By Aubrey Gowing
Many Professionals have there own language and terminology that describe specific terms relevant to their field. Massage is no exception. Some of this language can be confusing to those new to this area. Our web site contains many of these terms, so to facilitate understanding we have produced a short glossary to explain some of these specialist terms.
Effleurage (stroking movements): Effleurage is used at the beginning of each body part to warm-up and prepare the tissues for subsequent strokes. It is also used at the end of each body part to drain the tissues and relax the client. It may be used throughout the treatment as a transition stroke to link movements or to warm-up the client.
Petrissage (compression and kneading movements): To compress and lift tissues from underlying structures and release alternately to give an intermittent pressure. Petrissage is very beneficial over areas of muscular tension.
Percussion (tapping): To stimulate and tone the tissues locally. Percussion movements increase circulation, improve muscle tone and stimulate sensory nerve endings.
Friction (rub one surface over another): To separate tissues by breaking down fibrous adhesions, scar tissue, fibrosis, and to break down fatty deposits and aid the removal of non-medical oedema.
Vibration (To cause a trembling or quivering motion): Vibration clears nerve pathways and produces a stimulating or sedating effect depending on the type of vibration used. Vibrations can be used when muscles are extremely tight and not responding well to petrissage or friction.
Marma points: Marma points are an integral part of Ayurveda (a traditional Indian medical system) and are the subtle pressure points, similar to points used in acupressure, that stimulate the life force or pranic flow in the body.
Dosha: The three Doshas of Ayurvedic medicine are energies that when balanced help maintain health. These energies are known as Vata, Pitta and Kapha.
Chakra: Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel, often interpreted as wheel of light, referring to the spinning movement of local bio-energy.
C.P.D. – Continued Professional Development is the practice of actively increasing your knowledge and maintaining open lines of communication with your peers and industry providers after qualifying in your field. This keeps you up to date on new research and developments and current issues affecting your practice. It encourages an increase in skills to provide broader care to your clients.
C.P.D Points – Upon graduation from a massage, beauty or sports diploma course it is advisable to join a professional association. They will represent the interests of you and your fellow graduates. They generally provide reasonable insurance rates, maintain codes of ethics and enable voluntary self regulation.
To renew membership with your association you may be required to obtain a number of C.P.D Points. These are awarded for further research and study, attending seminars or undertaking further training.
I.T.E.C – The International Therapy Examination Council is based in London and is an internationally recognised awarding body offering vocational qualifications in complementary and sports therapy. It is regulated by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. The ITEC standard is the most widely recognised qualification for complementary therapies.
Connective Tissue Massage (C.T.M) – A form of massage focused on the treatment of fascia and Myofascial Dysfunction. It utilises slow, deep, stroking and stretching movements to release adhesion’s and lengthen fascia. This can help restore range of movement, relieve pain and improve overall health.
Soft Tissue Release (S.T.R) – A massage technique for treating adhesion’s and scar tissue. S.T.R. works by shortening the affected tissues, applying a “lock” below the adhered tissues using fingers, thumbs, heal of hand etc, and then lengthen the tissues to break down the adhesion.
Adhesions – Adhesions form when structures that should be separate become adhered, or stuck together. Typically in the body this is caused by fibrosis, an increase in the sticky quality of collegen fibres or the movement of the fascial ground substance to a more gel like state.
Fascia – Fascia is a loose, irregular connective tissue. It forms a three dimensional matrix providing a framework for the other soft tissues of the body. Like all connective tissues it consists of fibres, (collegen and elastin) cells (fibroblasts) and a ground substance (containing hyaluronic acid, giving fascia its ability to change from a liquid to gel state). Fascia is described as being in the immediate vicinity of every cell. Dr Ida Rolph who developed a form of fascial body work known as structural integration or Rolphing, described fascia as “the organ of posture”.
Bunching in fascia – This is a loose term that reflects fascias ability to migrate, thicken and become adhered in response to injury or postural imbalance.
Knots – This is a layman’s term that accurately describes the feeling of tension and restriction experienced with dysfunctional soft tissues. Knots are usually formed by adhesion, fibrosis and elevated levels of muscle tone.
Internal Scar Tissue – This is the result of our bodies repair mechanism laying down collegen fibres in response to injury, overuse or abuse. Internal scar tissue is formed when fibrosis is contained within a structure, typically a skeletal muscle and its surrounding fascial envelop, the epimysium. This affects the muscles ability to function as the scar tissue will inhibit both contraction and stretching.
External Scar Tissue – The formation of external scar tissue is similar to internal scar tissue except that in this case fibrosis takes place outside the fascial envelop and tethers or adheres separate structures (muscles, tendons, ligaments and periosteum) to each other. This can result in impaired movement, reduced local circulation, inflammation and pain.
Fibrosis – This is the formation of excessive amounts of fibrous connective tissue. Fibroblasts are the cells that produce and maintain our extracellular matrix. They produce the ground substance and fibres that make up fascia. Overload or repetitive load causes fibroblasts to produce more collegen fibres as it is collegen that gives connective tissue its tensile strength. The down side is this reduces elasticity. In massage it is fibrosis that is responsible for the formation of knots and the palpable matted feeling of dysfunctional soft tissues.
Muscle stripping – A deep kneading stroke that follow the muscle fibre direction. It is used to break down adhesion and fibrosis.
Cross fibre friction – This can be used as a friction or kneading technique. It works by traversing the fibre direction of the soft tissues. It is and effective tool for breaking down adhesion, fibrosis and scar tissue.
Elbow work – The use of the elbow to apply massage techniques. It is very effective when applying muscle stripping, cross fibre friction and compression to areas of dense musculature.
Surface anatomy – The use of bony landmarks and muscle contours to accurately locate and identify anatomical structures.
Palpation – The process of assessment through touch. Palpation is a skill used by massage therapists to locate areas of dysfunction within soft tissues.
Muscle Energy Technique (M.E.T) – This technique uses the nervous systems inhibitory action on muscular contraction to cause a temporary reduction in tone, to facilitate a lengthen or stretching of shortened tense muscles. There are two main approaches: Post-Isometric relaxation uses contraction of the agonist (prime mover) while reciprocal inhabitation uses contraction of the antagonist (opposing muscle). Typically contractions are gentle, using approximately 20 % of the muscle force. This technique is very effective when treating restricted range of motion.
Post-Isometric Relaxation (P.I.R) – A form of M.E.T. that works on the principal that after contraction there is a period of relative hypotonicity, during which a greater lengthening of the tissues can be achieved. In P.I.R the agonist is tensed, relaxed then brought to a new lengthened position.
Reciprocal Inhibition (R.I) – R.I is similar to P.I.R in that there is a contraction, relaxation and lengthening phase. However in R.I. it is the antagonist which is contracted. This results in a stimulation of the inhibitory reflex in the agonist resulting in a short period of relative hypotonicity in the agonist, allowing a greater stretch of the shortened tissues. This is mot beneficial when the agonist is injured or inflamed.
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (P.N.F) – This technique uses the contraction and relaxation of muscles to facilitate a lengthening of shortened, tight muscles. In this regard it is similar to M.E.T but there are a few subtle differences. P.N.F developed out of physical therapy practices in the U.S, where as M.E.T evolved out of osteopathic practice in Europe. P.N.F methodology typically uses high levels of contractive force whereas M.E.T uses low to moderate levels of contractive force.
Crepitus – A creaking sensation. This is often caused by scar tissue or adhesion.
T.M.J – The Temporomandibular Joint is formed by the mandible (jaw bone) and the temporal bone of the cranium.
T.M.J.D – Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction.
Extra- oral – In the treatment of T.M.J.D this refers to working outside the mouth on the structures that effect jaw movement.
Intra- oral – This refers to work inside the mouth. In the treatment of T.M.J.D the therapist, wearing latex gloves, works the hard and the soft palate and the muscles of mastication (chewing) to address dysfunction.
Trigger Points – These are points of tenderness in muscles, tendons and fascia, which can be felt as fine nodules within a tense band of tissue. If active the client will experience pain either at the site of the Trigger point or more often in a specific referral area. If latent the client only experience pain when trigger point is compressed. This is a very effective technique for reducing pain and tension fast.
