Queen Street News Toronto

HEALTH : Therapeutic application of Massage Therapy
Most people today exercise for two
reasons: health and aesthetics. We're
all about promoting a healthy lifestyle
and we're big advocates of exercise.
The sole drawback, however, is that
most activities, everything from
running and spinning to yoga and Tai
Chi, can cause injury. Of course, there
are also a slew of hidden factors
including stress, poor circulation,
inflexibility, and improper ergonomics
that can contribute to the body's
physical pain manifestations.
Finally, there's the modern work
environment, an all-too-familiar cause
of injury for so many people—you've
probably noticed that sitting at a desk
all day in front of a computer screen is
taking a toll on your body. When you
combine each of these factors, it's
easy to understand why most
individuals complain of one type of
pain or another. According to the
president of the International
Association for the Study of Pain
(IASP), Eija Kalso, 70% of emergency
hospital visits are due to pain.
Over a period of time, I will share
valuable information on the positive
effects and positive benefits of
massage therapy; for example, how
it's used to prevent and treat chronic
pain and injuries. I will also provide
evidence of how massage therapy
affects non-activity-induced pain, as
well as many pathological conditions
ranging from Asthma to Hypertension.
You will quickly learn why massage
therapy is indeed for everyone.
Do you remember the last time you
had a massage? How did you feel, was
it positive or negative experience? Do
you know why you felt the way you did
after the massage therapy session? To
answer these questions, we first have
to know what is massage therapy and
how does it work.
According to the massage Therapy Act
1991, c.27.s.3, "[M]assage therapy is
the assessment of the soft tissues and
joints of the body. The treatment and
prevention of physical dysfunction and
pain …by manipulation to develop,
maintain, rehabilitate…or relieve
pain".
In spite of the lengthy definition, we
still notice that there is no mention of
massage therapy being just rubbing
the body, despite popular belief.
In fact, the key term in that
explanation is "manipulation”, and it is
on the premise of this term that I will
briefly explain to you what massage
therapy is and how it works.
First, I will give you my definition of
massage. "Massage is a manual
therapy in which the Therapist use his
or her fingers, knuckles, fist, palms,
forearms, elbows, knees and feet,
applied to the tissues of the body in a
specific manner to elicit a psychophysical
change within an individual".
How and when this change take place
depends predominantly on the skill of
the therapist; not whether massage
can produce this change.
As a student of life, I must first
concede that it is true when they say,
"massage affects your mind and
body". In his work, Dr. Still wrote: "a
student of life must take all parts of
life and study their uses and relation
to other parts of life and living
systems”—All Therapist, regardless of
their field, should seriously consider
this simple phrase as being
paramount in their treatment
planning. Therefore, keep in mind that
when you go to get a massage,
whether it is Thai, Shiatsu, or
Swedish, and you say you feel "relax",
it is primarily the result of the
therapist's consciously or
unconsciously manipulating the
systems of the body to produce the
psycho-physical experience.
I will not get into details of these
systems at this time. However, take
note that the skin is the largest organ
of the body, and that it is covered by
numerous neural receptors, which
serve as a transmitter that sends
messages to the brain that is also
connected to the nervous system.
Likewise, "the brain does not function
on its own, it uses the endocrine
system to secrete hormones which
elicit behavior".
One example of this phenomenon is
the soft tone of your voice when you
are relaxed
Now that I have taken your mind away
from thinking of massage as just
rubbing the body, I will proceed to
briefly explain how the sedated or
relaxed feeling happen.
The therapist performs some
techniques at the parasympathetic
centers of the body such as the neck.
Treatments of the neck, which is in
close proximity with the brain stem,
can facilitate the production and
release of Serotonin, and Serotonins
are produced in the brain stem.
Serotonin is known to regulate the
mood, and can, consequently, induce
a state of relaxation. It is as simple as
it looks; a neck treatment can chill you
out. Notwithstanding this, acquiring
the knowledge and the understanding
of such a fact may take some time and
effort. In conclusion, I will say that
massage therapy is unique in its
ability to manipulate the body's
systems. It is holistic in principle.
Massaging is the oldest and is the
most instinctual forms of healing. It
has been proven time after time that
massage is effective in treating
psycho-physical pain, bio-mechanical,
and physiological dysfunctions. In
future writings, I will illustrate how we
can use massage therapy to treat over
72 pathological conditions such as:
Athsma, Hypertension, Thoracic
outlet, and Carpal tunnel syndrome,
as well as many common conditions
we see in our day to daily lives.
Roland Plummer
www.esumassage.com
416 994 4106
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