Types of Massage Therapy

About Massage Therapy

The effects of massage therapy include improved circulation and metabolic balance within the muscle. Massage therapy also inhibits pain and reflexogenic guarding. Under normal conditions, intermittent muscle contraction creates a pumping action that facilitates venous blood flow tothe heart. An injured area due to trauma is often immobilized as a result of pain leading to decreased circulation and lymphatic drainage. Massage therapy increases circulation, lymphatic flow and the removal of toxic waste products from the body. Sustained muscle contraction due to reflexogenic guarding can cause ischemia and subsequent pain. Massage therapy relieves the pain by increased circulation by reflex vasodilation of cutaneous afferents mediating touch and pressure. The stimulation of mechanoreceptors by massage therapy results in the inhibition of sustained muscle contraction.