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| Swedish massage uses five styles of long, flowing strokes to massage. The five basic strokes are effleurage (light touch), petrissage (kneading), tapotement (rhythmic tapping), friction (compression), and vibration. Swedish massage has shown to be helpful in reducing pain, joint stiffness, and improving function in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee over a period of eight weeks. The development of Swedish massage is credited to Per Henrik Ling though the Dutch practitioner Johan Georg Mezger adopted the French names to denote the basic strokes |
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| Also called a pressure point massage, this involves stimulating hypothetical trigger points that may refer pain sensations to other parts of the body. Manual pressure is applied to these points. Trigger point therapy was founded by Janet G. Travell and David Simons. |
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| Myofascial release refers to the manual massage technique for stretching the fascia and releasing bonds between fascia, integument, and muscles with the goal of eliminating pain, increasing range of motion and equilibrioception. Myofascial release usually involves applying shear compression or tension in various directions, or by skin rolling. |
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| When muscle length and tension are altered, the ability of the joint can be severely disrupted. For example – when people sit for long periods of time at computer workstations, their muscles can shorten resulting in sore and tiredness in the surrounding muscles and joints.
Remedial massage therapists are trained at observing deviations in resting muscle and their associated joints to alleviate the problems and therefore return the joint to its functional resting position. |
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Back pain is one of the common reasons why people visit their GP. Back pain can be caused by muscle strains, ligament sprains, disc problems, injury or disease.
Remedial massage therapy takes a holistic approach to treating back pain. The first step is prevention so the back pain doesn’t worsen. A remedial massage therapist first helps you to identify the cause of your back pain so any triggers can be eliminated from your environment. Remedial massage then works on back pain by releasing the muscle spasms that are causing the pain. As the muscles relax, normal spinal function, movement and mobility is restored which adds balance to the spine’s structure. With all these functions restored to their normal state, you’ll find you are able to move properly and your body stays healthy through movement. Remedial massage promotes better circulation and supply of oxygen and nutrients to muscles, joints and nervous system and also gives a boost to the immune system that can aid repair and recovery from injury or disease. |
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Massage before an event can be an integral component of the pre-event preparation for many athletes. Pre-event massage can create a state of readiness in the muscles and tissues so that the athlete's performance can be optimized. Whilst some therapists consider that a pre-event massage can take place up to 48 hours before an event, most Sports Massage therapists judge that, strictly speaking a pre-event massage is one given just before the time an athlete is scheduled to compete (ideally 15-45 minutes before the event). This article will concentrate on massage immediately prior to the event.
Sports massage cana also be used to prevent and relieve injuries and sore conditions that are associated with exercise. It can often be quite strenuous and is meant to relieve and reduce the stress and tension that can build up in the body’s soft tissues while exercising. Sports massage also helps in strengthening the musco skeletal system. It can be carried before, or after sport with techniques and styles that are designed to increase performance, reduce the possibility of injury and, if injury occurs, reduce recovery time. |
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