5 Massage Techniques to Help Solve Back Problem

Are good massage techniques necessary for our health?

Have you ever had a headache, poor vision, or shoulder ache and realized that your back is also hurting? Our body comprises bones, cartilage, tissues, tendons, muscles, and ligaments that interlink to form the musculoskeletal system.

We can imagine our human parts with that of a car. Any loose joints or stiffness in one of the essential moving components will develop stress in the whole vehicle, and you may not notice the problem at its beginning.

Over time, the car’s poor performance will be more pronounced. If a defective shock absorber is left unattended, the continued usage of the vehicle will result in stress and rupture of the item. It may also trigger a failure in other parts of the car.

Car manufacturers always recommend regular maintenance and check-up so that the vehicle remains in good condition and does not encounter any unforeseen failure. Likewise, it is good to have regular maintenance and check-up for our bodies to be physically and emotionally in the best of health.

Science may not be conclusive on the effect of massage as a healthcare treatment due to whatever deficiency in the criteria of the massage treatment methodology used to conduct the study.

Nevertheless, healthcare professionals and many patients with mild to chronic back pain would have recognized the great benefit of good massage therapy in maintaining good bodily health.

Most of us would be aware of the right things to do concerning a healthy lifestyle but somehow do not make the process to do it until we reach a trigger point when it becomes chronic.

You can keep your musculoskeletal system healthy by focusing on your overall well-being. Maintain a healthy weight, exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, make routine doctor’s appointments, and have a good massage periodically by a professional massage therapist.

There are many different types of massage techniques but one advantage all of them have in common is pain reduction and depression treatment. If you do have the budget, it is worthwhile to consider a massage chair with a 4D massage capability. Otherwise, it is good to get accustomed to different types of massage techniques that you can either learn or look for when getting a massage.

What are the Different Types of Massage Techniques?

Not everyone is a good candidate for massage. Examples of contraindications include high blood pressure, pregnancies, skin conditions, epilepsy, heart problems, osteoporosis, fractures, phlebitis, infectious diseases, open wounds, and lesions.

If in doubt, or before starting any massage therapy, especially for the more severe issue, it is vital to consult your doctor to determine if you are suitable for such massage therapy.

Depending on the severity of the back pain or injuries, trained and licensed massage therapists would be the best criteria to search and decide where you would like to get your treatment done.

Also, as lower back pain is so prevalent in our society, I guess you will not be short of recommendations for an excellent professional massage therapist from your colleagues or friends.

Massage uses a combination of techniques using fingers, hands, and elbows to apply across the body with different movements such as pressing, rubbing, rolling, kneading, and tapping. Some massage therapy studios will equip themselves with gadgets to enhance their techniques.

Swedish Massage

When it comes to massage techniques, Swedish massage seems to be the primary choice of many. Swedish massage therapy is the most popular in the west as a form of relaxation, a way to energize, relieve tension, and helpful treatment for minor injuries. Needless to say, most of the spas will provide Swedish massage on the menu.

The five most common massage techniques used by massage therapists in Swedish massage are:

Effleurage: 

This massage uses a light friction technique with the fat of the hands and is usually done at the beginning of a massage session to help warm the body with long gentle strokes to relax soft tissue.

Petrissage: 

This method applies pressure by squeezing, rolling, or kneading to compress with incremental strength to target the area of tension and release tight muscles on the back. Petrissage massage improves blood circulation and is helpful for a client with muscle pain.

Friction: 

This technique involves deep pressing with the thumb in circular movements to increase blood flow and decongestion of injured tissue. This massage technique helps to relieve muscle tension as the massage therapist will exert pressure on pin-point scar tissue but can be uncomfortable for a first-time client.

Tapotement: 

This basic massage technique uses a rhythmic striking effect on the body with cupped hands, fingers, or the hand’s edge to help stimulate blood circulation of the soft tissue.

Vibration:

The vibration massage technique involves gentle shaking movements on the body by pressing and releasing the tissues with the hand or fingers in an Up and Down movement. Vibration massage relaxes the body, helps tone the muscles, and enhances nerve function.

Myofascial Release Massage

Myofascial release massage is one of the suitable healing massage techniques for trigger point therapy that focuses on the area of the myofascial, which is experiencing pain and tightness. A trigger point is sensitive, and it is easy to locate these tight muscle spots.

The general basic massage techniques usually done by a massage therapist will go through from head to toe, giving equal massaging time to each part of your body. You will feel quite relaxed from this massage session, which may take an hour or an hour and a half, but will unlikely clear the trigger point area of your muscle. To create a serene atmosphere for the client, some massage outlets may use dim light with soothing background music to have a pleasurable massage experience.

Unlike the general massage, the myofascial release healing massage involves a particular area of the body where the myofascial is tight and knotty. The professional therapist will use various hand manipulation by applying pressure on the thick connective tissues and muscles.

This hand manipulation to exert pressure can be in the form of kneading or pressing hard with the palm on the connective tissue to stimulate blood circulation and nerves so it can relieve pain and tense knots to clear all the muscle restrictions. The myofascial release massage technique is more therapeutic and usually takes a much shorter time than the general basic massage.

Deep Tissue Massage

People looking for relaxation should avoid deep tissue massage techniques. Hard pressure is applied to the aching muscles in this massage therapy, pushing as far through the tissues and to the bone as is physically possible.

The intensity of the deep tissue massage technique can help to loosen scar tissue, and it aids in relaxing tense, knotted muscles that cause upper back and neck pain.

Before obtaining a deep tissue massage, discuss it with your massage therapist. Although it does not foster relaxation, releasing tense muscles shouldn’t be unbearably painful. However, skilled deep tissue therapists can adjust the pressure during the treatment to suit the preference of the client.

Typically, this massage technique begins with gentle strokes on tensed muscle area and progresses to more intense pressure as time goes on. Following the deep massage therapy, you may find that your muscles are sore but will gradually regain their suppleness with the relief of the muscle tension.

Sports Massage

Through a therapy program, football, baseball players, and other professional athletes must rapidly recuperate their bodies from demanding practice and competition schedules. The sports massage technique is one form of treatment they utilize to hasten recovery.

This effective massage combines various techniques to help athletes recover or improve performance.

Pre-activity and post-activity massage are the two main categories of sports massage.

Not everyone benefits from pre-activity massage, but it is helpful for a small group of individuals who need to rouse their muscles in preparation for an activity.

Because of the build-up of vigorous exercise over the previous days, some people may still have tension after their warm-up. Sports massage provided by a therapist has valuable benefits in healing and toning these individuals’ deeper muscular tissue, thereby relieving residue tension. However, it cannot take the place of warm-up exercises before sports.

Bone Setting Massage

Modern chiropractic and osteopathy are two medical treatments involving mobilizing and manipulating the body joints, which emerged from the bone-setting technique.

Chiropractic care focuses on diagnosing, treating, and preventing mechanical musculoskeletal system conditions, specifically those affecting the spine.

The core of osteopathy is that a person’s health depends on their bones, muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue working together efficiently. Osteopathy allows you to treat the underlying source of discomfort by easing the pain and joint and muscle tightness. The treatment also corrects spinal disorders or spinal disk injuries and improves joint movement—this non-invasive medical procedure help to treat chronic pain.

Bone setting is considered a traditional healing method, and current training provides courses that include understanding the musculoskeletal systems. The results of the treatments are also generally good. The treatments’ outcomes are typically positive. Bone setting can relieve persistent neck and low back pain or even better than physiotherapy and massage.

One holistic health care option to think about for a person’s whole health, both physically and psychologically, is massage. It has grown to be so popular and opened new career opportunities.

Conclusion

You probably have a general concept of what you need before looking for a massage therapist or a school that offers massage training. Choosing between a therapeutic or relaxation treatment will help you quickly narrow down the list of providers to consider.

Even if you have a suggestion from friends or family, selecting the best therapist for treatment may be a trial and error procedure for novices. It will be best to try out the service and experience all the various techniques with a few therapists to evaluate its value and quality and choose the one that best meets your preferences and financial situation.

Students in massage schools typically learn a variety of massage techniques as well as the fundamentals of the musculoskeletal system. One other criterion to look for in a massage school is whether it covers the anatomy of the human body and how its parts interact and work together. This additional knowledge of the human body will give confidence during the massage treatment procedure.