Interested in learning more about bodywork massage therapy? There are many different disciplines from Swedish to shiatsu. Many massage disciplines, like shiatsu, fall under the term bodywork massage therapy. This article will review what a massage therapist does and give you an idea of what bodywork massage therapy is so you can decide on your path to becoming a massage therapist.
What Does a Massage Therapist Do?
A massage therapist is a professional that’s trained to relieve pain and stress in the body by manipulating soft tissue. This includes the ligaments, connective tissue, tendons, and muscles. After earning a diploma from Gwinnett College, you will have learned the different types of bodywork techniques. This will help you advance in your career and help others at the same time. It’s a win-win!
What Is Bodywork Massage Therapy?
Bodywork is a generic term that refers to re-aligning and manipulating different areas of the body to reduce pain, stiffness and improve the function of the body and the mind. This supplement to traditional medicine incorporates different methods to heal clients holistically. You will use techniques that enhance the client’s posture and the range of motion.
In traditional massage therapy, you use oils or lotions to reduce the amount of friction to the client’s muscles. During bodywork therapy, oils and lotions aren’t usually used. You will focus on fascia. The fascia is the connective tissue that covers the body’s internal organs and muscles. By stretching, warming, and relaxing the connective tissue, tension and pain in the muscles are released.
What is the Purpose of Bodywork Massage Therapy?
The purpose of bodywork therapy is to improve how the fascia functions, decrease discomfort, make movement more manageable, and provide the client with increased energy. Another way bodywork therapy is beneficial is in healing sports injuries, to prevent further damage to the muscles. Athletes and dancers find this bodywork treatment helps in preventing injuries.
Learning how to use one’s body safely and effectively is one of the goals of bodywork. The treatment is referred to as holistic because you may incorporate guided imagery or visualization techniques to make the client more self-aware. Teaching clients how to break old patterns of movement is one of the methods you may utilize.
How Is Bodywork Therapy Performed?
Bodywork uses different techniques to release the body’s energy and relieve pain and tension. Unlike traditional massage, bodywork focuses on the mind-body connection. The massage therapist chooses the method that will benefit the client based on the initial assessment.
Bodywork may leave the client feeling sore after the first few sessions, but this usually diminishes as the treatment starts to have positive effects on the muscles and deep tissue.
What Are Some of the Common Types of Bodywork?
There are a wide variety of bodywork techniques. Each with their own benefits. These bodywork techniques include:
Craniosacral Therapy
CST or Craniosacral Therapy is a therapy in which the massage practitioner manipulates the skull, the membranes that cover the spinal cord and skull, and sometimes the bones in the face. The bodywork treatment creates an adequate distribution of cerebrospinal fluid. For this type of treatment, the client lies on a table while the massage practitioner presses on the spine or skull, using a gentle touch. When the cerebrospinal fluid isn’t flowing naturally, the massage therapist must identify where the interruption of the flow and abnormalities are. Soft manipulation with the hands and fingers can release abnormalities and create a normal flow. CST is especially useful for migraines, problems with the sinuses, ringing in the ears, and head injuries.
Hellerwork
The purpose of Hellerwork is to release tension in the fascia. Physical stress can result in the fascia getting rigid, which can cause pain and stiffness. A massage practitioner begins a session by working with connective tissue to release fascia stress. Once the tension begins to diminish, the practitioner educates the client about movement with the use of videos. Clients learn new methods of movement that keep their bodies in alignment. The third portion of the bodywork treatment is a constructive dialogue between the practitioner and client to teach about how emotions can affect stress levels in their muscles.
Rolfing
Rolfing is a holistic type of bodywork therapy that manipulates soft tissue to balance the body and get the structure of the myofascial into alignment. Ida Rolf, the founder of this holistic method, studied with alternative health practitioners. She created a technique called structural integration.
Initial Rolfing treatments consist of multiple sessions. Each Rolfing session is a duration of around an hour. Practitioners usually recommend that clients have advanced sessions every few months. The massage therapist uses hands, knuckles, elbows, and fingers to make the connective tissue soft and more pliable. When the body’s deep tissue is pliable, the muscles can lengthen and will be appropriately aligned.
Shiatsu
Shiatsu has been practiced in Japan for centuries and is considered to be the oldest type of bodywork massage therapy. In Japanese, Shiatsu means finger pressure. Shiatsu is similar to acupuncture. Both are based on the concept that energy or Ki flows through the body and the meridians through which energy travels to the body’s organs. According to Asian beliefs, Shiatsu unblocks the energy and redistributes it, so it goes to where it’s needed within the body. Shiatsu helps stimulate endorphins and relieve pain.
The first Shiatsu treatment involves the massage therapist conducting an assessment of the client’s health. The practitioner evaluates the client’s skin tone, condition of their hair, and posture. They use this information with the energy level of the client for the most effective treatment.
The practitioner uses pressure with their fingers to locate the trigger points where energy collects. Pressure on these points releases the energy, so it’s distributed to parts of the body where it’s needed.
Trigger Point Therapy
Myotherapy, also referred to as Trigger Point Therapy, is a form of treatment that relieves pain in the musculoskeletal system by applying pressure to the body’s trigger points. Trigger points may be within the muscles or in other susceptible spots within the body. When the trigger points are located, the pressure helps to relieve tension and pain.
What Are the Benefits of Bodywork Therapy?
Medical experts estimate that a significant proportion of disease is the result of stress. Bodywork is a natural method of managing stress. Reduced stress levels result in more restful sleep, less fatigue, more energy, better circulation, and improved concentration. Better, overall health is a benefit of bodywork, including:
• The lymphatic system is stimulated, which helps build immunity to disease.
• Less pain in the lower back.
• Joints become more flexible and less painful.
• Scar tissue can be reduced when treatments regenerate the skin.
• Swelling and adhesions following surgery can be reduced.
• Muscles that suffer from overuse following strenuous activity are relaxed and pliable.
• Endorphins that reduce pain are released.
• Clients have fewer incidents of anxiety and depression.
• Holistic treatments reduce the need for prescription medications.
• More oxygen is pumped into the organs and tissue of the body and improves circulation.
What Are the Essential Bodywork Therapy Skills?
Massage therapists treat several clients each day and require a lot of stamina. Standing for long periods and kneading muscles with the hands and fingers requires a lot of dexterity. Knowledge of physiology is a must for a massage therapist. They must know how tissue, muscles, and organs function to treat clients and alleviate pain and stress. This is learned during the Massage Therapy program at Gwinnett College.
Any professional who works with the public must have excellent communication skills. It’s essential to listen closely to clients, ask questions, so the massage therapist understands what treatment will be most effective, and make sure the client understands the procedure.
Final Thoughts
Do you have an interest in holistic medicine? Ready to help others relieve stress and reduce pain with massage therapy? Attending a massage therapy program will give you the massage skills and bodywork knowledge needed to succeed in this new career. Be a general massage practitioner or choose a specialty, the choice is yours.
Ready to Learn More?
Are you interested in learning more about starting a career in massage therapy? Upon graduation, Massage Therapy Program students will receive diplomas and be qualified to seek entry-level positions as clinical, medical, or deep tissue massage therapists in wellness clinics and centers, spa environments including resorts and franchises, and self-employment.
The massage therapy training diploma program consists of a well-planned sequence of courses, each preparing the college student for the more intensive information to follow. The school curriculum includes training to provide college students with scientific knowledge, manual skills, and business mastery to become a professional massage therapist.
Contact us to learn more about how you can become a massage therapist today.