There are many different styles of massage therapy. In fact, selecting the right kind of massage for you can be as complicated as picking out a favorite food or drink item on a restaurant menu. From Swedish to Ashiatsu, there's a style of massage therapy that can treat any and every part of the body and satisfy the most stressed or injured of clients. There are more than 10 different types of massages that focus on different parts of the body or healing approaches.
Massage is the practice of rubbing and kneading the body using the hands in which the massage therapist applies either gentle or strong pressure to the muscles and joints to ease pain and tension. There are three common types of massage, let's take a look at each. The most common type of massage therapy in the U. Massage therapists use long, smooth strokes, kneading, and circular movements on superficial layers of muscle using massage lotion or oil.
It is very gentle and relaxing and a good style of massage therapy for first-time clients. Another very common style is deep tissue massage, which is much more aggressive toward problem areas than is Swedish. Deep tissue massage targets deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue. The therapist uses slower strokes or friction techniques across the grain of the muscle. It is used for chronically tight or painful muscles, repetitive strain, postural problems or recovery from injury. People often feel sore for days after deep tissue massage.
Therapeutic usually also uses a combination of heat and ice. Again, it's the client who can customize to his or her needs. You're getting muscles ready to perform. There's a lot of stretching involved. It's this type of massage in which many of Allen's students once got the most practice.
The Southaven MT program had an arrangement with the Mississippi RiverKings minor league professional hockey team whereby students get to hone their skills by providing RiverKings players with sports massages.
