Complementary Therapies: Analysis of Massage Therapy

This report analyzes the efficacy, benefits, and contraindications of massage therapy as a complementary therapy. It delves into the history of massages and the different types of massages available. The report also discusses the different aspects of massage therapy and its impact on the body. It is a comprehensive guide for anyone interested in learning about massage therapy.

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Complementary therapies, Massages
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191312

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................4
Efficacy, benefice, and contraindications of massage therapy..............................................................8
Analysis the different aspects of massage therapy...............................................................................9
Statutory self-regulation system and the voluntary self-regulation system and Ethical considerations.....11
Conclusion:...................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................13

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Introduction
It is well known the standard medicine is used in most medical treatments but the aim of today
report is to highlight an alternative to the classic medicine, holistic medicine known as a
complementary therapy. In following paper and we will describe and analyze various aspects of
complementary medicine, use, benefice, contraindications, rules, and regulations focusing on
massage as a complementary therapy.
These days, complementary therapies are used along with standard medicine in most medical
treatments. The people start to understand how holistic medicine performs and the benefice of
relations mind-body. Complementary therapy is defined as a range of diverse practices and
products, not standard convention medicine designed to improve patients' health and well-being
(Saks, 2007). In present, we don't know certainly how many forms of complementary therapy
there are, but we surely can certainly illustrate a list of the most common therapies used in
agreement with classical medicine to treat various medical conditions. Some of the more popular
complementary therapies are aromatherapy, massage, acupuncture, Alexander technique, herbal
medicine, homeopathy, nephropathy, reiki, and yoga (Yeun and et. al., 2017).
- Massage therapy definition.
Massage can be defined as the manipulations of soft tissues of the different parts of the body to
reduce pain or to bring general health improvement (Ernst, 2003). In this, there are several type
of massage which help to focus on the various part of body and healing approaches. Massage is
the practice of rubbing and kneading the body which is done using the hands. As per this, during
the session of massage, a massage therapist will apply a strong and gentle pressure on the muscle
and the joint of the body which is helpful to ease pain and tension. The massage is a person
trained in giving massage to the number of people. Moreover, there are type of massage which is
used in such a way which is beneficial for the different part of body this include Swedish
massage, this is usually focus on the gentle type of massage to the whole body and this is helpful
to reduce stress and pain. The hot tone massage which is focus on the people muscle pain and
tension and provide relaxation for the longer period. Hot stone massage helps to ease muscle
tension, improve blood flow, alleviate pain, promote relaxation and relieve stress. The
aromatherapy massage is usually best for number of people who need emotional healing. This
help to boost mood, reduce stress and tension, reduce symptoms of depression, and so on. In
addition to this, the deep tissue massage is also a form of style which is used likewise Swedish

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massage but in this it requires more pressure, during this massage, the therapist use slow stoke
and deep finger pressure to relieve tension from the deepest layer of muscle and connective
tissue. As per this, the sports massage is a good option if the individual face repetitive injury to
the muscle. However, there are several type and style of massage which have deep effect on the
body which is associated with the muscle and organ (Rapaport and et. al., 2018).
-The history of massages.
The origin of massages has deep roots in ancient times probably being the first known format of
medicine. In Ayurveda "life health" medicine outlines massage therapy as a form of healing
injuries, reduce pain curing and prevent illnesses. According to the Ayurveda disciples, massages
are the bridge between the physical body and spirit. During the massages the body's natural
physical and spiritual balance can be restored. Chinese monks around 1000 BC develops a new
massage technique called ''Amna'' based on pressing the pressure points of the body meant to
strengthen the organs

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Following the course of history, one by one the Egyptians followed by the Greeks and the Roman
empire introduced massage in their own culture (Vergo and et. al., 2018).
Once with the development of modern medicine and the advent of synthetic drugs, massage as
therapy is losing its popularity, being used less and less by doctors. At the beginning of the 18th,
the Swedish Doctor Per Henrik Ling put the base of Swedish massage, the massage techniques
involve stroking, pressing, squeezing, and striking.
In the beginning of 18th century, Dutchman Johan Georg Mezger following the principle of the
Swedish massage developed a new massage technique designated to help athletes. In the early
'90s massage growth in popularity as a form of therapy and become a highly respected profession
and in 1950 massage therapy is licensed being considered medical practice (Academy, 2019).
Types of massages
Nowadays more and more people choose to live a healthy lifestyle with greater openness to
holistic therapies, massage being considered "a good medicine" for body and spirit. Massage is
the bridge between body and spirit is made by touching, hitting, pressuring, or rubbing the skin
through different methods and techniques meant to make us feel good from a physical, mental,
and emotional perspective. Depending on the type of massage chosen, the individual may
experience different feelings of well- being (Jannah and et. al., 2017).
Massage as therapy is divided into several categories depending on the "hardness" of the
techniques used. The most popular types of massage are Swedish massage, hot stone massage,
aromatherapy massage, deep tissue massage, sports massage, trigger point massage, reflexology,
and shiatsu massage. It should be noted that different styles of massage are used for different
forms of treatment or relaxation. Is massage just a form of pleasure or can it bring long-term
well-being? To find the best form of massage suitable for the needs of each individual, we will
develop a few of the massage techniques separately.

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Swedish massage is a massage that focuses on body relaxations. So the basis is to relax the
superficial muscles on the body and to release the superficial muscle tension and increase
relaxation. Five basic techniques are very basic in use in Swedish massage, these techniques are
Effleurage Petrissage, Tapotement, Friction, and Vibration, each of them interacting differently
with our body (Lazarus and et. al., 2021).
An aromatherapy massage can be any kind of massage that uses aromatherapy essential oils, it
can be a Swedish massage deep tissue massage, shiatsu type, or energy work massage. In
aromatherapy massage, the essential oils are dissolved in a proportion of 1-3% in 10 ml in
vegetable oils, oils that are applied to the individual's body. So basically, aromatherapy massages
are the way to incorporate the healing and wonderful effects of aromatherapy into the massage.
Deep tissue massage is the combination between a relaxation massage and much deeper muscle
massages. The therapist is much focused on penetrating the muscle and flashes structures of the
body, in order to increase circulation and of course decrease muscle pain. Because a lot of power
is required to perform properly deep tissue massages the therapist uses different tools that help
them to protect the own muscles and joints. Deep tissue massages are more complicated than a
relaxation massage and the therapist doesn't have time to concentrate overall body in one session
so usual the therapist are concentrated on one or two parts of a body for a good result.
Reflexology is a form of massage therapy based on the theory that different points of the feet,
lower leg, hands face, and ears correspond with different areas of the internal body. The theory of
foot reflexology is that there are three distinct zones defined by the bone structure under the foot
indicating the shoulder line and the pelvic line. The reflexologist is using techniques of
pressuring and rubbing of diversities point to release stress and to bring relaxation and well-being.
Therapeutic sport massage is mainly focused on athletes and is divide into three specifically
parts, workouts, pre-event, and post-event massage. Workout massages help the athletes to
eliminate lactic acid, increase flexibility and reduce eventually pain. Pre-event massage is more
focused on building athlete's confidence and increase blood

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circulation and post-event massage is used mainly for relaxation and decreases the level of
emotions.
Shiatsu is a traditional form of Japanese massage focused on pressuring the energy points to help
energy flow in the body in a natural way and to restore the balance between Yin and Yang
energy.
Thai massage is also known as Thai yoga massage and is a form of relaxation. Thai massage is
originally from India but was later developed in Thailand. The therapist uses almost all parts of
his body to activate different energy channels of the patient's body to bring relaxation. Ordinary
Thai massage starts from the feet and ends with the patient's head (Ratini, 2020)
Efficacy, benefice, and contraindications of massage therapy
Regarding the benefits of massage, while some people might believe that massage is only for
their pleasure it has been scientifically proven that regular massage can significantly improve the
quality of life. One of the greatest benefits of massage is that it helps relieve stress, and induces
physical and spiritual relaxation. Massage in its complexity can bring major benefits in good
quality of life management by properly balancing hormonal functions designed to help the proper
functioning of the human body by reducing stress levels. Massage reduces the level of cortisone,
allowing the body to secrete another hormone called Serotonin, which is responsible for
stabilizing the mood way we feel, happiness, and well-being in general.
The adrenal glands are located near the kidneys and their role is to control the levels of cortisol,
norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Through massage we can help the adrenal glands, massage can
be an important ally in the fight against stress and its symptoms (Massage & Facials, 2017).
Massage can be an impetus for blood circulation and also help the lymphatic and nervous system
to proper functioning. Massage improves the quality of sleep, our overall health, and well-being.
Even a single massage can have surprising results in reducing temporary anxiety, but regular
massage has proven to be beneficial in treating anxiety and depression (Monteiro Rodrigues and
et. al., 2020).

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Analysis the different aspects of massage therapy
Recent medical studies show that up to 90% of diseases are caused by stress. Stress can cause
physical and mental dysfunction, sometimes causing chronic muscle pain. According to the
study published in the Annals of Family Medicine in 2014, it was found that massage used for at
least 60 minutes several times over four weeks or more can reduce substantial chronic neck pain.
(Publishing, 2021)
From the end of the 19th century to the present day, a significant number of researches have been
carried out on the effectiveness of the therapeutic massage. On the one hand, both doctors and
representatives of complementary therapies have demonstrated that massage as therapy can
successfully replace classic drugs in some cases and others can help alleviate the effects of the
disease. Nowadays massage is introduced in almost all medical fields and research on the
effectiveness of massage in mental illness has been extended to investigate the physical,
pathological and physiological effects (Gultom and et. al., 2019).
There are some of the benefits which is associated with the massage and some of the negative
point which is associated with massage. As per this, there are several benefits which is gain from
the routine basis of massage which contain decrees in the stress, massage usually focus on
muscle stretching which help the individual to feel relax. This also help to improve the flexibility
in the muscle, moreover, enhance rate of immune function is also associated with the body.
Whereas, there are some of the biological factor are associated with massage. Most of the studies
are analyze and provide information which is associated with mechanism of body where some of
the component of organ is trigger and create hyper activity which create relaxing factor with
body. As per this, they also used to reduce the pain and provide factor to sleep in better way. In
this, some of the negative impact which is associated with the massage is likewise, lingering
pain, excessive massage can have led to create the situation of headache and migraine with the
condition of fatigue and sleepiness. Moreover, some of the cases are well related with the
inflammation and nausea due to excessive massage which reverse the mechanism of massage.
The study made by the Agency for Research and Quality of Healthcare, in a 2016 analyzing over
20 reports on the effectiveness of massage compared to classic drugs concluded that all types of
massage used effects in reducing pain around the neck and lower back area. Also, massage
therapy along with aromatherapy performed on a group of 1,200 cancer patients in over 19
research studies has shown that it can reduce pain, anxiety, and depression in some cases with

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satisfactory results. In the case of athletes, the application of massage therapies can reduce the
risk of injury and can help with muscle elasticity. A study done on groups of subjects showed that
the effects of sports massage are more beneficial on short periods of time (Kukimoto and et. al.,
2017)
Massage is considered one of the safest complementary therapies but still, we can face possible
side effects and injuries to the human body. It seems that the elderly is the most affected and can
remain with physical marks (bruises) or in the most unfortunate cases with severe injuries
damaging nerves, good fracture, blood clot, etc. The injuries can occur during deep tissue
massage sessions or another type of

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massage which involve a more vigorous massage. Another side effect of the massage can be
sleep fatigue and it is known that during the massage the body became relaxed. It is
recommended not to drive after a massage. Headaches, migraines, inflammation and nausea can
also occur in some situations as a result of toxins released from the body during the massage or
less comfortable body positions during therapy (Baumgart and et. al., 2020).
Statutory self-regulation system and the voluntary self-regulation system and Ethical
considerations
Complementary and alternative therapies have become increasingly popular in the UK over the
last 40 years, making it easier to increase the number of unregulated therapists with poor training,
and this can lead to major side effects among patients. In the UK there are no laws that to protect
the population from incompetent and irresponsible therapists or charlatans, the registration of
complementary therapies being voluntary. The practice of complementary and alternative
therapies in the early 2000s was free and anyone could practice it in their way, regardless of the
professional training that led to the need for new regulations in the House of Lords, related to the
practice of complementary therapy (Mills SY 2001). As a result of the regulations adopted in the
House of Lords, the same complementary therapy becomes part of conventional medicine,
Chiropractic and Osteopathy having the same regulations as conventional medicine. All
osteopaths and chiropractors must be registered with the General Osteopathic Council and
General Chiropractic Council (NHS, 2018). In the last decade, associations and specialists in the
field of complementary therapies have worked hand in hand to establish a minimum level of
qualification and training for those who want to be practitioners, with the establishment of rules
and criteria for the practice of complementary therapies (Arunthathi and et. al., 2018). The next
step was to create a register to validate the competence of each therapist. General Regulatory
Council for Complementary Therapies (GRCCT) is the entity that ensures compliance with the
rules of conduct and professional ethics established. The role of GRCCT is to ensure that all
practitioners of complementary therapies: do not deviate from the Code of Professional Conduct
& Ethics, continue to develop their knowledge in the field in which they practice, and also have
in force professional indemnity and public liability insurance. GRCCT-recognized

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complementary therapies have over 50,000 registered UK practitioners, many of them working
in collaboration with NHS organizations for the benefit and well-being of patients (Walaszek
and et. al., 2018).
Conclusion:
As per the above discussion, it is analyzed that the massage has positive and negative aspect
which is associated with the individual. In his fight against disease, humanity used the gifts
offered by the earth's fauna and flora. Observing the way how animals treat using the
environment, humans developed a number of primitive medical techniques that later became
known as complementary therapies. Complementary therapies have proven to be part of human
life since ancient times. In conclusion, we can ask ourselves: Are complementary therapies
beneficial in our daily lives? Does Complementary therapy "works"? Analyzing the above
report, we can say with certainty that complementary therapies "work" having a significant
role together with standard medicine in treating diseases and successfully helping people to
have a healthy and well-being life. If classical medicine through treatments tries to suppress
diseases, holistic medicine has the role of improving the patient's lo ng-term condition and
helping them physically and mentally in the fight against stress, anxiety and depression. In
addition, more researches on the benefits and side effects of complementary therapies must be
done in order to determine the role of each therapy and how they affect in the short and long
terms standard medical treatments. Although not everyone agrees that massage is the form of
treatment, massage therapy has shown in various studies that it deserves to be part of the great
family of classical medicine. Also, the involvement of international and governmental
organizations in the regulation of complementary therapies through laws and public policies is
necessary for a correct integration and for the protection of the population against "abuses" that
may be committed by practitioners of complementary therapies. That being said, I am
convinced that complementary therapies have earned their right in our daily routine. '' Mens
sana in corpore sano''

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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Yeun and et. al., 2017. Effectiveness of massage therapy on the range of motion of the shoulder:
a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of physical therapy science, 29(2),
pp.365-369.
Rapaport and et. al., 2018. Massage therapy for psychiatric disorders. Focus, 16(1), pp.24-31.
Vergo and et. al., 2018. Immediate symptom relief after a first session of massage therapy or
Reiki in hospitalized patients: a 5-year clinical experience from a rural academic medical
center. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 24(8), pp.801-808.
Jannah and et. al., 2017, September. Comparing effectiveness of palm dates and oxytocin
massage in stimulating breastmilk production of post partum mother. In Proceedings of
the International Conference on Applied Science and Health (No. 2, pp. 63-69).
Lazarus and et. al., 2021. The effects of an olive-oil massage on hemodialysis patients suffering
from fatigue at a hemodialysis unit in southern India–a randomized controlled
trial. Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, 18(2), pp.397-403.
Monteiro Rodrigues and et. al., 2020. Lower limb massage in humans increases local perfusion
and impacts systemic hemodynamics. Journal of Applied Physiology, 128(5), pp.1217-
1226.
Gultom and et. al., 2019. The Effects of Infant Massage on The Physical Development of Baby
in Indonesia Rural Areas.
Kukimoto and et. al., 2017. The effects of massage therapy on pain and anxiety after surgery: a
systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain Management Nursing, 18(6), pp.378-390.
Baumgart and et. al., 2020. Effect of Psycho-Regulatory Massage Therapy on Pain and
Depression in Women with Chronic and/or Somatoform Back Pain: A Randomized
Controlled Trial. Brain Sciences, 10(10), p.721.
Walaszek and et. al., 2018. Massage efficacy in the treatment of autistic children–a literature
review. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 64(4-5), pp.225-229.
Arunthathi and et. al., 2018. Efficacy of Massage Therapy on Pain in Patients with Osteoarthritis
of Knee: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial (Doctoral dissertation, Government
Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College, Chennai).