American Medical Association Family Medical Guide - American Medical Association [81]
There are three main types of massage: Swedish massage, pressure point therapy, and sports massage. Swedish massage is a traditional, gentle, whole-body massage that uses large, gliding strokes. In pressure point therapy—including deep tissue massage, neuromuscular therapy, acupressure, and shiatsu—concentrated finger pressure is applied to parts of the body that are in pain or have been injured. Sports massage concentrates on muscle groups that have been used excessively for a particular sport and is especially useful for improving athletic performance, relieving injuries, and promoting recovery.
A massage therapy session usually lasts 1 hour. You probably will be asked to remove as much clothing as you are comfortable removing and then lie down on a padded massage table. The therapist will then drape a cloth across your body, exposing one area at a time to be massaged. A lotion or oil may be applied to your skin to facilitate the motion of the therapist’s hands.
Massage therapy
Massage manipulates the muscles to increase blood flow and reverse the buildup of lactic acid in the muscles that accumulates after vigorous exercise.
Reflexology
Reflexology is an ancient form of therapy based on the theory that certain areas of the feet correspond to certain glands, organs, and systems of the body. Stimulation of these areas through finger and hand pressure is believed to have beneficial effects on the corresponding body part. Proponents of reflexology claim that it can improve a wide variety of health conditions, but it is primarily used as a stress-reduction technique. The effectiveness of reflexology has not been proven scientifically.
Feldenkrais
Feldenkrais is a method of movement therapy named after an Israeli scientist who, after injuring his knee, faced surgery that posed the risk of his not being able to regain movement in the joint. He considered the odds unacceptable and began to study human function, eventually developing the theory that physical dysfunction results when a faulty learned movement is repeated over and over throughout a person’s life. These faulty movements can be corrected, the theory goes, when a person becomes more aware of them and learns specific small movements that, with practice, eventually become larger, more complex, more efficient movements that replace the previous damaging ones. Conditions that have benefited by the Feldenkrais approach include back pain, cerebral palsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, head and neck pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and stroke.
Mind-Body Therapies
Mind-body therapies use a number of techniques that are believed to increase the mind’s ability to heal the body. The most common forms of alternative mind-body therapies are guided imagery, meditation, prayer, yoga, and art and music therapy. Relaxation therapy, another popular mind-body technique, is discussed on page 59. Hypnosis and biofeedback are not included in this section because they are now generally accepted by the medical profession. Another mind-body technique that has become an accepted part of mainstream medical practice is cognitive-behavioral therapy (see page 710).
Mind-body therapies have been shown to provide many health benefits, including relieving stress, understanding illness, and restoring a person’s sense of control.
Guided Imagery
Guided imagery refers to the use of the imagination to produce positive images that may bring about healing changes in the body. The process is often guided by the voice of a practitioner or by a voice recording