| HISTORY
Massage
may be the oldest and simplest form of medical care. Egyptian tomb paintings
show people being massaged, and ancient Chinese and Indian manuscripts refer to
its use in treating diseases and injuries. Greek and Roman physicians valued it
as a principal method of relieving pain: Julius Caesar was given a daily
massage to treat neuralgia. Hippocrates, the "father of medicine,"
wrote in the 5th century B.C., "The physician must be experienced in many
things, but assuredly in rubbing ... for rubbing can bind a joint that is too
loose, and loosen a joint that is too rigid."
Ayurveda,
the traditional Indian system of medicine, places great emphasis on the
therapeutic benefits of massage with aromatic oils and spices, but in the West
religious ambivalence about potential links between sin and the stimulation of
the senses gave massage a dubious image.
Doctors such as Ambroise Pare, a 16th-century
physician to the French court, praised massage as a treatment for various
ailments, but it was a Swedish gymnast, Per Henrik Ling, who restored
therapeutic massage to general favor throughout Europe
at the end of the 19th century. Physiotherapy, originally based on Ling's
methods, was established with the foundation in 1894 of the Society of Trained
Masseurs.
During World War I patients suffering from
nerve injury or shell shock were treated with massage. St.
Thomas's Hospital, London,
had a department of massage until 1934. However, later breakthroughs in medical
technology and pharmacology eclipsed massage as physiotherapists began
increasingly to favor electrical instruments over manual methods of stimulating
the tissues.
At the same time, some brothels were
masquerading as "massage parlors," and through this, massage acquired
unsavory connotations of prostitution.
This image is fading as awareness of the value
and therapeutic properties of massage grows. In both the US and UK nurses are bringing massage
therapy into conventional health care, and massage theory and practice are
being included in nursing degree programs. Increasingly, massage is used in
intensive care units, for children, elderly people, babies in incubators, and
patients with cancer, AIDS, heart attacks, or strokes. Most American hospices
have some kind of bodywork therapy available, and it is frequently offered in
health centers, drug treatment clinics, and pain clinics. A variety of massage techniques have also been
incorporated into several other complementary therapies, such as aromatherapy,
reflexology, Rolfing, Hellerwork, and osteopathy.
KEY PRINCIPLEs
All forms of touch are perceived through the
skin, which is the body's largest sensory organ. In the embryo, the sense of
touch is the earliest to develop, and human babies, in common with primates and
other mammals, thrive when in close contact with their mothers.
Thousands of specialized receptors in the
dermis (the second layer of skin) react to external stimuli, such as heat,
cold, and pressure, by sending messages through the nervous system to the
brain. Gentle massage or stroking can trigger the release of endorphins, the
body's natural pain-killers, and induce a feeling of comfort and well-being.
Stronger, more vigorous massage may help to stretch tense and uncomfortable
muscles and ease stiff joints, improving mobility and flexibility.
Massage can aid relaxation, directly affecting
the body systems that govern heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and
digestion. While not a cure for specific complaints, the resulting sense of
well-being from massage can lower the amount of circulating stress hormones,
such as cortisol and norepinephrine, that can weaken the immune system.
Psychologically,
massage releases tension and reduces anxiety so that people feel more serene
and better equipped to cope with the stresses of life. Awareness of the way in
which the mind and body interact can be heightened, thereby enabling people to
take greater responsibility for their personal well-being.
EVIDENCE & RESEARCH
An
extensive body of research now exists to support the therapeutic claims of
massage, much of it performed in the US at the Touch Research Institute
(TRI), University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida. A study at the TRI in
1986 revealed that premature babies who were stroked daily gained 47% more
weight, were more active, and left the hospital on average six days earlier
than nonstroked babies. In 1992 the Institute reported that teenagers
hospitalized with anorexia and bulimia expressed a better body image and less
anxiety and depression after massage. In 1993 TRI researchers found that when
HiV-positive men were massaged daily they produced more of the natural killer
cells that destroy invading bacteria and viruses, that asthmatic children
breathed more easily and suffered fewer attacks when massaged by their parents,
that in diabetic children, glucose levels fell to normal after four weeks of
massage, and that office workers who received a 15-minute midday back and
shoulder massage reported heightened alertness and showed lower stress hormone
levels.
In
trials at the Royal Marsden Hospital,
London, in
1995, massage was shown to reduce anxiety and improve quality of life in cancer
patients.
Massage
has also been shown to benefit the giver. At the Touch Research Institute in
1993, foster grandparents who gave shoulder massages to young abused children
reported improved self-esteem and less depression.
MEDICAL OPINION
Evidence
of the therapeutic advantages of massage, both in clinical studies and from
patient's reports, is so overwhelming that most doctors would endorse it. While
it may be seen as an adjunct to the usual medical methods, many doctors do not
think to recommend it routinely or to refer patients to a massage therapist.
CONSULTING
A PRACTITIONER
At your initial treatment, you will be asked
briefly about your medical history, lifestyle, and general state of health,
including any current medication.
Western
massage is usually given on a special table, but a futon mattress or thick
blanket on the floor can be used. For a whole body massage it is usual to
undress, though you may prefer to keep on your underwear. A towel is placed
over you, as much for warmth as for dignity, exposing only the relevant part of
the body to be
massaged.
At the end, you are covered up warmly and left to savor the experience for a
few minutes.
According
to the technique used and the degree and rhythm of the pressure, massage can
make you more alert or calm you down. It may even put you to sleep. Sometimes
massage can arouse temporary feelings of sadness or lightheadedness that ma; be
signs of emotional release.
Western
massage is based on Ling's techniques, but over the years variations have been
developed. Remedial massage, for instance, focuses on specific
conditions
such as muscle strains, while manual lymph drainage, a gentle, pumping massage,
aims to speed the removal of waste products by stimulating the lymphatic
system. Biodynamic massage concentrates
on releasing emotions or "bioenergy" believed to be trapped within
the body.
Eastern
massage includes acupressure techniques such as shiatsu, tuina, and
do-in that emphasize pressure rather
than stroking, and aim to balance energy forces in the body according to
Eastern philosophy.
Practitioners
usually work with a light vegetable oil or cream so that their hands glide over
the skin. Aromatic essential oils may be added.
To
begin a back massage, the practitioner may relax the body with gentle strokes.
She might then use other soothing techniques, such as circular or fanlike
strokes on the back and neck, followed by crisscrossing over the body with her
hands to create figure eights up and down the back, pulling up at the sides of
the body, and never pressing directly on the spine.
Keeping
the rest of the body covered, the practitioner works on the legs and feet, massaging
first one leg, then the other. Many of the movements can be applied to both the
front and the back of the legs.
To
ease tension in the shoulders, the practitioner may begin with fanning strokes
over the collarbone and shoulders, then use slow strokes with the hands moving
up the back of the neck. Circular pressure may be applied all over the back of
the neck and at the base of the skull, followed by circular pressure and
knuckling down the chest from the collarbone out over the pectorals and shoulders.
PRECAUTIONS
-
Seek
medical advice before having a massage if you suffer from phlebitis,
thrombosis, varicose veins, severe acute back pain, or fever.
-
Swellings, fractures, skin infections, or
bruises should not be massaged. Lumps and swellings should be checked by your
doctor.
-
Massage of the abdomen, legs, and feet
should not be given during the first three months of pregnancy.
-
Cancer
patients are best treated by specially trained practitioners who know which
areas to avoid and which kind of massage is appropriate.
|
Compatibility
