What is Massage Therapy?

Massage therapy is the use of specific techniques, to manipulate tissue. It is the role of the practitioner to make an assessment using a health history consent form, postural appraisal, palpation, and when necessary, orthopedic testing, to better understand the needs of the client.

Massage therapy may be used on healthy tissue to increase muscle flexibility and decrease stress levels. It is also very useful on areas which have experienced a pathology or trauma. The techniques used will help reduce the amount of pain, decrease the amount of fibrous adhesion, relax muscles, decrease the amount of spasm, and improve the resting length of muscles. It can also increase respiratory function, with manipulation of the relevant breathing muscles. Massage improves circulation, directly affecting both the vascular and lymphatic system.

Massage is indicated for many pathologies: