When we talk about the therapeutic benefits of massage, you often hear about different massage styles and techniques. Deep Tissue, Thai, and Sports are some examples.
However, massage is therapeutic on a more basic level. This is often overlooked.
The perfect massage for your ails.
As a therapist, I am always trying to match the right technique with each client's needs. I have advanced certifications in several different styles, so I easily pick and choose what the client's body cues me to do.
However, sessions didn't always follow this pattern of technique-matching. When I first began practicing massage therapy, I was keener to the deeply therapeutic effects of basic human touch. I saw this basic need and its healing effects. I practiced it, first and foremost.
As I become increasingly skilled, it requires more effort to continually go back to the fundamentals. Probably the most therapeutic feature of a good massage is the touch itself. A caring, conscientious touch from a therapist is more important than any skill they have learned from any instructor.
Back to basics.
Some clients avoid telling therapists that they want a Swedish massage. They don't understand that Swedish strokes are the foundation of most other massage, and that Swedish can be performed lightly or firmly. You can barely leave Swedish effleurage or petrissage out of any massage session, and the pressure is not the same as the technique.
When humans practice very basic, instinctive, types of human touch, it often resembles Swedish-style effleurage.
A fundamental massage, consisting of basic strokes, is common in massage research. Health practitioners know the links between child development and touch. They have also revealed how stress relief prevents disease, and how massage can contribute to health improvements.
In conclusion, it is tempting (as a client or therapist) to figure out which type of massage you want. But don't forget to include a good ole-fashioned basic massage in your health practices.
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