Types of massage therapy
There are many types of massage therapy and related practices. Hopefully this list will give a better understanding of what they are.
Swedish Massage: a type of stroke used in a massage. It includes effleurage (long, gliding strokes), petrisage (kneading and squeezing strokes), and friction (used to produce heat or friction in a specific area). The purpose of Swedish massage is to spread lubricant (oil) and to warm the muscles up for deeper work.
Trigger point therapy: Muscles, especially over- or improperly worked ones, develope knots called trigger points. These form when the muscle sends a nerve mpulses to the brain saying "I hurt." The brain then sends a signal back telling the muscle to contract, to act as a sort of natural splint, to help prevent further injury. But this then makes the muscle hurt more, and the cycle continuse until you have a small, painful knot in the fibers of the muscle. One important thing that TPs (trigger points) do is refer pain to another area.
Myofascial Release (MFR): A type of massage stroke that releases adhesions (areas that are stuck together) between the fascia (the connective tissue that covers all organs, bones, and muscles and helps give them their shape) and the underlying muscle. These adhesions are also thought to be the precursor to the formation of trigger points.
Hot Stone Massage: A deep massage where stones heated to a temperature of about 140 degrees are used to massage the body. The stones are changed as quickly as they begin to cool down, to help heat the muscles and provide deep relaxation. The hot stones also can be used with chilled stones to provide contrast therapy.
Rolphing: Related to massage therapy, a rolpher uses very deep strokes to re-align the fascia . Great for re-aligning the soft tissues of the body.
Hydrotherapy: Any method of using water to heal the body. This includes, but is not limited to: hot compresses (hydrocolator packs), icing, cold sheet wraps, ginger fomentations (a towel stteped in strong, hot ginger tea is applied to the muscle to warm and relax it), hot foot soaks, and body treatments such as salt glows and mud wraps.
Aromatherapy: Essential oils are added to the massage oil. Their scent and chemical make-up can have different effects on the body and mind. See the Aromatherapy Page for a detailed list.
Cranio-sacral: The cerebral spinal fluid that flows through the spine and around the brain has its own pulse. In cranio-sacral work, it is brought back into synch, thereby easing tension and helping hte body repair itself.
Proprioceptive Neuromuscualr Facilitation (PNF): A method of stretching the muscles to cause the proprioceptors (small organelles in the muscle that relay information such as position of muscle, its speed of movement and the amount of stretch the fibers are experienceing) to "reset" themselves, giving the muscle more range of motion (ROM) and allowing the muscle fibers to fully relax.