Massage Bytes
Why is abdominal massage soothing? |
| Posted by Ros (roscope1) on Apr 29 2008 at 10:01 AM |
We were reviewing the digestive system on our course this month and this question is one that often appears on exam papers. Strangely as student massage therapists, the abdominal area is one that we all tend to skirt over, preferring to linger over the "safer" areas of back and shoulders.
Cassar - Handbook of Clinical Massage -has a good exposition of the benefits of abdominal massage. The muscles that we can relax here are the rectus abdominus, the internal and external obliques and the transversus abdominus. We can improve circulation and lymph drainage in the whole area. Specifically the portal circulation is the one that gets a boost, and that helps with the carrying of absorbed nutrients from the intestines and stomach to the liver.
What's really interesting is that the veins of the portal circulation have no valves, and so rely totally on intra-abdominal pressure and external forces for venous flow. So we can see that massage can really help with the portal circulation, which drains blood from the gastrointestinal tract, spleen, pancreas, gallbladder and stomach to the liver.
And of course, the digestive process can be affected by mechanical manipulation of the superficial soft tissues in the abdominal area. This can stimulate a reflex mechanism to the digestive organs. Remember contraction of the involuntary muscles is taking place in organs such as the stomach, the intestines and the glands. But - it needs to be gentle. Too much pressure in this area can have the opposite effect - a temporary paralysing effect.
And if all that isn't enough in itself there are tremendous emotional and energetic benefits of abdominal massage. Fiona Harrold, The Massage Manual, reminds us that the abdomen is one of the most vulnerable and uprotected areas of our body.
Here raw emotional and passions originate before spreading out through the rest of our body to find expression. Oriental medical philosophy calls this area the “hara” and views it as the house of our vital energy, the seat of consciousness.
The abdomen houses powerful feelings, such as anger, rage and jealousy. Soothing, caring massage here can help us to integrate such feelings and to spread waves of relaxation throughout our entire mind and body.
So - next time you massage why not give some extra time to your client's abdomen?