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Welcome to Steele's Therapeutic Massage
Massage is the practice of applying structured or unstructured pressure, tension, motion, or vibration with manually or with mechanical aids to work the soft tissues of the body, including muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, joints, lymphatic vessels, organs of the gastrointestinal system to achieve a beneficial response.
Massage Therapy is performed primarily by a professional Massage Therapist but is often used as a form of therapy by other Healthcare practitioners such as Chiropractors, Osteopaths and Physical Therapists.
Massage can be applied to parts of the body or to the whole body, to aid the process of injury healing, relieve psychological stress, manage pain, and improve circulation. Where massage is used for its physiological, mental, and mechanical benefits, it may be termed "therapeutic massage" or manipulative therapy.
In professional settings, massage involves the client being treated while lying on a massage table, sitting upright in a massage chair, or lying on a pad on the floor. The massage subject is generally unclothed or partially unclothed, also referred to as disrobed, and their body would be "draped" with towels or sheets.
In addition to making a professional statement and providing a boundary, draping helps keep the client warm which aids in the relaxation response.
In most forms of massage, the session begins with the client face up, referred to as supine, or face down, referred to as prone, for the first part of the session and then the client rolls over for the second half. Relaxation is necessary for benefits to be achieved. |
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