The Massage Treatments - Essay Example

?Critical Analysis of the Massage Treatments Introduction Massages have been in use for thousands of years. They were basically used for the rehabilitation and relaxation of mood, to regain energy and to get back to work with high energy levels. Massage treatment had been viewed by the specialists as a catalyst for the performance of an athlete. The aims of the sports massage are to enhance the muscle capability and its flexibility. Various scientific studies have shown that a proper massage relieves stress and makes the muscles more flexible and that helps in achieving extra agility. The sports and exercise massages are known to decrease active and passive stiffness which is a natural biomechanical mechanism. Another aspect of the sports massage is the increased blood flow by artiolar pressure in the massaged area. Proper stroking and rubbing of the muscle increases the blood flow and temperature. The whole process can be a good alternative of a warm up. There are different kinds of massages and depending on the type of massage used, it can increase or decrease neural excitability which is measured by the Hoffman reflex. The changes in the parasympathetic activity (which is measured by the heart rate, blood pressure and the heart beat variability) and the hormonal activity give more relaxed responses when measured after a massage. This is a result of the physiological activity. A good massage aims to reduce the anxiety and brings improvement in the mood, technically its called relaxation. This would come under the physiological mechanism. All of these benefits help the athlete perform better and decreases the risk of injury. The massages given to athletes during the events are closely monitored. They are regarded extremely important for the performance of the athlete as they enhance the recovery. Post exercise massages have shown to improve recovery from injury and help reduce the muscle soreness. And the claim that this massage reduces the functionality of the muscle is baseless. Main Body For the first client, there were several massage techniques performed. My first client was a body builder. The regular massage was performed on his left shoulder which had a suspected sprain due to overuse. The massage performed was supposed to increase both micro and macro circulation. The macro circulation was to increase the overall temperature of the muscle and the microcirculation for the tiny organisms that supply the blood to the small tissues. It was critical to perform this ‘warm up’ massage to get the overall muscle toned up and ready for other massage techniques. The sprain in the first client’s shoulder was treated through the massage aimed at reducing the muscle tension. The massage was performed mainly with the thumb and the first two fingers holding the visible neck and shoulder muscle, gently squeezing in the beginning and gradually increasing the pressure. Repetitive upward and outward motion was performed on the muscle. Later on the massage to relieve the sprain from the shoulder was extended to the back. The massage technique was the famous pressing motion from the back and all the way up to the neck and then pressing outward as if throwing away the muscle tension. The left shoulder was the main focus as oil was continuously applied to it for the proper lubrication to avoid the rigorous friction. The elongated massage was performed throughout the whole massage process. Right after every major new massage technique, the stretching motion was performed. It is very important as it helps in the stretch motion and for the proper blood flow, the healing benefits come along with that. Right after this technique, the massage focus was shifted on to be worked into the traps, around the scapula. The motion of the hand was along the direction of the fiber to give it a nice warm feeling, following the whole group of muscle as it goes into the shoulder blade which goes straight into the shoulder itself and into the deltoid. A technique for stretching into the lat was performed where the body builder client was asked to extend the arm and push it against the massager. Then a nice push or rub was given into the through the arm into the lat. After this, the most basic technique of relieving the stress from the trapezius muscle was performed. The next technique that was used on the client was the scapular lift. It was done to affect the rhomboids and the sub scapulars. One thing that was kept in mind was not to go into the deep tissue. The sprained part is usually very sensitive. Light hand motion was performed mostly the thumb motion on the shoulder area when the client was lying on his back. infra-spinatus and super-spinatus. Next the acromioclavicular joint was treated, this was done by stretching the rhomboid and putting the fingers underneath the shoulder blade. This technique works best when one hand is put underneath the clients shoulder when he is lying face down and the other hand is pushed downward along the direction of the fiber. The basic work was the gentle touching of the rhomboid, almost like pushing into it. And this motion was performed enough times to get the friction right. After this technique, again the motion was shifted back to the circular motion with the thumb around the scapula gently rubbing it again and again. This was being performed as a part of cool off technique. Another motion was performed by moving the thumb into the skin, again around the scapula area. After this technique the chopping action was performed on both the shoulders. The chopping action (Tapotment) was performed with both hands and across the shoulder blade. Under normal circumstances this technique is very carefully done with ordinary people. It is considered that the pressure being applied on to the client’s body is enough for the client to take in. in our case the client was a body builder. The pressure was definitely more than normal on the right shoulder but on the left shoulder where the sprain was, normal gentle chopping motion was applied. To complete this technique it was again followed by the nice circular thumb motion around the scapula. Right after this was the last motion of the massage where the client was asked to touch his back and then the arm was stretched inwards putting the right amount of pressure on it. This technique is performed with both the arms. The stretch action is done just enough to release the tension stored in the upper and lower arm to ease any tense area in the underarms or the traps. All of this technique was finished off with long inhale exhale technique. This was done with the body builder to cool off properly as the muscles are quite tender just after the massage. To correct the posture of the body builder client, massage on his left hip was performed. Again, this was done with smooth circular motions of the hands, pressing it outwards. With gentle kneading on the hip, it helped in relaxing. In the end, the massage treatment was given to the client by working on his hamstring area. With upward motion of the hand where thumb guides through the hamstring area up to the hip joint, the basic hamstring massage was performed to release any muscle soreness and to get rid of the metabolic fat. And then on the front, focus was on the quadriceps. The proper stroking and kneading motion was performed to help tone up the whole tissue. For the other client who was a rugby player, massage was performed on his thighs first. There was no sprain or injury on this client. The purpose of the massage was to reduce the massage soreness and the removal of the metabolic waste and to increase the recovery speed. The massage started in the normal fashion with a warm up by wiggling and shaking the leg to give it a nice warm feeling. To make sure that the client was freely moving his leg, a little bit of rocketing the leg was required. It was done enough times to make sure that the body was completely free and no stiffness to hinder the massage motion. After this warming up, some coconut oil was applied to the client’s thighs and the hamstrings with nice slow circular motion. The actual massage started with the knee by gently gliding it upward, again in a nice smooth motion. The key thing was, the upward motion was performed all the way up to the hip area. That’s the area where the soreness usually happens and then it vibrates all the way down to the leg. The thumb was the main driver of this repetitive motion and it was used to trace the point of the soreness which is the attachment point. The upward gliding motion never started from the exactly the knee point, it started a little above than that to avoid putting too much pressure on the hamstring. This motion was performed on all the area of the hamstrings; the outer, the middle and the inner. Special attention and tenderness was given to the inner part of the hamstring because it is the most sensitive part of the hamstring. When this motion was performed, the kneading motion was engaged. The kneading is just the lifting of the tissue and gently separating it from the rest of the mass or muscle and releasing it gently. This motion instantly increases the blood flow to that area and which brings in the fresh oxygen and nutrients to the muscle and that is very helpful in the healthy development of the muscle, which in turn reduces the soreness of it. The position was changed to the supine position for the athlete as the pressure was now being applied on the hamstring and the quadriceps together. It was found that our client had a lot of stress in both the upper hamstring and the lower hamstring. To treat both of these, the leg of the athlete was moved or stretched more towards his upper body. As the client was a rugby player and he used to work on the elliptical stair climber that builds up a lot of stress in the lower hamstring area as it contracts to bring the hip back. To treat this stress his leg was bent inside and the knuckles were used to put pressure on the upper hamstring. After putting the knuckles in the position, the leg was opened and stretched keeping both the hands just above the knee and the thumbs pointed inwards. It was felt the there was a lot of rotator movement while the leg was being stretched and closed. At this point, some pressure was applied on the muscle to apply the resistance to the rotator motion of the ligaments and that helped to reduce the stress. This motion was then converted to the complete leg stretch and along with the stretch the knuckles were pressed and glided down the hamstring, from the knee area to the hip joint. Anchoring and stretching Works Cited Pornratshanee Weerapong, 1. P. (2005). The Mechanisms of Massage and Effects on Performance, Muscle Recovery and Injury Prevention. Review Article , 22. Read More