Gary L. Dixon, D.C.

Massage has been used as a healing tool for thousands of years, in many different cultures spanning the globe. Healers throughout time and throughout every corner of the world have instinctually and independently developed a wide range of therapeutic techniques using touch.

Having a massage does more than just relax your body and mind - there are specific physiological and psychological changes which occur, even more so when massage is utilized as a preventative, frequent therapy and not simply mere luxury. Massage not only feels good, but it can cure what ails you.

A few popular examples of this therapy are as follows:

• In Swedish massage, the therapist uses long strokes, kneading, and friction on the muscles and moves the joints to aid flexibility.
• A therapist giving a deep tissue massage uses patterns of strokes and deep finger pressure on parts of the body where muscles are tight or knotted, focusing on layers of muscle deep under the skin.
• In trigger point massage (also called pressure point massage), the therapist uses a variety of strokes but applies deeper, more focused pressure on myofascial trigger points--"knots" that can form in the muscles, are painful when pressed, and cause symptoms elsewhere in the body as well.
• In shiatsu massage, the therapist applies varying, rhythmic pressure from the fingers on parts of the body that are believed to be important for the flow of a vital energy called qi.