Swedish - A Swedish massage is what most people think of when they think of a massage. It's a true massage. It involves the Massage Therapist actually rubbing (massaging) the clients body. Many modalities of massage don't involve massaging the body and some modalities of massage don't even involve touching the body.
There are four strokes in Swedish massage: effleurage, petrissage, friction and tapotement. Effleurage is the long flowing strokes, petrissage is the kneading strokes, friction is used to generate heat and bring blood to the surface, and tapotement is the hitting type strokes. The aim of a Swedish massage is to relax the tissues of the body, relieve stress and improve circulation. Most all Massage Therapists incorporate deep tissue work where needed, with their Swedish massage.
Reflexology ( foot massage ) - A reflexology massage involves the therapist massaging various areas of the feet to promote health in various areas of the body. In general, the big toe represents the top part of the body (the head), the bottom of the heal represents the lower part of the body and the middle part of the foot represents the middle parts of the body.
Full body - A full body massage is nothing more than massaging the entire body. Many therapists leave parts of the body out, such as the buttocks, face, scalp, chest or abdomen. The effects of a full body massage will last much longer than a partial massage. This is because, in a partial massage, the tension in the part of the body that wasn't massaged will work it's way into the parts of the body that were massaged. A full body massage does not include massage of the genitals and usually not the breasts.
Deep tissue - A deep tissue massage simply means the therapist is massaging deeply into the tissues of the body.
Sports - A sports massage isn't very strictly defined. Any modality that works well for an athlete will work well for someone who's not an athlete. The techniques used in sports massage are the techniques that work well on someone who has just performed an athletic event. Also, it can be techniques used to prepare a person for activity before an event. One example of a sports massage technique is a boxer getting his arm shaken by his trainer in between rounds. A sports massage uses many of the same techniques as Swedish massage, except that the person is dressed and no oil or lotion is used. Many people request a sports massage, because they think it will help them become athletic. This is false. Most modalities of massage help with fitness as much or more than sports massage, especially Swedish.
Shiatsu - Shiatsu means finger pressure and is a Japanese form of acupressure. A Shiatsu treatment involves balancing the meridians of the body by pressing and holding certain points for 2 to 3 minutes each. Meridians are energy channels through which chi (energy) flows through the body.
Aromatherapy - An aromatherapy massage involves incorporating scents from plants (essential oils) into the massage. Different scents are supposed to trigger different areas of the brain to allow healing of various conditions. Most of these conditions are psychological. Certain scents relieve anxiety, some relieve depression, others have a calming effect. So basically, they all are supposed to elevate mood (just different kinds of mood). Some people have claimed that certain essential oils will help with certain medical conditions. For example, rosemary oil is supposed to help with rheumatoid arthritis. I believe in the elevation effect, but I'm not so sure about the rest. Since stress either causes or aggravates nearly all medical conditions, I think it's great to use essential oils.
Acupressure - Acupressure uses pressure in points of energy flow. Pressure at these points is supposed to balance energy in the body (Chi). The points are very close to acupuncture points and in reality probably are the same points.
Pregnancy - A pregnancy massage is performed with consideration for the special needs of a pregnant woman. Some therapists believe that if you press certain points during pregnancy, it will cause premature labor. This is totally false. It doesn't make sense that balancing the meridians would cause premature labor or be detrimental in any way to the mother or unborn child. A fellow Massage Therapist pressed all these points on his wife during pregnancy, labor and delivery and they had a healthy baby. If anything, pressing these points would improve the flow of energy through this meridian to improve the health of the mother and child.
Myofascial release - This modality involves the therapist turning or pressing the fascia (connective tissue that covers muscle) in a direction that causes the therapist to feel either increases or decreases resistance. Ironically, either direction may work. If the direction that increases resistance doesn't work, the therapists will try the other direction and vice versa.
Hot stone - The stones are placed on the clients body at critical energetic points. Some practitioners also use the stones to massage the client with, others simply place the stones and massage with their hands.
Trigger point - A Trigger point is an area of muscle tissue that is hypercontracted (a knot). The therapist pushes on this point to relax the entire muscle. Trigger point therapy is never done without massage, or shouldn't be.
Lymphatic Drainage - Lymphatic drainage is used to decrease edema (Tissue fluid) and has the side effect of improving the immune system. The therapist glides along path of the lymphatic vessels to return tissue fluid to the heart. Excess tissue fluid accumulates with various conditions, such as congestive heart failure (CHF)
Chair Massage - This form of massage is performed with the client sitting in a massage chair. The client is fully clothed and massage techniques that don't require massage oil or lotion are used. This type of massage is less effective than a traditional massage, but is very convenient in the workplace to relieve stress and increase the productivity of employees, as well as their health.
There are four strokes in Swedish massage: effleurage, petrissage, friction and tapotement. Effleurage is the long flowing strokes, petrissage is the kneading strokes, friction is used to generate heat and bring blood to the surface, and tapotement is the hitting type strokes. The aim of a Swedish massage is to relax the tissues of the body, relieve stress and improve circulation. Most all Massage Therapists incorporate deep tissue work where needed, with their Swedish massage.
Reflexology ( foot massage ) - A reflexology massage involves the therapist massaging various areas of the feet to promote health in various areas of the body. In general, the big toe represents the top part of the body (the head), the bottom of the heal represents the lower part of the body and the middle part of the foot represents the middle parts of the body.
Full body - A full body massage is nothing more than massaging the entire body. Many therapists leave parts of the body out, such as the buttocks, face, scalp, chest or abdomen. The effects of a full body massage will last much longer than a partial massage. This is because, in a partial massage, the tension in the part of the body that wasn't massaged will work it's way into the parts of the body that were massaged. A full body massage does not include massage of the genitals and usually not the breasts.
Deep tissue - A deep tissue massage simply means the therapist is massaging deeply into the tissues of the body.
Sports - A sports massage isn't very strictly defined. Any modality that works well for an athlete will work well for someone who's not an athlete. The techniques used in sports massage are the techniques that work well on someone who has just performed an athletic event. Also, it can be techniques used to prepare a person for activity before an event. One example of a sports massage technique is a boxer getting his arm shaken by his trainer in between rounds. A sports massage uses many of the same techniques as Swedish massage, except that the person is dressed and no oil or lotion is used. Many people request a sports massage, because they think it will help them become athletic. This is false. Most modalities of massage help with fitness as much or more than sports massage, especially Swedish.
Shiatsu - Shiatsu means finger pressure and is a Japanese form of acupressure. A Shiatsu treatment involves balancing the meridians of the body by pressing and holding certain points for 2 to 3 minutes each. Meridians are energy channels through which chi (energy) flows through the body.
Aromatherapy - An aromatherapy massage involves incorporating scents from plants (essential oils) into the massage. Different scents are supposed to trigger different areas of the brain to allow healing of various conditions. Most of these conditions are psychological. Certain scents relieve anxiety, some relieve depression, others have a calming effect. So basically, they all are supposed to elevate mood (just different kinds of mood). Some people have claimed that certain essential oils will help with certain medical conditions. For example, rosemary oil is supposed to help with rheumatoid arthritis. I believe in the elevation effect, but I'm not so sure about the rest. Since stress either causes or aggravates nearly all medical conditions, I think it's great to use essential oils.
Acupressure - Acupressure uses pressure in points of energy flow. Pressure at these points is supposed to balance energy in the body (Chi). The points are very close to acupuncture points and in reality probably are the same points.
Pregnancy - A pregnancy massage is performed with consideration for the special needs of a pregnant woman. Some therapists believe that if you press certain points during pregnancy, it will cause premature labor. This is totally false. It doesn't make sense that balancing the meridians would cause premature labor or be detrimental in any way to the mother or unborn child. A fellow Massage Therapist pressed all these points on his wife during pregnancy, labor and delivery and they had a healthy baby. If anything, pressing these points would improve the flow of energy through this meridian to improve the health of the mother and child.
Myofascial release - This modality involves the therapist turning or pressing the fascia (connective tissue that covers muscle) in a direction that causes the therapist to feel either increases or decreases resistance. Ironically, either direction may work. If the direction that increases resistance doesn't work, the therapists will try the other direction and vice versa.
Hot stone - The stones are placed on the clients body at critical energetic points. Some practitioners also use the stones to massage the client with, others simply place the stones and massage with their hands.
Trigger point - A Trigger point is an area of muscle tissue that is hypercontracted (a knot). The therapist pushes on this point to relax the entire muscle. Trigger point therapy is never done without massage, or shouldn't be.
Lymphatic Drainage - Lymphatic drainage is used to decrease edema (Tissue fluid) and has the side effect of improving the immune system. The therapist glides along path of the lymphatic vessels to return tissue fluid to the heart. Excess tissue fluid accumulates with various conditions, such as congestive heart failure (CHF)
Chair Massage - This form of massage is performed with the client sitting in a massage chair. The client is fully clothed and massage techniques that don't require massage oil or lotion are used. This type of massage is less effective than a traditional massage, but is very convenient in the workplace to relieve stress and increase the productivity of employees, as well as their health.