Tag: Massage Therapists

Massage Therapy Schools – Setting Your Expectations

You must be highly familiar with the overall effect of massage to a person’s health. True enough, it doesn’t fail to enhance a person’s recuperation from the various stressors as brought about by the hustles and bustles of life. As it goes, only someone who is licensed can perform the massage sessions. This is technically the basic idea that has to be followed. After all, the specialists are the ones who have earned a fit background in this field so they know what to do and how to do it. Where else should people go if they want to learn such science other than in the massage therapy schools? There are numerous of them in your country and within your local area so you can simply proceed to inquire on the course if you feel like getting educated in this branch of healthcare science.

Getting to Know its System of Education

Massage therapy education is actually one of the top ranking systems in today’s healthcare industry. You will find schools that hone massage therapists here and there. In the United States itself, there are literally hundreds of massage schools plus other training courses being offered in the colleges, universities, and other technical schools in different communities. In fact, other healthcare related groups are nowadays offering their support as a way of promoting the advantages of massage to the overall health.

Looking into Your Chances

If you exhibit the interest in learning the therapy itself along with the benefits that it imposes, it is best to look into your own chances now. You may begin by looking up the schools within your area and paying them a visit. It is through which that you will be familiar with the various techniques that they employ and the system of the training that each of them provides. By doing the rounds, you will certainly find the best instruction that you prefer. It is also vital to ask if the school attends to some massage therapy apprenticeship which will further hone your career. Of course, it is always advisable to attend the training from an established or reputable training center. While doing your apprenticeship, you may look forward to doing the actual job and thereby receive either an hourly or monthly pay.

Laying out Your Expectations

Studies reveal how the skilled human touch is able to lessen the impact of depression and stress on an individual. The therapy is also known to enhance the person’s immune system, alleviate the pangs of pain that attack the system, and promote an overall rejuvenation to the physical body. The schools therefore provide the solid instruction and training on how to make the human touch therapeutic. A good school is about to educate you on the series of healing and beneficial techniques.

The training also involves the students in several therapies that are crafted to lubricate the muscle fibers for more muscle flexibility and improved blood circulation, more energy, and of course, the promotion of peace of mind. After which, you may decide to further your education by specializing in acupuncture or chiropractic medicine for that matter.

Prepare yourself now for a lucrative career in the future. By means of enrolling in any of the massage therapy schools in your place, you will get the chance to learn one of the most essential therapeutic instructions of the time!

Massage Oils Provide a Therapeutic Effect

Massage therapists know best. They make use of special massage oils to bring forth the feeling of rejuvenation that each and everyone asks for.

The Benefit of the Oils as Employed in Massage Therapy

As used in the science of massage therapy, the oils are the best additions to a relaxing and healing experience. They don’t only bring you into such a relaxing state in the course of the massage session but they trigger healing, so to speak. There is nothing new in the use of oil because it has been practiced since time immemorial. In fact, the great men Plato, Homer, and Socrates had mentioned in their writings the benefits of the oils in assisting in the relief of body pain. The latter is also one of the main reasons why oils are utilized during the execution of massage. Other benefits of which include the enhancement of the skin condition and of course, the improvement of the overall health.

Selecting the Type of Oil to Use

Is there a particular guideline in selecting the oil to be used during the therapy itself? Well, it is best to remember that people’s skin type varies. One kind of oil may be safe for one but it may irritate another person’s sensitive skin. There are also individuals who may not find the scent too pleasing to their sense of smell.

More so, when choosing the oil it is important to get those that are expeller-pressed or cold-pressed. They have gone through an extensive processing so they are known to last longer. Likewise, you may combine the essential oils of your choice but just ensure that they will produce a good scent. Your massage therapist is likely to ask you of your preferred combination.
Different Types of Oil to Use

For massage therapy, you have a wide range of options. Stated below are the various oils that are commonly used.

The sweet almond oil bears the anti-inflammatory components. It is light and applicable generally for many skin types. It works best for people who have dry skin.

The apricot kernel oil is known to employ balance in the skin. It heals the prematurely aging skin too.

The avocado oil is defined as heavy so it is important to dilute it in lighter oil.

The Castor oil is sticky and thick yet is best in drawing out the toxins. It is best used to treat the scar tissue.

Coconut oil has to be warmed first. It treats cracked skin.

Emu oil is good for sore muscles, arthritis, eczema, and bruising.

Grapeseed oil is safe to use because of its non-allergenic components.

Jojoba oil and kukui nut oil contain anti-bacterial elements.

Olive oil provides relief to stiffness due to its warming effect.

The wheat germ oil is high in vitamin E component as well as in the essential fatty acids. It aids in the healing of scar tissue, stretch marks, sun damaged skin, in improving the circulation of the blood, and in treating the symptoms of dermatitis.

Holy oil is best recognized for its molecular structure. It goes deep into the skin.

Hazelnut oil is a best moisturizer which tightens and tones the skin while assisting in the regeneration of the cells and enhancing the capillaries.

Massage oils are simply therapeutic. They don’t only soothe your tired and tight muscles but they are also able to make you feel better emotionally and mentally.

MASSAGE THERAPY FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

With the baby boomers aging and with the help of higher technology and greater innovations in medicine and geriatric science, life is not merely being prolonged but more and more senior citizens today have the opportunity to take advantage of more quality life than ever before. This translates into a generation of more senior citizens of more advanced ages living among us, and that is, in my opinion a very good thing. National demographic studies tell us that nearly 40 million Americans are currently 65 years of age or older and over 2,000 more reach age 65 every single day. To accommodate the ever grown demand for massage therapy among senior citizens, many massage therapists are choosing to expand their expertise by studying the art of age-specific massage therapy which is often referred to as seniors massage or geriatric massage.

For the most part, massage therapy for senior citizens is extremely beneficial and of utmost importance to relieve the aches, the pains, the stiffness and the great number of health condition which are so often associated with aging; such as inflammations in the joints; arthritis; skin discoloration and other dermatological conditions; deteriorating muscles and bones; fading eyesight and loss of hearing, reduced appetite and therefore weight loss, poor blood circulation; sleep disorders; weakened mental capacity, tendonitis; bursitis; asthma; emphysema; high blood pressures; diminished functions of the internal vital organs such as the heart, the liver, the brain, the thyroid, the stomach and the intestines; and so much more. Most importantly, however, lonely and isolated, depressed, anxious and fearful senior citizens derive pricelessly valuable benefits from the simple pleasure of the caressing human touch and the intimate companionship afforded them during massage therapy sessions.

The Weavers Tale Retreat Center in the State of Oregon recently conducted a two-year study examining the effects of massage therapy for senior citizens and they found that at least 50 percent of the elderly who were tested showed a reduction in their rates of breathing, an increase in their range of motion, an improvement of their postures, development of more body awareness, their skin took on healthier colors and their muscle tones were enhanced. The same study also showed that 100 percent of the senior citizen who were tested showed a dramatic improvement in their moods and their attitudes toward life in general.

Massage therapy for senior citizens does not differ in technique but it does differ, and it differs greatly in the application of that technique, whichever that technique may be. In other words, just about any of the different massage techniques can be used on senior citizen but they must be modified enough to accommodate the facts that, very often, the skin of senior citizens have become thinner while growing much less pliable and much more easily broken, their bones are thinner and more brittle, their joints are more stiff with reduced range of mobility, their blood vessels are more prominent and closer to the surface of the skin and their overall health, vigor and vitality have been downgraded through the years. Taking all that into consideration, extra care musts be taken when positioning them on the massage tables, they should never be expected to perform the same movements as younger adults, and wheelchair-bound or bedridden seniors should get their massage treatments while remaining seated in their chairs or reclining in their beds.

Most massages for senior citizens are limited to anywhere from thirty to forty five minutes because the elderly seem to respond better to shortened sessions with greater frequency. Furthermore, greater time is usually spent on massaging their hands and feet than any other part of their bodies. That is especially true for those seniors who have lost the use of their hands and feet as massaging them will enhance their body awareness as well as increase sensations and blood circulation throughout.

We all need plenty of TLC (tender love and care) but senior citizens need and deserve quite a bit more of it.

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MASSAGE THERAPY AS COMPLIMENTARY ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Massage therapy is a broad term that encompasses a wide variety of procedures and methods of pressing, rubbing and manipulating muscles and other soft body tissues such as tendons, ligaments, skin and connective tissues. The main objective of massage therapy is to relax the soft tissues while promoting an increased delivery of blood and oxygen to the areas being massages and, therefore, to decrease tightness and pain. Massage therapy is most often accomplished by utilizing the massage therapists fingers, hands, arms, elbows and/or feet. Occasionally, however, mechanical and electronic devices may be also used.

As a matter of fact, there are more than eighty official types of massage therapy treatments but some of the most widely known are the following:

* The Deep Tissue Massage. This technique uses a combination of strokes and deep finger pressure applied way down under the skin and into the muscles at the painful sites in order to breakup knots and loosen tightness.

* The Trigger Point Massage. This procedure is also known as the Pressure Point Massage and it is more focused on specific myofascial trigger points with a stronger force than the Deep Tissue Massage. The goal here is to dissolve the painful knots that were formed in the muscles as well as to relieve additional symptoms in more remote areas of the body.

* The Swedish Massage. This system utilizes oblong smooth strokes, kneading and friction of the muscles as well as movement of the joints to increase their range of motion and flexibility.

* The Shiatsu Massage. Using altering rhythmic pressure, tapping, squeezing and rubbing along the meridian and on various other parts of the body, the main objective of this Eastern massage therapy is to enhance the flow of a fundamentally important energy called gi. And this energy, in the ancient Chinese medicine is believed to be the life force that regulates a persons spiritual, emotional, mental and physical wellness that is easily affected when subjected to the rival forces of yin and yang.

Whether the four most often practiced massage therapies I mentioned above are used as complimentary alternative medicine (also known as CAM) or any one of the other recognized eighty which are available to a lesser or greater extent, there are important points to be considered:

* No massage therapy should ever be used in place of regular or ongoing medical care.

* Massage therapy should not be the cause or the excuse to postpone visiting a medical professional for existing medical issues.

* The massage therapists schooling and credentials must be verified as well as his or her experience with specific health and medical conditions.
* Any additional complimentary alternative medicine (CAM) such as herbs, supplements, special diets or other treatments which are suggested by the massage therapist must first be reviewed with a medical professional.

* Although the subject of massage therapy (how it works and why) has been studied for many years and continues to be studies, much of it still remains within the realm of a mystery.

* If and when massage therapy is performed by a well training and experienced professional, few risks are involved and the worst of them may be temporary pain or discomfort, bruising, swelling or an allergic reaction to the massage oils. The small number of serious injuries which have been reported were triggered by untrained hands that were not aware that certain medical conditions should not be massaged. It is, therefore, essential to consult a medical professional before undergoing massage therapy, particularly under the following circumstances:

* Deep vein thrombosis
* A bleeding disorder or when taking blood thinners
* Damaged blood vessels
* Weakened bones from osteoporosis, a recent fracture or cancer
* The presence of high body temperature
* Open or healing wounds, tumors, damaged nerves, an infection, a severe inflammation or fragile skin
* Pregnancy
* Heart problems
* Dermatomyositis or any other skin disease
* History of physical abuse

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