건마 Massage therapy can be defined as the manipulation of soft tissue. Massage therapy has physical, physiological, and psychological effects, in other words, it can affects the mind, body, and spirit. The word “massage” comes from the French meaning “friction or kneading”, the Arabic word “massa” meaning “to touch, feel, or handle”, and the Latin “massa” meaning “mass, dough”. An older origin may have been from the Hebrew “me-sakj” meaning “to anoint with oil” and the ancient Greek “anatripsis” or Latin “frictio” was the word for massage.
During a massage, soft tissue, consisting of muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, lymphatic vessels, organs and other connective tissue, can be in manipulated in a number of ways. These include with pressure, tension, motion, vibration – all either moving or stationary, structured or unstructured. Massage strokes can be applied with the hands, soft fists, fingers, thumbs, elbows, forearms, and feet. There are over 80 recognized massage modalities or types of massage. The most stated reasons for introducing massage as therapeutic has been due to client demand and perceived clinical effectiveness.
During a massage, the client is positioned on either a massage table or massage chair. The massage table is well- padded for comfort, easily cleaned between clients, and has a padded horseshoe-shaped head support to allow for proper positioning of the neck and easy breathing while the client is facedown. The massage chair is also well-padded, easily cleaned, and offers a padded horseshoe-shaped headrest but the client remains in a more upright, sitting position. Typically, a chair massage is for a shorter duration from 5 to 15 minutes and is done with the client fully clothed. A table massage session usually lasts from 30 to 90 minutes with the client partially or completely undressed under a sheet and/or blanket. Often pillows or bolsters are used to help with body positioning to add to the comfort during the session. Massage tables and chairs are typically portable and can be easily setup almost anywhere.
In the United States, the most common type of massage therapy is Swedish massage and often it is simply referred to as “relaxation massage, “European massage” or simply “Swedish”. A Swedish massage session is typically very gentle and relaxing. The session usually consists of long smooth strokes with kneading & circular movements that work on the superficial layers of the muscle. There are many different kinds of massage – such as Deep Tissue Massage, Neuromuscular Massage, Sports Massage, Heated Stone Massage, Myofascial Tissue Release and Prenatal Massage just to name a few. Each modality, or type of massage, is used for to achieve different results and treat different conditions. Usually modalities are blended together in one session to attain the different results requested by the client. The goal of your massage will determine what modality or modalities the massage therapist will use.
