Page 94 - Massage Therapy School Program

Forearm, Wrist & Hand Treatment – Presentation Outline
6.
Some of the massage terms that will be used in this treatment:
Fascia - A layer of fibrous connective tissue that permeates the body. It interpenetrates and surrounds muscles, bones, organs, nerves, blood vessels, and other structures. Fascia is an uninterrupted, three- dimensional, web of tissue that extends from head to toe, from front to back, and from interior to exterior.
Myofascial release - A safe and very effective hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure into the myofascial connective tissue restrictions to eliminate pain and restore motion. This essential “time element’ has to do with the viscous flow and the piezoelectric phenomenon: a low load (gentle pressure) applied slowly will allow a viscoelastic medium (fascia) to elongate. The therapist’s role is to soften and mobilize fascia back to its normal resting positions throughout the body.
Hooking fascia- In order to move fascia back to normal positions throughout the body, you must minimize movement over the skin, known as compressive effleurage, and instead enter deep fascial layers at a 45 degree angle. With the ideal viscosity found in Prossage Heat, you minimize the glide.
Trigger point or trigger sites - Hyperirritable spots on skeletal muscle that are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers. Trigger point practitioners believe that nodules are small contraction knots and a common cause of pain. Compression of a trigger point may elicit local tenderness, referred pain or local twitch response. The trigger point model states that unexplained pain frequently radiates from these points of local tenderness, and are sometimes a distant from the trigger point itself. Practitioners claim to have identified reliable referred pain patterns, allowing practitioners to associate pain in one location with trigger points elsewhere.
Stripping - Also known as a deep cross-fiber gliding strokes, is used to broaden and separate muscle fibers. This allows the therapist to bring muscle fibers back to normal muscle resting lengths. Because of the stretch reflex responses in the connective tissue, it is recommended that these strokes are done with slow velocity.
Friction - Rubbing one thing against another. In manual therapy, we use various forms of friction to warm, soften and mobilize connective tissue that is thick, congested or immobile. Some forms of friction include palmer friction for superficial warming, and deep cross fiber friction for softening scar tissue adhesions for more effective mobilization, reduced pain, and improved function.
Palmer friction - Rapid movements of the palm back and forth across the skin to create a superficial warming effect on the tissues. It is recommended to apply Prossage Heat using palmer friction to generate warmth for more effective myofascial release.
Belly of the Muscle - The contractile and most vascular part of a muscle-tendon unit. It is usually connected from origin to insertion by strong and relatively avascular tendons to create movement. Our role as manual therapists is to restore normal muscle resting lengths to opposing groups of muscle-tendon units throughout the body. The muscle belly is where we will apply the majority our myofascial and trigger point techniques.
©March 2012, P05507, Rev. 0