01/09/2021
Massage is well known in ancient history practice, that's even in modern-day taking place in our life. Today I will explain why it's so popular and show how it works.
First of all, let's start from the definition: Massage - is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Actually, that’s it. Masseur just applies different manual techniques or devices on the surface of the body.
One of the main purposes of using massage is to relax muscle tension (about which we talked in previous posts). Obviously, it’s not the only reason for massage but today we will concentrate only on this specific goal.
In most EU one of the main types of massage is called “classic massage” or “Swedish massage”. Both of them share the same approach to patients with muscle tension and we will discuss it right now.
The list of manual techniques can range from country or author but it’s more or less stick to one basis.
1. Stroking - main technique. Probably every type of massage starts from slow gentle stroking that helps to prepare the patient for a sense of touch and gives the masseur a first impression about the patient's soft tissue condition.
2. Friction - fast and repetitive moves on the surface of the skin that allow to release of heat and increase blood circulation in massaged areas.
3. Kneading - in classic massage, this technique takes the most percentage of the time. It’s comparable with squeezing the muscle. That technique allows it to move: intracellular fluid, lymph, and blood from squished space. And this temporary emptiness is fulfilled with new arterial blood that helps to increase the regeneration process.
4. Tapping - this technique affects underlying tissues the most. Usually, intensive tapping can cause involuntary muscle contraction but the benefit is that tapping rapidly decreases pain sensation and increase blood flow. It's often used in an attempt to prepare someone for physical activity, mainly in sports massage.
5. Vibration - now this technique can be performed with the use of vibration tools so effects really will depend on friction and intensity. Usually, vibration by hand takes the smallest part of massage because it's hard to perform but it causes the reflective relaxation of muscle fibers.
All of the above are 101 explanations of how massage works. Everyone who is familiar with this topic can correct or complete this short explanation. But my goal is to explain such a complicated theme for the common users of massage.
If you find this post useful, please like it and you are welcome to ask any questions in the comments. Stay healthy.