Massage Therapy Essay

2392 Words10 Pages
Everyone craves human touch, whether someone wants to admit it or not, people thrive on it. Working out stress, kinks, and knots while promoting relaxation is what a good massage therapist does. Massage therapy is considered a woman’s profession because the field has been predominately female, and it doesn’t look like that is going to change anytime soon. Therapeutic massage can promote circulation, relax muscles, relieve pain, restore metabolic balance and reduce stress. There is evidence to suggest that massage was one of the first remedies for pain relief and the restoration of health to a body and is also said to be the most natural way of relieving pain and discomfort. In these societies, a special doctor or healer was a member of the group whose job was to give massages. In our society, massage therapy is becoming a more widely accepted medical practice by doctors and the general public. Massage therapy can provide relief from stress and many other physical ailments. The word massage comes from the words “macer” or “masser”, meaning “thank you” in French. Massage is defined as the systematic manual or mechanical manipulations of the soft tissues of the body by such movements as rubbing, pressing, kneading, rolling, or tapping for therapeutic purposes. Therapists use a combination of their hands, forearms, elbows and feet to massage muscles, connective tissue, tendons, and ligaments. Probably the most basic results in this field is that improved circulation is beneficial for virtually all known health conditions. The basic goal of massage is to help the body heal itself. Massage can improve breathing, relax muscles, and ease tension. Massage therapists use a variety of massage techniques to focus on superficial layers of muscle using massage oils or lotions. Massage is used to help premature babies gain weight and to lower blood pressure.

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