Friends in Knead

by Lorrie Klosterman and illustrations by Annie Internicola, February 26, 2007

For the uninitiated, the idea of getting a massage can set off an inner flashing red light signaling the “no-go” zone. That has kept some very deserving folks from receiving this nurturing, healing form of bodywork.

Everybody “deserves” to receive therapeutic massage, in one (or many!) of its myriad forms. What exactly is it? It is not a creepy sexual flirtation, nor a whack-on-the-back assault like boxers are shown receiving in the movies. It is a form of bodywork whose practitioners work within carefully defined boundaries of behavior (and expect their clients to do the same). As defined by the American Massage Therapy Association, “massage is a manual [meaning, using the hands] soft tissue manipulation, and includes holding, causing movement, and/or applying pressure to the body.” Its trained and licensed practitioners are called massage therapists. They are specifically trained in these techniques, as well as “adjunctive therapies, with the intention of positively affecting the health and well-being of the client.”

What manual manipulations are we talking about? They vary immensely, and a good massage therapist will incorporate what seems right for each client, at each specific visit, for each area of the body. Some techniques include: slow strokes and deep finger pressure to release chronic patterns of tension in muscles, tendons, and connective tissue (deep massage); long strokes, kneading, and friction techniques on the more superficial layers of the muscles, combined with active and passive movements of the joints (Swedish massage); concentrated finger pressure on “trigger points” (painful irritated areas in muscles) to break cycles of spasm and pain (trigger point or myotherapy/neuromuscular therapy); and massage based around a system of points in the hands and feet thought to correspond, or “reflex,” to all areas of the body (reflexology).

When treated this way, the body relaxes. Breathing deepens. Blood and lymph flow spreads fully into neglected limbs, buns, and backs. Toxins are worked out. Stiff joints loosen and movement broadens. Muscle knots and spasms melt away. Your body feels fully alive. And those are just the physical benefits. Massage can reach into emotional and even spiritual planes, as we step for a moment out of a crazed, contact-phobic world and get one of our primal needs met: nurturing touch. In addition, massage therapists know how to create atmosphere: gentle lighting, enchanting aromas, peaceful sounds, warm blankets.