Massage Therapy: Ease Cramps Sooner

What ails you? Is it aches and pains, perhaps bursitis, fatigue, high blood pressure? Maybe your ailment is diabetes, immunity suppression, infertility, depression? Maybe you are trying to stop smoking. Do you have low back pain, maybe arthritis? All of these, as well as an enormous number of other ailments can be treated with Massage Therapy.

Many physical rehabilitation programs accept this as an acceptable form of treatment. Millions of people the world over vow that massage helps relieve these symptoms, as well as the tension of everyday living that can lead to disease and illness.

This is not a new medical breakthrough, no, this art has been practiced throughout the world. Chinese records dating back 3,000 years document its use; the ancient Hindus, Persians and Egyptians applied forms of massage for many ailments; and even Hippocrates wrote papers recommending the use of rubbing and friction for joint and circulatory problems.

If you are interested in finding how this art of massage is practiced, get started with your research! There are so many different methods, over 250 to be precise, are used. Some of these are tapping, kneading, vibration, rocking, and the application of pressure to different muscles, stroking and compression!




In the early 1800's, massage therapy became very popular and this increased until the 1930's and 40's. As modern medicine developed, the benefits of massage therapy were discounted. It was used less and less. In the 1960's and 1970's nurses began to use it to alleviate pain in patients. Again, its popularity grew until finally in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta massage was deemed a core medical service, which gave it great credibility. It's good enough for the Olympics, how about you?

So, how do you find a massage therapist? Well, as with everything, there are qualifications, and there are genuine qualifications. You can ask your doctor to refer you to one he/she works with. Sometimes this is even covered by insurance.

There are many ways of having a massage done. There are also many types of oils, seeds etc that can be used. A person receiving a massage may be on a mat, chair, or table, usually without clothes, but covered with towels or sheets. If one is uncomfortable with this, he/she may wear underwear.

A body rock can be either cold or warm and coated in different sorts of oils such as fractionated coconut oil, grape seed oil, olive oil, macadamia oil, sesame oil, pecan oil and mustard and aromatherapy oils. Wow, what a combination, sounds like it could be a great trail mix or salad dressing, doesn't it?

Different therapists will use different body parts used to do the massage. Pressure is applied by hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms and even feet. I know you want one, go ahead, enjoy yourself.