If you’re dealing with severe upper or lower back pain, or muscle soreness of any kind, assisted stretching could be of great benefit to you. Sometimes, doing a routine on your own doesn’t allow you to pinpoint areas of weakness. Knowing where you could improve—and getting assistance—takes a regular stretch sesh up a notch.

Assisted stretching can:

• Reduce muscle tightness, a key contributor to soreness
• Improve flexibility and decrease stress levels
• Improve your athletic performance
• Increase your range of motion

This form of muscle therapy treats chronic pain and tightness in your myofascial tissues. Since your myofascial tissue ‘surrounds and supports’ the muscle throughout your body, these tissues have a direct effect on the way your muscles feel.

Massage therapy is the practice of providing hands-on movement of your soft body tissues to enhance your well-being. Massage targets many areas: your connective tissue, such as the fascia, your tendons and ligaments; and of course, your muscles.

Designed to support athletic performance and prevent injuries, sports massage employs a variety of modalities such as deep-tissue massage for soft tissue mobilization to stretching techniques to boost function in muscles and joints.

A neuromuscular massage is a specialized form of manual therapy that manipulates muscles, tendons, and connective tissue through specific massage techniques and utilizes flexibility stretching to reduce neuromuscular pain and restore balance to the central nervous system.

Trigger point massage practitioners apply firm pressure with a finger or an instrument for several seconds to tender muscle tissue in order to foster healing and reduce pain and stiffness; pressure is increased as the trigger point softens.

Some massage therapists specialize in cupping therapy for its health benefits. By placing cups that have been previously heated with fire on the client’s back, it allows for the manipulation of soft tissue and stimulates blood flow as a result of negative pressure.

Stone Therapy uses hot (or sometimes cold) stones to work deeper into the muscles without the discomfort of regular deep tissue massage to improve circulation, reduce inflammation and relax the muscles.

Fascia Stretching is a type of massage that can increase a patient’s range of motion with very little or no pain. By manipulating fascia—the connective webbing around muscles and nerves—massage therapists can efficiently loosen muscle tension and increase mobility.

Massage therapists use deep tissue massage modalities to access and manipulate our deeper muscle layers.

Chair Massage or seated massage, allows a client to sit comfortably and receive a neck, back, arm and shoulder massage while fully clothed. It can be done in airports, street fairs, shopping centers, or corporate office buildings. 

Red light therapy is a treatment that may help skin, muscle tissue, and other parts of your body heal. It uses low levels of red light to target your skin and cells. It is thought to work by increasing the production of mitochondria, your cells' energy sources. This may improve cell function and repair.

Physical therapy is a common treatment that can help you recover after an injury or surgery, or manage symptoms from a health condition that affects how you move. It’s a combination of exercises, stretches and movements that’ll increase your strength, flexibility and mobility to help you move safely and more confidently.

A chiropractic adjustment is a therapeutic treatment by a licensed chiropractor. Your chiropractor will use pressure to manipulate joints in your body to realign your spine and reduce pain and discomfort. Chiropractic adjustments complement traditional medical care you receive. You might feel sore after a chiropractic adjustment.

Practitioners of bioenergetic therapy aim to relieve stress and tension using psychotherapeutic and bodywork techniques such as “talk therapy,” deep breathing relaxation methods, gentle movements and exercise, and massage.

This type of bodywork—nurturing touch, guided stretching, supported postures, and rhythmic movements—originated in the small Kurdish village of Breemava. Breema focuses on balancing energy in the mind and body. 

Myofascial release refers to a manual massage technique of gentle, specialized stretching that targets connective tissue layers with the goal of reducing pain and restoring mobility, and enhancing the body’s natural healing capabilities.

Great for relieving muscle tension and stress,Ortho-Bionomy is a comprehensive yet gentle and non-invasive form of bodywork based onprinciples of osteopathy. (in which students learn how to move and position the body to help facilitate a patient’s comfort) promotes the body’s natural abilities to self-balance. 

Polarity therapy which combines bodywork, nutrition, exercise, and self-awareness, seeks to address energy blockages and imbalances in the mind, body, and spirit using gentle stretching and pressure-sensitive bodywork exercises. 

The Trager approach to bodywork uses gentle rocking and rolling movements to promote flexibility and help release deep-seated physical and mental patterns that can block the body’s natural, free-flowing motion.

Combining hands-on deep-tissue bodywork, movement education and empowering dialogue, Hellerwork helps create new levels of physical and emotional awareness and help restore the body’s natural balance and alignment and relieve tension, pain and stress.

Prenatal massage uses techniques from deep-tissue massage, Swedish massage, Shiatsu massage, and others, using positioning recommended for pregnant women. It helps reduce pregnancy discomforts such as back pain, swelling and improves circulation and sleep.

Through a series of gentle as well as deeper techniques in 10 distinct sessions,Rolfing works to lengthen and reposition connective tissue, or fascia, to help realign the whole body and improve posture, flexibility, and energy levels.

A nearly 100-year-old Japanese healing practice,Reiki involves the placement of the hands in 10 to 20 specific positions on or near the body in order to channel and balance the flow of life force energy. Reiki is often combined with traditional massage therapy.

Reflexology is a traditional form of Chinese massage that concentrates on applying pressure to certain points on the hands, feet, and ears to stimulate self-healing and is effective in reducing stress and relieving common health problems such as chronic pain, allergies and digestive issues.

One of the oldest forms of bodywork with roots in Chinese medicine,Tui Na massage is a cross between acupressure and Shiatsu. It promotes balance using rhythmic compression along energy channels of the body with manipulation techniques at acupressure points.

The art of Shiatsu is a form of Japanese massage in which a therapist uses fingers, thumbs, and palms to put pressure on specific points of the body to promote self-healing and relieve pain. This acupressure technique is thought to unblock energy flow networks in the body, which can encourage healing from a variety of ailments.

Healing touch therapy is about placing the hands lightly on or just above an individual, this technique is intended to change a client’s energy field and support physical, emotional and spiritual wellness. 

Lomi Lomi Massage is rooted in the traditions of ancient healers of Hawaii, this form of massage—during which therapists use their forearms and hands to perform fluid, rhythmic motion over the client’s body (often described as a sensation of gentle waves)—emphasizes the free flow of energy throughout the body.

Craniosacral Therapy is a manual therapy—especially popular for treating headaches and jaw problems such as TMJ—that uses light touch to gently manipulate the head and spine and support the body’s innate healing abilities. 

Employing a variety of therapeutic, corrective, and restorative modalities and procedures, medical massage is anatomically precise and specific to patients who are living with diseases, pain, and injuries.

Many studies have indicated that massage in a pallative care settingcan help reduce anxiety, pain, and depression near the end of life. Utilizing massage to reduce pain caused by cancer or other ailments can help improve one’s quality of life, especially for hospice patients.

Developed by Russian-born physicist Dr. Moshé Feldenkrais®, this form of movement therapy, during which practitioners use gentle hand-on guidance to help people improve their flexibility, coordination and range of motion. The Feldenkrais method is designed to help “re-wire” a client’s nervous system and let go of old patterns. 

Thai bodywork massage is practiced on a mat on the floor instead of a table and combines stretching and body movements to loosen muscles and release tension. It often also integrates yoga, energy healing and acupressure and meditation. 

Borrowed from Naturalhealers.com