Another argument that has been among people against massage therapy is that massage is not of any use in medical terms, it is just brought forward by elite people for relaxing. This argument is completely false because it has been proved by scientists that massage therapy has been one of the major methods for treatment for more than 2000 years. More over massage therapy has much positive significance. This therapy in massage parlors and spas also has important significance. Undoubtedly, massage therapy is used to make people relax however it helps people to get rid of stress which can be dangerous to the brain. Headache and pain are some of the signals generated by the brain, which communicates, that stress can lead to mental and physical imbalance. In massage parlors stressed out people can relax and obtain proper massage therapy, which can reduce the amount of stress possessed by a person. It helps in maintaining the chemical balance in the brain which makes the brain work properly and the brain gets ready to take on more stress. Hence massage therapy is important in parlors as well as spas. Massage therapy is not only limited to spas it is also applied by many physicians in their clinics. Medicine alone is of no use because medicines can reduce the amount of illness however massage can help to extract the entire illness without any negative symptoms. Massage therapy is used widely by different physicians like chiropractors, health care physicians, massage-therapists and by some physical therapists as well. Hence it proves that massage therapy has a positive significance in medical terms.
There is another argument among people stating that the treatment rendered by acupuncturist and chiropractors via massage therapy loses its ef...
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...lso helps to reduce the pain by providing proper healing. The best advantage in this type of healing is that the internal wound is cured from inside leaving no threat to the human body. Massage therapy also improves blood circulation in the body. Blood is pumped out from the heart in order to circulate everywhere around the body but the human body structure is very complex and
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All things found in the universe are thought of as a balance of the two opposite but complementary forces yin and yang. Organs in our body can be predominantly yin or yang but the body still manages to maintain the overall balance because of the total sum of yin and yang in the body. Traditional Chinese medicine states that diseases are caused by an imbalance of yin and yang. When trying to restore the balance and the person’s health, practitioners look for the nature of the imbalance and use acupuncture as a method to correct the imbalance.“However, despite more than 3,0000 studies into acupuncture since the 1970s, there is no evidence that any force qi ( yin and yang) exists or that it flows along invisible energy lines.” ( “Why acupuncture is giving sceptists the needle”, David Derbyshire)Therefore the whole system acupuncture is based on can’t be reliable.
The roots of the practice of acupuncture can be traced back to about 2000 years in Chinese medicine where it was used as a major traditional healing method (Cherry & Jacob, 2017). It is classified as an alternative medical system that involves the use of imperceptible networks/channels all through the body. Along with acupuncture, other forms of alternative medical systems include Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, and traditional Chinese medicine. These networks are referred to as meridians, by which energy streams through the body (Cherry & Jacob, 2017). The energy is referred to as Qi (pronounced “chee”). It is believed in traditional Chinese culture that Qi holds a dynamic life force, and when there an imbalance of this energy; illness as well as symptoms cultivates.
There are three claims for why acupuncture is effective: reflexes, hormones, and energy transfer. When the needle is inserted into the skin, the nerves send signals that travel up the spinal cord, into the brain, and block the pain center in the brain. This prevents pain and other signals from entering and exiting the brain and severity of the symptoms is suppressed. This allows the body to heal itself while the individual is unaware of any pain or other distress (http://www.acupuncture.com/Acup/Works.htm).
Kolcaba, K., Dowd, T., Steiner, R., & Mitzel, A. (2004). Efficacy of hand massage for enhancing the comfort of hospice patients. Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing, 6(2), 91-102. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=12&sid=2de162ef-afff-4a48-8415-83dcedf9530a%40sessionmgr110&hid=104
These days muscle pain and spasms have become the most common complaint of many working men and women. To avoid this pain most of them rely upon spa’s to lessen their pain. One of the main techniques used in the spa’s to reduce muscle pain is heat therapy. This nonpharmacological technique helps in reducing the muscle pain as it vasodilates the muscle causing the blood flow to increase at the site of inflammation or injury (Mohammadpour et al. 2014). Due to an increase in the blood supply, the oxygen levels also rise which reduces the amount of inflammatory facilitators and triggers heat shock proteins. With the latest rehabilitation benefits, heat therapy is being used for curing many problems because of its positive feedback.
Acupuncture originated in China and it has been practice for more than 2000 years now. This modality is considered the main treatment within the traditional Chinese medicine. Its main concept is the conviction that the body possesses hidden channels identified as meridians. These channels allows for the flow of energy which is considered a vital life force through all the body. Acupuncture modality believes that when this energy becomes obstructed or imbalanced, sickness and symptoms can build up. It is only when this energy becomes unblocked by stimulating focal points in the meridians that health can be achieved again (Cherry & Jacob, 2010).
According to reflexologists, stress, fatigue, illness, toxins, and inactivity are harmful influences on the body that can be healed through reflexology treatment. Reflexologists believe that the body can be divided into ten zones, five on each half of the body. In each zone, impulses and reflexes travel until they reach nerve endings in the feet and the hands. These zones are believed to be meridians along which energy flows. Placing pressure on the nerve endings in the hands and the feet will effect the organs found in that particular zone (http://www.reflexology.org/aor/refinfo/healart.htm). As well as longitudinal zones throughout the body, there are also cross-reflex points. These cross-reflex points are corresponding points on the opposite side of the body which can be useful in administering reflexology treatment when pressure i...
Complementary and alternative therapies are relatively new and essential options in health care, they help to increase the quality of life of patients and provide them with numerous possibilities to ensure growth of their health, beyond current medicine. Recently, these therapies, such as massage therapy and acupuncture, have become more prevalent in research. Consequently, their substitution with standard medicine in the healthcare system has been supported by the literature. The literature that supports these methods has explored why complementary therapies are needed, the different and distinct features of each therapy, and they also examine the education and knowledge those implementing the services must have. To accurately analyze if complementary and alternative therapies are valuable to the health care system, this paper will aim to learn why they are becoming predominant and why nurses should use these therapies’ to assist in improving the health of individuals. To determine the main attributes of these therapies, a variety of resources that extensively discuss complementary and alternative therapies will be examined and the paper will also examine the benefits and weaknesses they have on improving health. Lastly, this paper will aim to determine if these services should be implemented by nurses as alternative options for their patients, as nurses should have substantial knowledge pertaining to implementing these therapies.
During the early 1900s, the practice of medical science became accepted in our society. Many of the Swedish massage was mingled in with those of medical doctors and medical practices. (A type of “mechano-therapy” emerged of a combination with other therapist preformed by a physician or a nurse’s assistant.) Over time, these practices were absorbed into what would be general medicine. In the 1920s Masseurs and Masseuses had lost most of their market to doctors. They mainly found work with wealthy individuals who wanted a general, relaxing form of massage. After World War ll, a group of massage operators formed the American Association of Masseurs and Masseuses. This later became the forerunner of today’s American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA). The goal of these associations is to raise the status of massage as a unique and effective treatment for healing. In the 1980s the AMTA was formed. The first thing they did was establish a code of ethics and change their titles from masseurs and masseuses to massage therapist. Now the profession of massage is enjoying renewed vigor and influence in alternative medicine. Recent trends have pointed the continuing promise and growth of massage therapy as a health care career.
Risse, Guenter. Modern China and Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Symposium Held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Springfield, IL. 1973.
Throughout this essay I will be looking to discuss and explain massage and the lymphatic system and how I feel they link well together as a specific treatment or therapy. I will begin by discussing a general overview of what massage entails and the different types of movements that can be used to create the desired outcome. I will also look at how the lymphatic system works within the body and what the main uses of it are. By linking massage and the lymphatic system together, a body therapy has been created which provides the client with many different effects and benefits. This form of massage is used in lots of different ways, from relaxation to medical treatment, and is beneficial to many types of clients.
Acupuncture doesn’t allow people to get ahead of themselves like Victor did; the way of thinking brought about is that of a natural sense. The techniques of the alternative medicine allow people to remember how magnificent and sacred the human body is and realize that it cannot be created through lab work or perfected through medicine. With Western medicine, patients can take up to four or five medications before finding one that suits their needs and most can have many life threatening side effects. With acupuncture, it is one procedure and one attempt to heal a patient with NO major side effects. Acupuncture is a unique ancient art that is backed by thousands of years of Chinese thought and research and has been proven affective for many people and their illnesses.
There are many different things that a massage therapist must do. First off they have to find somewhere to work and get clients, but that’s the obvious. There are also things they have to do after this, other than just massage. In an interview with Stephanie Melroy, who owns and runs The Massage Studio in Holdrege, she said to me, “A lot of high school girls are really interested in massage therapy but most of them don’t realize all the work and education that it requires. The classes that you take aren’t the easiest either. You have to take a lot of anatomy and physiology, know every bone, muscle, and nerve and they work.” You’ll to prepare the client before the massage, which might include: applying heat, alcohol, lubricants, salt, or other rubbing compounds. Of course the massage therapist will massage the client using kneading, rubbing, and/or stroking movements. You also need to know different types of diseases and skin irritations because if they have a certain kind of disease you can’t treat them. But there are also many types of massage or therapy that they might do. This includes Hydrotherapy, Swedish massage, Sports massage, Shiatsu, Trager, Hellerwork, Polarity, Reflexology, Acupressure, Rolfing, and many more. Other than a manual massage they might also use mechanical or electrical machines as well.
Massage Therapy The practice of massage therapy is rapidly growing in the United States. It has numerous benefits to offer and is becoming more widely accepted as a medical practice by doctors and the general public. Massage is defined as: …the systematic manual or mechanical manipulations of the soft tissues of the body by such movements as rubbing, kneading, pressing, rolling, slapping, and tapping, for therapeutic purposes such as promoting circulation of the blood and lymph, relaxation of muscles, relief from pain, restoration of metabolic balance, and other benefits both physical and mental (Beck 3). There is much historical evidence to indicate that massage is one of the earliest remedies for pain relief and for the restoration of a healthy body.
According to Massage Today “Massage therapy is recognized as one of the oldest methods of healing, with references in medical texts nearly 4,000 years old”. I feel that the benefit of rubbing aching muscles and hurt limbs comes to us as naturally as breathing air. Among its many purposes and advantages, massage soothes achy muscles, helps heal injuries, strengthens baby’s muscles and relieves stress. To me, massage is not only a way to soothe the muscles and relieve the everyday stresses of society, massage is a way to connect with others through the common practice of touch. We have needed touch in our lives since the first seconds after our birth, so it’s not surprising that we would seek out touch in the form of massage.