, if you're actively undergoing cancer treatment, the therapist has to have experience with cancer patients as there are certain modalities to avoid. If you're in doubt of whether massage is right for you, please speak to a Myomassologist about your health issues and medication to see whether or not you should get approval from a doctor for massage therapy.
So far, we've only touched on swedish massage as a modality. There are so many different ways that massage can be practiced and there isn't a 1 size fits all technique. Some of my favorite modalities to use in my practice are Myofascial Release, Foot Reflexology, Thai massage, and Active Resistance techniques. Myofascial Release is an amazing modality that has techniques geared towards breaking up adhesions in the connective tissues in the muscles. It's a slower and lighter modality that focuses on warming up the tissue and holding it in place to slowly pull apart adhesions in the connective tissue. Foot reflexology is an amazing modality that is geared towards promoting general wellness by working on specific points in the feet. I was a bit skeptical of the efficacy of Foot Reflexology until I took the class and the teacher had us working the reflex points for the digestive system for a little bit longer than we should have. The next day I came to class and asked my classmates if they "emptied out" too after the massage and, sure enough, every single one of them had had the same experience with it. There are areas all over your feet that are reflexive to all areas of the body. By working these areas, general wellness can be promoted throughout the body. Thai Massage is a little different from most modalities as it does not rely on skin to skin contact and is more comparable to assisted yoga with compressions added in. Thai Massage is by far my favorite modality to practice, yet I rarely get to practice it because clients are looking for something a little more relaxing. Thai can be done on a yoga mat on the floor and the therapist would use their feet, elbows, palms, and knees to stretch and give compression to the client. "Active Resistance techniques" is a modality that covers a broad range of techniques. One of my favorite Active Resistance techniques is called "Reciprocal Inhibition". Reciprocal Inhibition helps to alleviate the problematic muscle by looking at the body as a whole and knowing what muscles perform the opposite action of that muscle. When a muscle is used/flexed, the brain sends a signal to the muscle that performs the opposite action and tells it to relax in order to allow the muscle performing the action to achieve the desired action. By analyzing both the main mover and antagonist muscles as well as posture, a therapist can know which muscles need to be told to relax and use Active Resistance on the opposing muscle to get the target muscle to relax. It's always fun tricking someone's brain using Reciprocal Inhibition and seeing their range of motion, flexibility, and posture correction as a result.
| Massage Pricing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Modality | 30 minutes | 60 minutes | 90 minutes |
| Swedish | $40 | $65 | $90 |
| Thai | $50 | $75 | $100 |
| Lymphatic Drainage | $40 | $65 | $90 |
| Foot Reflexology | $40 | $65 | $90 |
| Myofascial | $40 | $65 | $90 |
| Hot Rocks | $60 | $100 | $140 |
| Deep Tissue | $50 | $75 | $100 |
Links for Massage Therapists
Links to further descriptions of modalities: