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Massage is the practice of manipulation of the soft tissues of the body in order to fulfil any of several physical, functional/mechanical, and/or emotional goals. The target tissues may include muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, joints, or other connective tissue, as well as, lymphatic vessels, and/or organs of the gastrointestinal system. There are many beneficial effects of massage, including pain relief and stress reduction. Theories behind what massage might do include blocking pain signals to the brain (gate control theory), activating the parasympathetic nervous system, stimulating the release of endorphins and serotonin, preventing fibrosis or scar tissue, increasing the flow of lymph, and improving sleep. The three main techniques that are predominantly used in massage therapy are effleurage, petrissage and frictions. Effleurage consists of a variety of stroking movements, usually carried out with the whole palm of the hand and fingers, which may be used with varying pressure. Petrissage, or kneading, is used on deeper tissues for mobilising fluids, stretching muscle fibres, and inducing relaxation. Frictions may be used for deeper movements aimed at breaking down lesions, separating muscle fibres, and even breaking down recent scar tissue. When injuries to muscle tissue occur the fibres often heal misaligned. Our muscles are covered by a layer connective tissue called fascia. This fascia covers all the individual muscle fibres, the larger bundles of muscles and the whole muscle groups. It is one continuous piece of tissue that never stops growing and covers our whole body. Normally, when covering healthy, moving muscle it is a soft, gel like substance. However, when our muscle movement is restricted, in the case of injury or postural misalignment, tissue fluids cannot reach the areas they need to, to lubricate the fascia. The fascia begins to become hard and scar tissue forms, further trapping waste products of muscle use. This causes pain and dysfunction as the body tries to remedy the situation, often by setting up a series of structural compensations, which can lead to further pain and problems. Sports massage is often combined with remedial massage. This uses similar techniques to assist the healing and rehabilitation of injuries and dysfunction, as well as to facilitate movement. In this way a sports and remedial massage becomes just as relevant to an office worker, crippled by an unsuitable desk arrangement as it is to an Olympic athlete suffering a torn hamstring! At the Forge Clinic we think that an accurate diagnosis is imperative to helping you get the right treatment for your problem. Due to this our massage therapists may ask you to consult with one of the Forge Clinic’s Physiotherapists or Osteopaths to help assist in this or administer a more technical treatment plan.
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