Types of Massage - Techniques
Massage Therapy is a diverse field. There are many different types and techniques of massage therapy.
Many massage therapists use an ecclectic approach using a variety of techniques to help you relax and relieve stress and tension.
Massage Therapy and Bodywork Practices
The main types and techniques of massage therapy and bodywork can be broken down into the following categories:
1. Swedish massage is typically used for relaxation, to ease muscle tension, and for stress relief.
2. Therapeutic massage can be thought of as an extension of Swedish massage, where a massage therapist uses a variety of special techniques to promote rehabilitation, provide pain relief, and improve flexibility and mobility.
3. Oriental massage is used for what's typically called energy balancing or meridian balancing (i.e. Shiatsu, Acupressure).
4. Sports massage is used for injury prevention, pre and post sports event preparation and recovery, flexibility, and increased performance.
5. Other special forms of massage may either be used alone or in some cases used in conjunction with any of the above methods (i.e. Trigger Point Therapy, Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Manual Lymphatic Drainage, Alexander Technique, etc.).
Just for fun, and so you can appreciate the diversity of the practice of massage, I have listed a few of the many types of massage and bodywork modalities that are available. If you would like to know more about any of these practices, just let me know massagetherapy@suite101.com.
Interestingly, many of these massage techniques were inspired from very personal and painful physical experiences. Judith Aston, for example, created the technique, Aston Patterning following a very serious car accident. The technique she developed was part of her own personal healing journey.
1. Acrosage
2. Acupressure
3. Active Release Techniques
4. Amma Therapy
6. Applied Kinesiology
7. Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy
11. BodyTalk
12. Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy
13. Bowen Technique
14. Breema
15. Chair Massage or on-site massage
16. Chinese Tui Na massage
17. Connective Tissue Therapy
18. Core Somatic Therapy
19. Cranial Sacral Therapy
20. Deep Tissue Massage
22. Esalen Massage
23. Feldenkrais
24. Hakomi
25. Hellerwork
27. Infant Massage
28. Integrative Manual Therapy
29. Jin Shin Do
30. Kahuna Bodywork
31. Lomi Lomi Hawaiian Massage
33. Myofascial Release
34. Neuromusculuar Therapy
35. Neuromuscular Integration and Structural Alignment
36. Orthobionomy
37. Polarity Therapy
38. Postural Integration
39. Pregnancy Massage
40. Pfrimmer Deep Muscle Therapy
51. Raindrop Therapy
42. Reflexology
43. Reiki
45. Rolfing
46. Rosen Method bodywork
47. Rubenfeld Synergy Method
48. Shiatsu
49. Soma Neuromuscular Integration
50. Somatic therapy
51. Specialized Kinesiology
52. Sports Massage
53. St. John Neuromuscular Therapy
54. Strain/Counterstrain
55. Stone massage
56. Swedish Massage
57. Thai Massage
58. Therapeutic Touch
59. Tibetan Point Holding
60. Touch for Health
61. Trager
62. Trigger Point Therapy
63. Tuina
64. Visceral Manipulation
65. Watsu
66. Zen Body Therapy
© Copyright, Sylvia Carlson 2006. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
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