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Massage is the practice of applying structured or unstructured pressure, tension, motion, or vibration — manually or with mechanical aids — to the soft tissues of the body, including muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, joints and lymphatic vessels, to achieve a beneficial response. A form of therapy, massage can be applied to parts of the body or successively to the whole body, to aid the process of injury healing, relieve psychological stress, manage pain, and improve circulation. Where massage is used for its physical and psychological benefits, it may be termed "therapeutic massage" or manipulative therapy.

Massage can also be a part of lovemaking (see erotic massage, tantramassage), and often takes place in the context of sex work.

In commercial settings, massage techniques involve the client being treated lying down on a massage table or in a massage chair, or on a mattress on the floor. Except for modalities such as Thai Massage or Barefoot Deep Tissue, the massage subject is generally unclothed, and the body may be "draped" with towels or sheets. This also helps keep the client warm. In some jurisdictions it is required that certain areas such as the genitals on both genders and the breast/nipple area on women be draped at all times. In many forms of massage, the treatment may start with the client face up or down for the first part of the session: the client then rolls over for the second half of the session. Relaxation is necessary for benefits to be achieved.

Massage Basics

Communication

Good communication is essential to effective massage. In a commercial setting, the client is encouraged to communicate the type of treatment expected, for example relaxation or pain relief, full body massage, avoidance of, or focus on a specific area, the amount of pressure that is comfortable, preferred techniques, & past medical history & current physical condition....

Types of massage

There are well over 150 types of massage therapy. Various styles of massage have developed from a number of sources.

Barefoot Deep Tissue

Barefoot Deep Tissue is a blend of Eastern barefoot techniques with Western manual medicine. Clients are typically loosely clothed and lain on floor mat in supine, prone and side-lying positions with pillows or bolsters. No oil is used. Sessions may last 2 minutes or well over an hour. Because the therapist can apply a broad range of pressure with ease and does not have to strain, more effort and concentration can be used to sense and manipulate tissue, release fascia, as well as search for and attack trigger points and other problems, regardless of client's size or build. John Harris, the proceleusmatic mentor who worked in the 1984 Olympics and developed this modality, states that the combination offers a potent new tool for powerfully satisfying, effective deep tissue massage and Trigger Point work regardless of client's size or build. Mr. Harris and Fred Kenyon wrote Fix Pain in 2002, and have been hired by Human Kinetics to write a trade publication with DVD for elite athletes.

Read more at Wikipedia.org