Glossary
Acute Pain – Sudden, short term pain. Acute pain may last a few seconds or a few months but it will not last more than six months.
Alternative Medicine – A treatment used instead of conventional medicine. For example, someone with back pain may receive acupuncture instead of taking painkillers prescribed by a doctor.
Body Mechanics – The way you move your body. Having proper body mechanics requires carrying yourself in an efficient way so that your body doesn’t succumb to strain injury.
Chronic Pain – Persistent pain lasting for more than six months. It may grow worse or fluctuate between periods of increased and lessened pain.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) – Medical practices and products that aren’t part of conventional medicine. Examples of CAM are massage therapy, chiropractic, and acupuncture.
Complementary Medicine – A treatment used in conjunction with conventional medicine. For example, a person may receive treatments from a massage therapist to help speed up healing after surgery.
Connective Tissue – The tissues that are the supportive structure of the body. Ligaments, cartilage, muscles, tendons, and bones are all examples of connective tissue.
Contraindication – A condition or symptom that increases risks involved in using a certain drug or carrying out a certain treatment, making it inadvisable.
Conventional Medicine – Mainstream medical care practiced and endorsed by the primary medical establishment in the United States. Conventional medicine is also called “modern,” “traditional,” and “Western” medicine.
Countertransference – A therapist’s unconscious redirection of life emotions, experiences, and problems onto a client. Having too much emotional baggage can impact a therapist’s objectivity and jeopardize the quality of treatment sessions.
Draping – A technique of using fabric to cover a client to ensure that he or she doesn’t feel exposed during a massage session. In the United States, massage therapists will only treat one body part (such as the back or a leg) at a time, covering other areas of a client’s body accordingly.
Effleurage – A gliding massage stroke of the skin used to relax and warm up underlying muscle. The stroke can be applied in a gentle or firm manner.
Fascia – The web of soft tissue covering the whole body, surrounding muscles, organs, blood vessels, nerves, and more.
Friction – A massage technique that applies circular pressure to muscles with the fingers or palms, rubbing superficial tissue against deeper tissue. Cross-fiber friction, or friction applied across the fiber direction of a muscle, can help reduce problems such as adhesive scar tissue.
Gait – The pattern of movement in the limbs during locomotion. Sometimes massage therapists do “gait analysis” by investigating the way clients sit and stand.
Hydrotherapy – Therapy that employs the use of water. Hot tubs, steam rooms, wet compresses, and ice packs are just some examples of hydrotherapy.
Hypertonic – Having a lot of tone or tension. Hypertonic muscles may cause uneven, excessive force on the body’s joints, discs, and ligaments.
Hypotonic – Lower than normal tone or tension. Hypotonic muscles are often weak, making the body especially susceptible to injury.
Massage Modality – A specific type of massage therapy. Swedish and reflexology are two of many distinct massage modalities. Some massage therapists will combine multiple modalities in a single session.
Massage Therapist – A person who offers therapeutic massage.
Massage Therapy – Soft tissue manipulation that promotes physical and psychological health by alleviating and preventing discomfort and stress.
Muscle Contraction – The electrochemical process that causes a muscle to generate tension.
Placebo – An inactive substance or treatment (a “sugar pill”) that resembles an effective one. It can be given to evaluate a test subject’s response when he believes he’s been given an active treatment. The placebo effect occurs when a test subject notices marked improvement in his health based on his belief that his treatment (real or sham) will work.
Trigger Point – A tight “knot” or nodule in skeletal muscle that is painful when pressed and that may refer pain to another part of the body. For example, a trigger point in the shoulder area may be the cause of a headache.
