On top of making you feeling great and leaving you stress free, massage can help you in managing several chronic health problems. Massage reduces stiffness in your muscles and joints, which could help boost your flexibility and mobility (both essential to healthy ageing) and ease conditions such as insomnia, fatigue, and lack of focus.
Research shows that massage can decrease stress hormones while increasing levels of endorphins, the feel-good brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, which could explain the therapy's positive effects on people with depression and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Massage therapy improves circulation by bringing oxygen and other nutrients to body tissues.
It relieves muscle tension and pain, increases flexibility and mobility, and helps clear lactic acid and other waste, which reduces pain and stiffness in muscles and joints.
Some of the conditions that might benefit from regular massage are:
- Back pain
- Inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and tendinitis
- Stress relief and stress-related conditions
- Headaches and migraines
- Muscle and related conditions such as spasms, strains and sprains
- Repetitive strain injury, such as carpal tunnel syndrome
- Circulatory and respiratory problems
- Post-injury and post surgical rehabilitation
So, massage therapy relieves stress: in fact it is thought that it helps the body's stress response by lowering levels of hormones such as cortisol. Massage therapy also appears to enhance immune function.
Massage techniques
There are various techniques or strokes used in order to achieve different results. Here you might familiarise with some of the names of the most commonly used ones that you will experience during a session.
Effleurage (gliding)
Effleurage is the main or principle stroke to warm up the muscles and to prepare the soft tissue for deeper treatment. This free-flowing continuous movement is done with the flat palm of one or both hands with steady pressure.
Fanning
This effleurage motion is used on the back, chest, legs and arms to stretch and manipulate tension away from the muscles.
Feathering
The feathering stroke is an extremely light stroke and is barely perceivable by the person receiving the massage, yet has a profoundly soothing effect.
Petrissage (kneading)
With petrissage specific muscle groups are worked where tissue is easily grasped, and can be performed superficially or deep. Deep petrissage is helpful in promoting circulation and to loosen muscle tightness.
Friction and pressure
Friction is mostly used around joints and helps to increase circulation and the masseur's fingers do not slide over the skin and in sports massage it is often referred to as cross-fiber stroking.
Vibrating
Using vibrating strokes uses the muscles of the masseur and can take the form of striking the body (especially bony areas) lightly with the fingertips or jostling the muscles (good for sore muscles) where the masseur places his/her hands on the person's body and shaking his/her hands while moving the hand along the muscle.
Tapotement (percussion)
These alternate drumming movements are normally performed on broad areas of the body, such as the back.
Pummelling
While forming a loose fist strike the body with the outer edge of the hand.
Hacking
Rapid chopping motions are performed with the outer edge of the hand, and the fingers slightly separated so as not to do a karate chop and is used mostly on the fleshy areas like upper shoulders or legs.
Cupping
The hands are cupped and the body is struck with the fingertips and the heels of the palms.
