Relaxation and manual massage therapists

Think about relaxation massages. And yet therapists of this kind have performed some of the most relaxing massages I have ever had! Compassionate individuals are attracted to the job and generally think of it as a bit of a calling, which may affect the experience's sensory quality more than professional training does. "That said, during a session, many of them can not resist supporting their beliefs. "Have you tried a colonic cleanse? "— which for me is a deal-breaker.

Chiropractors, osteopaths, and a few physiotherapists are the other "manual therapists"

Some physiotherapists, some chiropractors, and quite a few osteopaths dabble in massage as well, and some even devote their careers to it. Together, both of these occupations are often referred to as "manual therapies" because they are united by an interest in healing people , particularly joints and muscles, through hands-on tissue manipulation.

Osteopathy is indistinguishable from chiropractic for most people, but while chiropractic is far more concentrated on joint manipulation, osteopathy has historically been more interested in manipulating both joints and muscles.4 Before massage therapy appeared as a separate discipline, osteopathy and physiotherapy also required a fair bit of massage therapy until it was popular. The specialty that developed craniosacral therapy is also osteopathy, a technique practised by many massage therapists.

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Massage therapy styles, particularly so-called "advanced" methods and modalities

Swedish massage, which is all about lubricated muscle kneading, and a few other cliched processes, are mainly massage. Swedish techniques are widely remixed into a number of forms, such as massage relaxation versus sports massage, and even the culturally distinctive forms of massage, such as Thai massage or Hawaiian lomi lomi, are in theory quite similar to Swedish.

These "styles" are just variations on a theme, and not necessarily what distinguishes various forms of massage therapy in particular.

"Some massage therapists look down on Swedish massage as too" simple "despite its prevalence and popularity. For various reasons, they strive to do massage with more" advanced "techniques that have different objectives. Almost exclusively from a parade of gurus in the field who claim to have "advanced" techniques that are more successful, they get those techniques.

Such methods are primarily what distinguish different forms of what is a deep tissue massage? massage.

Empires of Modality

A serious general concern about the quality and efficacy of massage therapy is that unique, marketed "techniques" and styles are too highly emphasised. Depending on how you count, the massage world is divided into dozens, or even hundreds of them. The fact that too many patented methods are hyped as "advanced" and taught in place of legitimate continuing (academic) education is particularly disturbing. This is the serious issue of credential rackets or "modality empires" in the form of treatment plan certifications, selling prestige to therapists. These approaches are proprietary and profit-motivated, and are generally advocated and promoted by a single businessman who is regarded like a mentor and has millions of devoted followers (who handle criticism very poorly).

This scheme appears to rip off both therapists and patients. See Modality Empires: The trouble with the toxic tradition of ego-driven, trademarked treatment techniques in massage therapy, chiropractic, and physiotherapy for more details.

Is there any proof that any of these supposedly advanced techniques function better than ordinary Swedish massage in reality? Oh, no. All of them are unproven (no exceptions), and mostly based on shoddy, self-serving clinical logic, especially outdated concepts such as "structuralism" (an overemphasis on anatomical assymetry and other supposed biomechanical bogeymen). Based on the results of good testing (that is, thorough comparisons with other treatments, and fake treatments, to see what works best), we can't even start assessing any of the lesser massage techniques. Except for the most popular massage modalities, such knowledge is weak, and the remainder have not been examined at all, or so poorly that it hardly counts (e.g. 'tensegrity-based massage').