2. The need for human touch
Massage therapy has been in use for more than 3000 years. It is believed
that massage therapy not only relieved muscle soreness but also healed
the spirit. It is eminent that greater the advancement in technology,
greater the need of human touch, as advancement in technology
contributed stress. Human touch is as important as air, water and food
3. What is Massage therapy?
• A relaxation technique; the manipulation of skin, muscles, ligaments, and
connective tissue for the purpose of releasing muscle tension and
increasing physical comfort of musculature and surrounding joints.
4. What does
research
say about
massage therapy?
• McKechnie and his colleagues studied
about massage therapy and found out
that massage therapy helped in
reducing resting heart rate, muscle
tension and skin resistance
• Weinberg et al (1988) conducted a
research to find out the combined
effects of massage therapy and
exercise on college students. The
results indicated that college student
who exercised and received massage
therapy maintained high levels of
energy and had reduced muscle
tension, fatigue, anxiety, depression
and ange
5. What are the most popular types of
massage?
• Shiatsu,
• Swedish,
• Rolfing,
• Myofascial release
• sports massage.
6. What are the benefits?
• Increased blood and lymph flow
• General sense of well being
• Emotional well being (emotional well being is closely tied to physical
health)
• Increased flexibility
• Decreased muscle tension
7. What is the science behind it?
• The most notable effect after massage therapy is overall relaxation. The
application of touch at the site of tense muscles increases neural reflex
activity which in turn dilates the blood vessels and increases blood flow.
This increase in blood supply apparently decreases neural drive through
the afferent neural mechanism.
• In effect, this desensitizes the nerve ending receiving messages from the
brain, thus decreasing muscle tension. Massage cleans the metabolic
wastes through gentle pumping of the circulatory and lymphatic systems.
• The effects of massage therapy on musculoskeletal and neuromuscular
systems are widely accepted such as increased flexibility and decreased
muscle tension.
8. Calm…soothe…Hydrate..
At Maya Physical therapy (serving Davie, Cooper city and Hollywood), our
massage therapist are trained in sport massage, Swedish massage,
reflexology, deep tissue massage, hot stone massage, and ayurvedic oil
massage and truly enjoys helping others to relaxing mind and body.