Massage Therapy: What's the difference between all those techniques?
By Karen Skaggs
(Originally published in Total Health January 30, 1998)
With all the various types of bodywork today, is it any wonder that the average person is greatly confused about what type of treatment they need or want? Not really! If you're confused about what all those techniques do or involve, then the following list should help to inform you about the art of bodywork.
ACUPRESSURE: Based on the principals of acupuncture, practitioners of this ancient Chinese technique use finger pressure (rather than needles) on specific points along the body to treat tension and stress, aches and pains, menstrual cramps, or arthritis. The system is also used for general preventative health care, fighting colds, improving muscle tone, or boosting energy levels.
ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE: The Alexander Technique was developed by actor F. Matthias Alexander, who created the method after concluding that bad posture was responsible for his own chronic voice loss. Practitioners teach simple, effective movements designed to improve balance, posture and coordination, and relieve pain. Instructors offer gentle hands-on guidance and verbal instruction to retrain students in the optimal use of their bodies: A session may focus on movements as basic as getting up from a chair properly. The practice is popular with actors and musicians.
DEEP TISSUE BODYWORK: Deep tissue bodywork is a general term for a range of therapies that work to "unstick" the body's connective tissues and/or muscles to encourage them to function properly again. Among the conditions deep tissue bodywork treats are whiplash, lower back and neck pain, and degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis. (Examples of deep tissue bodywork include Rolfing and Hellerwork.
FELDENKRAIS: The Feldenkrais method combines movement training, gentle touch, and a verbal dialogue to help people create freer, more efficient movement. Feldenkrais takes two forms: In individual hands-on sessions ("Functional Integration"), the practitioner's touch is used to improve the subject's breathing and body alignment; and in a series of classes of slow, nonaerobic motions ("Awareness Through Movement") subjects "relearn" the proper ways their bodies should move. The method is frequently used to reduce stress and tension, to alleviate chronic pain, and to help athletes and others improve their balance and coordination.
HELLERWORK: Developed by a former aerospace engineer (and one-time Rolf Institute president) Joseph Heller, this technique combines deep-tissue muscle therapy and movement reeducation with dialogue about the emotional issues that may underlie a physical posture. (For example, feelings of insecurity may manifest themselves in stooped shoulders.) Recipients go through eleven sixty to ninety minute sessions. The first session, "Inspiration," addresses the rib cage area and focuses on breathing. Stressing the mind-body connection, Hellerwork is used to treat chronic pain or to help "well" people learn to live more comfortable in their bodies.
INFANT MASSAGE: Taught to new parents by trained instructors, infant massage practices are designed to enhance the bonding between parents and baby. As preventative therapy, infant massage can help strengthen and regulate the baby's regulatory, circulatory, and gastrointestinal functions, often relieving gas and colic, while relaxing both parents and child.
JIN SHIN JYUTSU: Jin Shin Jytsu is an oriental system intended to harmonize the flow of energy through the body. The body holds that tension, fatigue, or illness and can trap energy in the body's twenty-six "safety energy locks." Practitioners use their hands to restore balance and reduce stress. Jin Shin Jyutsu is not a form of massage, however, it does involve physical manipulation of the muscles.
KINESIOLOGY: Kinesiology is a diagnostic system based on the premise that individual muscle functions can be used to provide information about a patient's overall health. Practitioners test the strength and the mobility of certain muscles, analyze posture and gait, and inquire about lifestyle factors that may be contributing to an illness. Nutrition, muscle and joint manipulation, and diet and exercise may then be used as part of a treatment plan. Kinesiology is used by professionals licensed to diagnose, such as chiropractors, dentists, medical doctors, and osteopaths.
MASSAGE THERAPY: This is a general term for a range of therapeutic approaches with roots in Eastern and Western cultures. It involves the practice of kneading or otherwise manipulating a person's muscles and other soft tissue with the intent of improving a person's well-being of health.
MUSCULAR THERAPY: This general term incorporates a range of bodywork methods and practices that have a therapeutic (not simply relaxing) intent. Practitioners stress client education and follow-up. Among the conditions muscular therapy addresses are chronic back pain, headaches, tension, and emotional illnesses.
NEUROMUSCULAR THERAPY: Neuromuscular therapy emphasizes the role of the brain, spine, and nerves in muscular pain. One goal of the therapy is to relieve tender congested spots in muscle tissue and compressed nerves that may radiate pain to other areas of the body.
OHASHIATSU: Ohashiatsu is a system of physical techniques, exercise, and meditation used to relieve tension and fatigue and induce a state of harmony and peace. The practitioner first accesses a person's state by feeling the hara (the area below the navel). Then, using continuous and flowing movements, the practitioner presses and stresses the body's energy channels, working in unison with the person's breathing.
ORTHO-BIONOMY: Developed by a British osteopath, Ortho-Bionomy involves the use of noninvasive, gentle touch along with dialogue and instruction in common movements such as walking, sitting, standing, and reaching. Practitioners may also sometimes work with the energy field surrounding the person. The goal of the work is the student's enhanced well-being and empowerment, rather than physical healing.
POLARITY: Polarity is a system that holds that energy fields and currents exist throughout nature and that the flow and balance of this energy in the human body is the underlying foundation of health. In a polarity session, the practitioner may use bodywork and guidance in diet, exercise, and lifestyle to help balance this energy, release blocked energy, and support healing. Among the conditions Polarity can be used for are back and neck pain, stress and fatigue, and menstrual pain.
REFLEXOLOGY: Reflexology is a system that holds that specific points on the feet and hands correspond with organs and tissues throughout the body. With fingers and thumbs, the practitioner applies pressure to treat a wide range of stress-related illnesses and ailments.
REIKI: Practitioners of this ancient Tibetan healing system use light hand placements to channel healing energies to the recipient. While practitioners may vary widely on technique and philosophy, Reiki can be used commonly to treat emotional and mental distress, chronic and acute physical problems, and to assist the recipient in achieving spiritual focus and clarity.
ROLPHING: Developed by biochemist Ida P. Rolf, this technique uses deep manipulation of the fascia (connective tissue) to restore the body's natural alignment, which may have become rigid through injury, emotional trauma, and inefficient movement habits. The process involves ten sessions, each focussing on a different part of the body. Rolf practitioners are certified through the Rolf Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
ROSEN METHOD: Developed by former physical therapist Marion Rosen, the Rosen method combines gentle touch and verbal communication to evoke relaxation and self-awareness. Because the work can bring up buried feelings and memories, it is used as a tool for personal growth as well as pain relief.
SHIATSU: The most widely known form of Acupressure, Shiatsu has been used in Japan for more than 1,000 years to treat pain and illness and for general health maintenance. Using a series of techniques, practitioners apply rhythmic finger pressure at specific points on the body in order to stimulate chi, or vital energy.
STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION: A systematic approach to relieving patterns of stress and impaired functioning, structural integration seeks to correct misalignments in the body created by gravity and physical and psychological trauma. As in Rolfing, in ten sessions the practitioner uses hands, arms, and elbows to apply pressure to the fascia or connective tissue, while the client participates through direct breathing.
SWEDISH MASSAGE: The most commonly practiced form of massage practiced in Western countries, Swedish massage integrates ancient oriental techniques with modern principals of anatomy and physiology. Practitioners rub, knead, pummel, brush, and tap the muscles. The reported physiological effects - ranging from relief of back spasms to relief of sleep disorders - have been traced to improved circulation and release of endorphins, the hormones known as the body's natural painkillers. Swedish massage is widely practiced. Thus practitioners will range greatly in training, technique, and length of session.
THERAPEUTIC TOUCH: Popularized by nursing professor Dolores Kreiger, therapeutic touch is practiced by registered nurses and others to relieve pain and stress. The practice is based on the premise that the human body is an open system of energies that are in constant flux and that illness is caused by a deficit or an imbalance of these energies. The Therapeutic Touch practitioner "assesses" where the person's field is weak or congested and then uses his or her hands to direct energy into the field to balance it.
TOUCH FOR HEALTH: A self-help technique taught by instructors, Touch for Health is a system of balancing the body's energy by applying gentle pressure to contracted muscles and other points along the body. Regular balancing is used to improve overall health and strengthen resistance to common ailments and physical complaints.
TRAGER: Developed by Milton Trager, M.D., this body-awareness approach uses rocking and shaking to loosen the joints and ease movement. During a session, the practitioner cradles and moves the client's stiff limbs to retrain the body's old pattern of movement and prevent problems from reoccurring. The Trager approach is used by athletes for performance enhancement and by people with musculoskeletal problems, back problems, and more.
TRIGGER POINT / MYOTHERAPY: Practitioners of this technique apply pressure to specific points on the body to relieve tension. Trigger points are tender, congested spots on muscle tissue that may radiate pain to other areas. Though the technique is similar to Shiatsu or Acupressure, this therapy uses Western anatomy and physiology as its basis.
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