MANUAL THERAPY TABLE 1: PROPOSED TAXONOMY OF MASSAGE PRACTICE

Principal goals of treatment

Intention Relaxation massage

Relax muscles,move body fluids,promote wellness

Commonly used styles (examples*)

Commonly used tech- niques (examples**)

Swedish massage,spa massage, sports massage

Gliding, kneading, friction, holding, percussion, vibration

Clinical massage

Accomplish specific goals such as releasing muscle spasms

Myofascial trigger point therapy, myofascial release, strain-counter- strain

Direct pressure, skin rolling, resistive stretching, stretching - manual, cross-fibre friction

Movement re-education

Induce sense of freedom, ease and lightness in body

proprioceptive, neuro- muscular facilitation (PNF), strain-counter- strain, Trager

Contract-relax, passive stretching, resistive stretching, rocking

Energy work

Hypothesised to free energy blockages

Acupressure, Reiki, polarity, therapeutic touch

Direction of energy, smoothing, direct pres- sure, holding, rocking, traction

*While some styles of massage are commonly used in addressing one of the four principal treatment goals, some may be used to address several distinct treatment goals.

**By varying the intent (or purpose), one technique can be used for different principal treatment goals and in different styles of massage

Neuromuscular therapy focuses on reliev- ing local dysfunctions of the tissue, including trigger points, ischemia, inflam- mation, muscle hypertonia, and nerve impingement. It includes 15 component techniques: application of cold and heat, compression, cross-fibre friction, direct pressure,

friction, J-stroke, manual

stretching, percussion with stretch, scrap- ing, stripping, and vibration focused on

trigger points, and three types of resistive stretching: 1) lengthening, contracting the agonist; 2) lengthening the agonist, contracting the antagonist; and 3) lengthening the agonist, contracting ago- nist and antagonist (14,19) (see Table 2).

Techniques Our literature review identified 36 tech- niques, where techniques are defined as

the “discrete” and “distinct” strokes and manipulations performed by a massage therapist (eg. static friction, deep gliding, skin rolling) (Table 2). Techniques are the “building blocks” of a massage treatment session. Techniques are listed in alpha- betical order and include descriptions as well as examples of styles wherein these techniques have been commonly used. In some cases, techniques may be related,

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