Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In European countries, a person professionally trained to give massages is traditionally known as a masseur (male) or masseuse (female). In the United States, these individuals are often referred to as "massage therapists;" In some provinces of Canada, they are called "registered massage therapists."
Rolfing is a form of alternative medicine originally developed by Ida Rolf (1896–1979) as Structural Integration. Rolfing is marketed with unproven claims of various health benefits. It is based on Rolf's ideas about how the human body's "energy field" can benefit when aligned with the Earth's gravitational field.
Subcutaneous administration is the insertion of medications beneath the skin either by injection or infusion.
Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the hands and feet. The initial symptoms are typically a feeling of cold and tingling or numbing. This may be followed by clumsiness with a white or bluish color to the skin. Swelling or blistering may occur following treatment. Complications may include hypothermia or compartment syndrome.
Gua sha, or kerokan, is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practice in which a tool is used to scrape people's skin in order to produce light petechiae. Practitioners believe that gua sha releases unhealthy bodily matter from blood stasis within sore, tired, stiff, or injured muscle areas to stimulate new oxygenated blood flow to the areas, thus promoting metabolic cell repair, regeneration, healing, and recovery.
A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur close enough to the epidermis such that the bleeding causes a visible discoloration. The bruise then remains visible until the blood is either absorbed by tissues or cleared by immune system action. Bruises which do not blanch under pressure can involve capillaries at the level of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle, or bone.
A hematoma, also spelled haematoma, or blood suffusion is a localized bleeding outside of blood vessels, due to either disease or trauma including injury or surgery and may involve blood continuing to seep from broken capillaries. A hematoma is benign and is initially in liquid form spread among the tissues including in sacs between tissues where it may coagulate and solidify before blood is reabsorbed into blood vessels. An ecchymosis is a hematoma of the skin larger than 10 mm.
Pressure ulcers, also known as pressure sores, bed sores or pressure injuries, are localised damage to the skin and/or underlying tissue that usually occur over a bony prominence as a result of usually long-term pressure, or pressure in combination with shear or friction. The most common sites are the skin overlying the sacrum, coccyx, heels, and hips, though other sites can be affected, such as the elbows, knees, ankles, back of shoulders, or the back of the cranium.
Cupping therapy is a form of pseudoscience in which a local suction is created on the skin with the application of heated cups. As alternative medicine it is practiced primarily in Asia but also in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Cupping has been characterized as a pseudoscience and its practice as quackery.
Cryotherapy, sometimes known as cold therapy, is the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy. Cryotherapy may be used to treat a variety of tissue lesions. The most prominent use of the term refers to the surgical treatment, specifically known as cryosurgery or cryoablation. Cryosurgery is the application of extremely low temperatures to destroy abnormal or diseased tissue and is used most commonly to treat skin conditions.
Manual therapy, or manipulative therapy, is a physical treatment primarily used by physical therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability; it mostly includes kneading and manipulation of muscles, joint mobilization and joint manipulation. It is also used by Rolfers, massage therapists, athletic trainers, osteopaths, and physicians.
A soft tissue injury is the damage of muscles, ligaments and tendons throughout the body. Common soft tissue injuries usually occur from a sprain, strain, a one-off blow resulting in a contusion or overuse of a particular part of the body. Soft tissue injuries can result in pain, swelling, bruising and loss of function.
A blood blister is a type of blister that forms when subdermal tissues and blood vessels are damaged without piercing the skin. It consists of a pool of lymph, blood and other body fluids trapped beneath the skin. If punctured, it suppurates a dark fluid. Sometimes the fluids are cut off from the rest of the body and dry up, leaving behind dead cell material inside the blister with a texture like putty. Some blood blisters can be extremely painful due to bruising where the blister occurred.
A periorbital hematoma, commonly called a black eye or a shiner, is bruising around the eye commonly due to an injury to the face rather than to the eye. The name refers to the dark-colored bruising which is the result of accumulated blood and fluid in the loose areolar tissue following a blow to the head. This blood tracks freely under the scalp producing a generalised swelling over the dome of the skull but cannot pass into either occipital or the temple regions because of the bony attachments of the occipitofrontalis muscle. But this fluid can, however, track forward into the eyelid because the occipitofrontalis muscle has no bony attachment anteriorly. This leads to formation of hematoma a few hours after the head injury or cranial operation. If injury is more extensive, potentially even a skull fracture, an apparent black eye can sometimes worsen and may require professional medical treatment before it will resolve. This is more likely if the area around both eyes has been injured or if there is a history of prior head injury or fracture around the eye. Though disfiguring, the vast majority of black eyes are not serious, require little or no treatment, and will resolve spontaneously within a week or two.
Myofascial release is an alternative medicine therapy claimed to be useful for treating skeletal muscle immobility and pain by relaxing contracted muscles, improving blood and lymphatic circulation and stimulating the stretch reflex in muscles.
The stone massage is a form of alternative medicine massage therapy and bodywork involving the placement of either heated or cooled stones to the body for the purpose of pain relief, relaxation and therapy. There are many variations and techniques used in the application of stone massage therapy, deriving from a variety of traditional practices. Stone massages are primarily used to alleviate physical pain issues, however, are also used to promote emotional and spiritual wellbeing in practice.
Collagenase clostridium histolyticum is an enzyme produced by the bacterium Clostridium histolyticum that dismantles collagen. It is used as a powder-and-solvent injection kit for the treatment of Dupuytren's contracture, a condition where the fingers bend towards the palm and cannot be fully straightened, and Peyronie's disease, a connective tissue disorder involving the growth of fibrous plaques in the soft tissue of the penis. BioSpecifics Technologies developed the preparation, which is manufactured and marketed by Endo Pharmaceuticals as Xiaflex in the US and by Sobi as Xiapex in Europe.
Cellulite or gynoid lipodystrophy (GLD) is the herniation of subcutaneous fat within fibrous connective tissue that manifests as skin dimpling and nodularity, often on the pelvic region, lower limbs, and abdomen. Cellulite occurs in most postpubescent females. A review gives a prevalence of 85–98% of women of European descent, but it is considerably less common in women of East Asian descent. It is believed to be physiological rather than pathological. It can result from a complex combination of factors, including diet, sedentary lifestyle, hormonal imbalance or heredity, among others.
Cat massage is a practice used by veterinarians and at home by pet owners to apply massage therapy techniques to domestic cats, primarily for relieving pain and discomfort, and also by owners as means of intimate interaction for strengthing the cat–human bond.
The intermittent vacuum therapy (IVT) is a treatment conducted in case of venous and arterial issues as well as in rehabilitation. With the aid of normal and low pressure, it should enable to control venous reflux, enhance lymphatic flow and improve blood flow in periphery and muscles.
