Physiological Effects of Therapeutic Massage

Many chiropractors either perform some type of massage on their patients or have a massage therapist in their office. The term therapeutic massage (TM) is a general, nonspecific term referring to any type of massage, from superficial to deep, that may have a healing effect. Most massage therapists1 "train in multiple programs and therapies and there is high variability in the training programs and in what therapies practitioners choose to learn."2 Methods of massage include, among others, effleurage, petrissage, friction and tapotement. TM also can refer to most hands-on therapies including fascial manipulation, Graston, structural integration, active release, Swedish massage and others.