For a lot of us, whenever we encounter aches and pains, we tend to book in for a massage to ease the pain out, but what exactly is massage therapy and can it help us in any other way.
Here, Nir Levi from SEVA Experience in Jumeirah, answers some frequently asked questions on massage therapy.
Q. What is exactly is massage therapy?
Massage therapy is a form of contact therapy that involves different kind of strokes, friction and stretching that are applied to the body by the massage therapist. The first massage known was developed in ancient China around 5,000 years ago, the 'Anma'. It had been created as a need of the people who lived in the damp area of the yellow river in the centre of China, and it became a part of Chinese traditional medicine. Later on many others forms of massage have been developed out of the original Anma, in many other countries in the world.
Q. How does massage therapy differ to physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy is developed for rehabilitation needs of a specific damaged area of the body, massage is originated to be applied to the full body, and to help the body use his own energy to regain health in the damaged areas. As now there are many forms of massage, we can find massage treatments that will be also address a specific local problem.
Q, What are the most common complaints that massage therapy could be used for?
The most common complaints are physical external body pains, but today as we use massage therapy according to many therapeutic theories, for example the Chinese 5 elements theory or the Yin Yang model, and many many others from different cultures and different countries, we can see that many people that are coming to receive massage therapy, are already requesting the therapist to help them with a large variety of problems, internal organ difficulties, energetically and emotionally.
Q. Apart from physical complaints can massage therapy help with any other conditions?
As the field of massage been developed so much, we can find today through the massage an answer to many different human difficulties, it is all dependent on the different modalities. One of the major aspects of massage therapy is helping people in need addressing their emotional difficulties, as we believe that the emotional difficulties are the source of the disease in the body. It allows the therapist helping the person let go of many of the physical pains, by treating the emotional part.
Q. Can people of all ages benefit from massage therapy?
As the need of human contact is very important to address in life, massage therapy is important to apply to new born babies and to older people, according to their body abilities and other contraindicated situations. We find an extremely big change, in all aspects of the body, in people who receive regular massage therapy in their life.
Massage therapists have to be licensed and professional, and provide a safe environment for the clients.
Massage therapy is not to replace or to offer any medical treatment by a medical doctor.
Nir Levi
SEVA Experience
Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai
056 534 2899