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Proposed taxonomy of massage practice |
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| Level |
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| Principal Goals of Treatment |
Relaxation Massage |
Clinical Massage |
Movement Re-education |
Energy Work |
| Intention |
Relax muscles, move body fluids, promote wellness |
Accomplish specific goals such as releasing muscle spasms |
Induce sense of freedom, ease and lightness in body |
Hypothesized to free energy blockages |
| Commonly Used Styles (examples*) |
Swedish massage, spa massage Sports massage |
Myofascial trigger point therapy Myofascial release Strain counterstrain |
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Strain counterstrain Trager |
Acupressure Reiki Polarity Therapeutic Touch Tuina |
| Commonly Techniques (examples**) |
Gliding Kneading Friction Holding Percussion Vibration |
Direct pressure Skin rolling Resistive stretching Stretching – manual Cross-fiber friction |
Contract-relax Passive stretching Resistive stretching Rocking |
Direction of energy Smoothing Direct pressure Holding Rocking Traction |
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* While some styles of massage are commonly used in addressing one of the four principal treatment goals, some may be used to address several distinct treatment goals. ** By varying the intent (or purpose) for a technique, many of them can be used in massages with different principal treatment goals. | ||||
Sherman et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2006 6:24 doi:10.1186/1472-6882-6-24 |
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