
PHYSICAL medicine in traditional naturopathy deals with differential diagnosis, remedial treatment, and disease prevention. Massage core treatment intent is restoring musculoskeletal mobility and support wellbeing.
Beyond this fundamental focus, massage can assist nutritional uptake into tissues, promote circulation plus help lessen fluid retention and aid tissue cleansing responses.
There’s unconvincing evidence massage directly improves strength, endurance and muscle tone or reduce fatty tissue deposits, claims to the contrary can be misleading.
A strong point in massage is the ability to lessen stiffness resulting from injury, surgery, infection or low oxygen uptake in musculoskeletal tissue.
Also, when separate muscles bind together from abnormal healing, massage can assist correcting the problem.
Traditional remedial massage as applied in time-honoured naturopathy only uses the palm surface of hands, intending to avoid causing harm.
It has been argued for well over 30 years that using knuckles and elbows have no place in massage treatment.
Persons receiving vigorous massage and experience secondary fatigue may possibly have an underlying pathological complication.
Therefore, ongoing massage treatment is ill advised because it might spread a complication to surrounding organs or tissues.
Painfully applied massage techniques have no place in therapeutic sessions for two reasons.
Firstly, it’s probable that muscle tissue becomes slightly damaged, perhaps resulting in build-up of internal scaring.
Secondly, if encouraged to have regular weekly or fortnightly massage session long-term, tissues may progressively stiffen and perhaps result in high blood pressure.
There are only two effects of massage, which are reflex and mechanical. Reflex effects bring about stimulation or sedation through the nervous system.
Mechanical effects of massage include assisting blood and lymphatic flow, help natural musculoskeletal movement and alter digestive capacity.
Something worth considering when undertaking remedial massage relates to towelling.
For safety sake it’s ideal to know towelling is professionally laundered, towels should be washed and air-dried at very high heat for sterilisation purposes.
Did you know massage treatments could involve a product termed easy wash massage oil?
The concerning fact is that often this product may have fractionated oil, which means it has been denatured by removing particular constituents.
Furthermore Polysorbate 80 is a synthetic non-ionic surfactant that may be in easy wash massage oil.
There has been suggestion this chemical may possibly be a risk factor in hypersensitivity systemic reactions.
Perhaps long-term exposure may give rise to anxiety with no apparent cause.
Peter Lewis, Registered Naturopath Practitioner, © 26/06/19