Tag Archive for: Massage Therapy Training

Massage Therapy

Massage Therapy vs. Chiropractic Therapy

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If you are anything like me, you probably prefer staying away from providers of conventional Western medicine as much as possible and I cannot say that I blame you. Although I have full medical coverage for that “you never know when you might need it” time of my life, I have not seen any of my doctors in well over ten years, and I hope to continue not seeing them for the rest of my life.

Please do not miss understand me and think that I am some sort of superhuman creature who never gets ill. I do have my weak moments of pain and sniffles just like everyone else, or at least everyone else who takes good care of him or herself. So, when my body seems to need a boost, I visit one of my two favorite practitioners of alternative medicine; my massage therapist or my chiropractor.

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I know that it all sounds very simple and straight forward but it is, in fact, somewhat challenging at times, because I do not always know which one of these wonderful professional to seek out. So, I often first opt to visit my chiropractor for a good therapeutic session of adjusting and aligning my skeletal structure and then, as an extra bonus to me and my one and only body.

I also make an appointment with my massage therapist for some hefty digging and rubbing. Between the two of them, I come out feeling like a million bucks although my finances are sadly depleted. I figure that we, my body and I, are worth it.

Now, you might ask and rightfully so, “What is the difference between a massage therapy and chiropractic therapy?” Well, I will be happy to tell you:

Chiropractic Therapy.

  • For the most part, chiropractic therapy focuses on the hard tissues such as the spine and other joints for adjusting and realignment. Chiropractors have some training in massage techniques but that is never their first and foremost priority.
  • Chiropractors are authorized to make medical diagnosis, order x-rays or blood works.
  • Chiropractors cannot prescribe conventional medications but they can sell supplements or homeopathic remedies.
  • Chiropractors do not need medical referrals to perform their work.

Massage Therapy.

  • Massage therapists perform wonderful work on the soft body tissues such as the muscles, tendons and ligaments but they have not been trained nor are they licensed to adjust the spine or any other joints.
  • Massage therapists may not legally make medical diagnosis, order x-rays or any blood work.
  • Massage therapists are not permitted to dispense medications of Western medicine but they can and do provide or recommend alternative herbal remedies.
  • Massage Therapists do not required referrals from anyone to conduct their massage sessions.

A highly acclaimed national non-profit magazine recently conducted a study in which more than 34,000 participants in the United States were asked to rate which alternative treatments worked best for their two biggest health problems for the past two years and the overwhelming majority voted just as I would have; for deep tissue massage therapy and chiropractic therapy in equal measures for such conditions as back pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, respiratory problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression, insomnia and prostate problems.

Of course, as far as alternative medicine is concerned, one should not discount acupuncture and reflexology for they too are beneficial in their own very special ways.

Massage Therapy

Massage Therapy for Senior Citizens

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With the baby boomers aging and with the help of higher technology and greater innovations in medicine and geriatric science, life is not merely being prolonged but more and more senior citizens today have the opportunity to take advantage of more quality life than ever before.

This translates into a generation of more senior citizens of more advanced ages living among us, and that is, in my opinion a very good thing.

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National demographic studies tell us that nearly 40 million Americans are currently 65 years of age or older and over 2,000 more reach age 65 every single day. To accommodate the ever grown demand for massage therapy among senior citizens, many massage therapists are choosing to expand their expertise by studying the art of age-specific massage therapy which is often referred to as senior’s massage or geriatric massage.

For the most part, massage therapy for citizens is extremely beneficial and of utmost importance to relieve the aches, the pains, the stiffness and the great number of health condition which are so often associated with aging; such as inflammations in the joints; arthritis; skin discoloration and other dermatological conditions; deteriorating muscles and bones; fading eyesight and loss of hearing, reduced appetite and therefore weight loss, poor blood circulation; sleep disorders; weakened mental capacity, tendinitis; bursitis; asthma; emphysema; high blood pressures; diminished functions of the internal vital organs such as the heart, the liver, the brain, the thyroid, the stomach and the intestines; and so much more.

Most importantly, however, lonely and isolated, depressed, anxious and fearful senior citizens derive priceless valuable benefits from the simple pleasure of the caressing human touch and the intimate companionship afforded them during massage therapy sessions.

The Weaver’s Tale Retreat Center in the State of Oregon recently conducted a two-year study examining the effects of massage therapy for senior citizens and they found that at least 50 percent of the elderly who were tested showed a reduction in their rates of breathing, an increase in their range of motion, an improvement of their postures, development of more body awareness, their skin took on healthier colors and their muscle tones were enhanced. The same study also showed that 100 percent of the senior citizen who were tested showed a dramatic improvement in their moods and their attitudes toward life in general.

Massage therapy for senior citizens does not differ in technique but it does differ, and it differs greatly in the application of that technique, whichever that technique may be. In other words, just about any of the different massage techniques can be used on senior citizen but they must be modified enough to accommodate the facts that, very often, the skin of senior citizens have become thinner while growing much less pliable and much more easily broken, their bones are thinner and more brittle, their joints are more stiff with reduced range of mobility, their blood vessels are more prominent and closer to the surface of the skin and their overall health, vigor and vitality have been downgraded through the years.

Taking all that into consideration, extra care musts be taken when positioning them on the massage tables, they should never be expected to perform the same movements as younger adults, and wheelchair-bound or bedridden senior should get their massage treatments while remaining seated in their chairs or reclining in their beds.

Most massages for senior citizens are limited to anywhere from thirty to forty five minutes because the elderly seem to respond better to shortened sessions with greater frequency. Furthermore, greater time is usually spent on massaging their hands and feet than any other part of their bodies. That is especially true for those senior who have lost the use of their hands and feet as massaging them will enhance their body awareness as well as increase sensations and blood circulation throughout.

We all need plenty of TLC (tender love and care) but The potential risks involved in performing massage therapy on cancer patients do not inevitably discard the entire concept of massage therapy but it does mean that extra caution must be practiced and, perhaps, moderate to extreme alteration of the treatment is in order. And the health risks are the following:citizens need and deserve quite a bit more of it.

Massage Therapy

Risks of Massage Therapy

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By and large, massage therapy that is performed by a properly schooled and well experienced massage therapist who practices his or her art prudently and with due caution, is risk free to its recipient’s health and well being. For that reason along, if for no other, massage therapists must be selected very carefully as credentials and licenses are scrutinized meticulously, references are checked with diligence and questions are asked relentlessly.

Regardless of how it is phrased or worded, one question which must always be asked of a potential massage therapist is the following, “Which health conditions would you consider pre-clusive of massage therapy and why?” And the correct answer, whether stated in exactly those words or different ones, should be, “There are certain health conditions which must rule out massage therapy and those are …” And he or she must name the following:

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Cancer. Massage therapy comes in different forms which affect the body differently. There are also many different types of cancers and patients may be at different stages and receiving different treatments. In some cases and certain types of massage therapy may lead to life threatening results while in other cases with another type of massage therapy the results may be extraordinarily beneficial. Because of such complexity, it is essential to consult with the medical provider who knows the particulars of the case in question before proceeding with a massage therapy of any kind.

The potential risks involved in performing massage therapy on cancer patients do not inevitably discard the entire concept of massage therapy but it does mean that extra caution must be practiced and, perhaps, moderate to extreme alteration of the treatment is in order. And the health risks are the following:

  • Fractures of bones. Certain forms of cancer and their treatments weaken bones to the extent that they can easily break under pressure.
  • Bleeding. Many cancer patients have the tendency to bleed easily. Deep tissue massage can cause dangerous internal bleeding.
  • Spreading of cancerous tumors. There is an ongoing debate about the effects of massage therapy on tumors. Some claim that applying vigorous pressure to the area where the tumor is present will cause it to metastasis (break down and to spread or to increase its rate of growth). Others, however, deny that claim as unsubstantiated and untrue. It is best to play it safe and not massage the tumor region or its surrounding soft tissues.
  • Lymphedema (the buildup of lymph in soft tissue which leads to swelling of the limbs). Certain types of massage therapy in patients who have had their lymph nodes removed due to cancer may lead to lymphedema.
  • Flu-like symptoms. Patients who are going through chemotherapy can often develop symptoms which look and feel like the flu after having been treated to certain types of massage therapy.
  • Pain. Cancer patients frequently suffer a great deal of pain and most massage therapy techniques can result in some temporary pain immediately after the treatment. That may translate to added pain when too much of it is already present and that can be quite literally unbearable.
  • Post-surgery. Shortly after surgery, the wound is still in the process of healing visually on the surface of the skin as well as internally. Applying pressure to the site may cause a series of risky health problems such as reopening the incision, trigger internal and/or external bleeding or blood clotting, and so on.
  • Skin conditions. Areas where the skin is infected, inflamed or covered with rashes or sores should not be massaged as it can lead to worsening of the condition.

Even when taking into account all the risks which have been mentioned above, massage therapy can still be very beneficial to most people in most situations. Rather than discounting it completely due to specific concerns, I would advise consulting a physician.

Massage Therapy

Massage Therapy

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Massage therapy is just one persuasion from a wide array of other very effective and closely related persuasions such as Acupressure, Body Work, Manipulative Therapy, Manual Lymphatic Drainage, Structural Integration, Alternative Medical Systems, Mind-Body Intervention, Biologically Based Therapy, Energy Therapy, Shiatsu and Tui Na.

And all these as a group come under the wide umbrella of alternative medicine and body-based methods. Massage Therapy is a procedure in which various methods are utilized to manipulate soft tissues of the subject’s body such as the muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, joints, connective tissues as well as the lymphatic vessels and organs of the gastrointestinal system.

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The primary goal of Massage Therapy is to affect physical, psychological and functional curative changes by performing manipulative functions which involve moving or stationery pressure, structured or unstructured force to strategic points, vibration, stroking, kneading, and so on.

On occasion, mechanical devices are used as tools of the trade, but for the most part, Massage Therapy is applied manually with the therapist’s hands, fingers, elbows, forearms and feet as the subject is fully clothed in a massage chair or partially to totally naked but covered with a towel on a massage table or on a mat on the floor.

Ancient scriptures have attested to the fact that massage therapy dates back into antiquity and it has been a fundamental practice in many different cultures such as the Roman, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Indian. Even Biblical writings from c. 493 BC speak of daily massage with olive oil and myrrh being applied to the wives of Xerxes (Esther, 2:9-12) as part of their daily beauty routine. Hippocrates of Cos, a Greek physician of the fourth century BC who is also considered the “father of medicine” and after whose teachings the famous Hippocratic Oath was named, wrote that “The physician must be experienced in many things, but assuredly in rubbing.”

Advancing to more modern times, Massage Therapy gained its popularity in the United States when it was presented by two physicians from New York in the 1800s. Their techniques were an adaptation from the Per Henrik Ling Massage Therapy which was developed in Sweden. With the introduction of new and exciting innovations in medicine during the 1930s and 1940s, the popularity of Massage Therapy waned but was revived again by the athletic community in the 1960s and 1970’s. Massage Therapy was provided as a central medical service for the first time in the United States during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Etymologically speaking, the word “massage” in English comes from a long line of derivatives as follows: the French word “massage” which means “the friction of kneading,” which comes from the Arabic word “massa” which means “to touch, feel or handle,” which comes from the Latin word “massa” which means “mass or dough.” The Greek word for “massage” is “anatripsis” and the Latin word is “firctio.” However, the oldest known origin of the English word “massage” comes from the Biblical Hebrew word “me-sakj” which means “to anoint with oil.”

What we refer to as Massage Therapy today has in the past been merely referred to as Massage. However, the “therapy” portion of the Massage Therapy came into being only when the illegal prostitution and sexual services in the United States began advertising themselves and their wares as “massage.” Wanting to distinguish itself, the legitimate massage became Massage Therapy while the illicit continued to be called massage.