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What is massage therapy

Massage therapy is manual manipulation of soft body tissues (muscle, connective tissue, tendons and ligaments) to enhance a person’s health and well-being.  There are dozens of types of massage therapy methods.  People seek massage therapy for a variety of reasons – to reduce stress and anxiety, relax muscles, rehabilitate injuries, reduce pain, and promote overall health and wellness.  According to a 2007 survey, at least 18 million Americans received massage therapy in the previous year.  This popular therapy is widely loved because it can help with relaxation and with rehabilitation from pain or other dysfunction.  At A Healing Touch Massage & Reiki, you will receive the right combination of relaxation and therapeutic massage that you want.

Types of massage therapy

While there are several types of massage, two fundamental categories are:

• Relaxation massage – also known as Swedish massage; practiced in settings like spas, wellness centers, resorts and massage clinics.

• Rehabilitative massage – also known as deep tissue, medical, therapeutic or clinical massage.

The history of massage therapy

Although massage is thousands of years old, it became widely used in Europe during the Renaissance. In the 1850s, two American physicians who had studied in Sweden introduced massage therapy in the United States, where it became popular and was promoted for a variety of health purposes. With scientific and technological advances in medical treatment during the 1930s and 1940s, massage became a less prevalent medical approach in the United States. Interest in massage revived in the 1970s, especially among athletes and those looking for alternative methods of healing and wellness.

During the end of the 20th century, more and more states started to regulate massage, and industry standards in licensing and education emerged.  As a result, massage earned a place as a legitimate and respectable form of alternative and complementary medicine.  It became recognized as a major part of the society’s wellness boom which focuses on disease prevention through maintaining wellness.

Today’s massage therapists practice a multitude of techniques which take from ancient methods and new scientific insights about how the body works and heals.  From those roots, they remain inspired by a goal cultivated centuries ago – to help others heal their physical and emotional well-being and experience a higher quality of life.

To schedule an appointment, call 319-341-7144, email: shari@icmassage.net or click the button below to schedule online

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