Massage – A Tried and True Method - Part 1

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, massage therapy is a practice dating back thousands of years. References to its uses have been found in ancient writings from Greece, Rome, Japan, China, and Egypt.

Massage therapy first became popular in North America in the mid-1800s. It was done for a variety of health reasons, and complemented with the mineral essentials of natural hot spring resorts so fashionable at the time. In the 1930s however, because of advancements in other medical treatments at the time, massage therapy fell out of general favor. However, in the 1970s it made a return, due in part to athletes who discovered its benefits in preparing for, or recovering from, strenuous workouts.

Massage is used in both conventional and alternative medicine therapies. There are more than 80 different types of massage therapy.

The well-known Swedish massage uses long strokes, kneading, and finger pressure on tight or knotted muscles. Trigger point massage uses deeper, more focused pressure on knots that form in muscles. Shiatsu massage applies varying, rhythmic pressure from the fingers on parts of the body that are believed to be key to the flow of vital energy called chi.

In all types of massage, therapists apply pressure and movement mostly with the use of their hands and fingers. However, forearms, elbows, and feet may also be a part a therapist's technique.

Why Massage Therapy?

Experts estimate that nearly ninety percent of disease is stress related. Now more than ever it's imperative that people make the most of self-care options to help decrease and manage stress levels. Massage, the application of soft-tissue manipulation techniques to the body, has been shown to reduce stress and fatigue while improving circulation.

People are often stressed in our culture. Stress-related disorders make up between 80 to 90 percent of the ailments that bring people to family-practice physicians. One of the complaints heard frequently is that physicians don't touch their patients any more. Years ago, massage was a big part of nursing. Now nurses for the most part are as busy as physicians.

In a Massage Journal interview, Dr. Joan Borysendko states, "I believe massage therapy is absolutely key to the healing process not only in the hospital environment but because it relieves stress. It is obviously foundational in the healing process anytime and anywhere."

Kinesio taping

At this time of the year we have several runners and triathletes coming in with an assortment of injuries. Most of these injuries involve the legs, low back or shoulder, a treatment modality we have been using with some success is Kinesio taping. Below is a short write up we found.

Kinesio tape...It's magic tape to several of my patients!
By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY
There is an entirely different school of taping. It uses just a few strips of placed elastic, cotton tape. No encasing.Called kinesio taping, it originated in Japan about three decades ago. There are kinesio taping procedures for all sorts of muscle and joint problems. The tape is meant to be left on for several days.Kinesio taping for lower back pain, for example, involves two vertical strips on each side of the spine and one horizontal strip over the strained area."There is a method to the madness," says John Jarvis, director of the Kinesio Taping Association, a division of Albuquerque,-based Kinesio USA, a company which imports kinesio tape from Japan for sale in the USA and Canada.Jarvis says kinesio taping "corrects muscle function, improves circulation of blood and lymph, repositions the joint and relieves pain."The placing of the tape along muscles is aimed at assisting movement. "As the muscle fibers contract, Kinesio Tape supports the contraction by pulling and stimulating the skin and muscle back towards the origin," the Kinesio Taping Association says in its literature. It says the lifting of the skin by the tape (which has adhesive activated by body heat) allows lymph to drain more freely."It's completely different from what they (athletic trainers) were trained to do." says Jarvis. "They were going to immobilize something. This is encouraging range of motion."Kinesio USA originally had tape that came in hot pink and blue. It has added beige and black to accommodate teams that don't want it to clash with their colors.In his 2003 book Every Second Counts, Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong noted his team used "a special hot-pink athletic tape that came from Japan and seemed to have magical powers."Armstrong added: "Sometimes we'd be so wrapped up in hot-pink tape that we'd look like dolls, a bunch of broken dolls But the tape worked, so we kept it, because it could fix things."Jarvis says, "The Lance thing really helped us" and that kinesio taping has the attention of athletic trainers.

If you think Kinesio taping maybe of benefit to you, please call to book in an appointment at 905-209-1005