Massage Therapy For Health

Massage is known to increase the circulation of blood and flow of lymph. The direct mechanical effect of rhythmically applied manual pressure and movement used in massage can dramatically increase the rate of blood flow. Also, the stimulation of nerve receptors causes the blood vessels (by reflex action) to dilate, which also facilitates blood flow.

Therapies

Manual vibratory massage is part of the preventive physiotherapeutic activities performed in intensive care units. The vibratory massage can be performed manually or as electro vibratory massage. The manual massage is a fast rhythmical vibration performed by the arm and shoulder muscles of the masseur and transferred to the patient's thorax by the hand. The hand of the masseur has to achieve a tremor with a frequency of 8 to 11 tremors/s. The aim of the pilot study was to examine the influence of manual vibratory massage on the pulmonary function of postoperative patients who were receiving mechanical ventilation, with special interest being focused on pulmonary ventilation and perfusion and cerebral blood flow velocity.

Therapeutic massage can be used to promote general well-being and enhance self-esteem, while boosting the circulatory and immune systems to benefit blood pressure, circulation, muscle tone, digestion, and skin tone. It has been incorporated into many health systems, and different massage techniques have been developed and integrated into various complementary therapies.

Massage Therapy, a combination of science and art, provides a relaxing experience by artistic hand strokes on the body to rejuvenate the mind and body and eliminate stress scientifically. The concept of massage is evident throughout history.

Long-term stress inhibits the balancing process by denying the body the opportunity and interrupting the cycle. Chronic long-term stress, often self-imposed by modern work pressures, economic and social aspirations coupled with environmental stress of urban living maintain imbalance with all its attendant problems.

In trigger point massage (also called pressure point massage), the therapist uses a variety of strokes but applies deeper, more focused pressure on myofascial trigger points--"knots" that can form in the muscles, are painful when pressed, and cause symptoms elsewhere in the body as well.

A therapist giving a deep tissue massage uses patterns of strokes and deep finger pressure on parts of the body where muscles are tight or knotted, focusing on layers of muscle deep under the skin.

Regular massage strengthens and tones the entire body system. It can stimulate or alternately calm the nervous system, help to ease tension, stiffness and pain leaving the recipient with an enhanced sense of well being.

Touch is the core ingredient of massage therapy and also combines science and art. Practitioners learn specific techniques for massage and use their sense of touch to determine the right amount of pressure to apply to each person and locate areas of tension and other soft-tissue problems.

Your body prepares for action: your muscles tense, your heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure all increase, your liver dumps sugar into your blood stream for energy, and your adrenal glands pump adrenaline into your system. Your body also shuts down the digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems, which are not needed for immediate.

Aromatherapy massages take place in a spa. The session begins with you undressing and being draped with towels to cover any areas not being treated by the rubdown. The masseuse will combine essential oil with base oil in order to produce aromatic oil, which will be used during the session. Different aromatherapy essential oils include: lavender, vanilla, peppermint, eucalyptus and sandalwood. The base oil may be grape seed oil, apricot oil or almond oil.