What type of massage do you practice? Is it clinical massage? Orthopedic massage? Therapeutic massage? How about medical massage? Or maybe it’s still massage therapy?
More importantly, what is the difference between all these modifying adjectives? Are there licensure, governmental, credentialing or certification differences between these terms, or can you move from therapeutic massage to orthopedic massage by simply changing your business card?
Let’s take a closer look at three variations of orthopedic massage.
Dr. Ben Benjamin, a bodywork pioneer with more than 35 years of clinical practice, defines orthopedic massage as “precise techniques for assessing, understanding, and treating musculoskeletal pain and injury.” Perhaps more than any other massage therapy educator, Benjamin has stressed the role of joints, tendons, and ligaments in the process of healing. Noting that muscle tissue is highly vascularized and often heals quickly, Benjamin asserts that tendons and ligaments have a very limited blood supply and heal quite slowly, if at all. Orthopedic approaches include detailed assessment, anatomically precise friction applied to poorly formed adhesive scar tissue, and in some serious cases manipulation and injection.
Having studied with legendary orthopedic innovator James Cyriax, Benjamin has influenced an entire generation of massage therapists. He continues teaching, writing, and practicing and has published books, videos, and manuals in support of his work. Visit www.benbenjamin.net for additional information, workshop listings, and Benjamin’s orthopedic approach to pain and dysfunction.
Whitney Lowe, author of Orthopedic Massage and Functional Assessment in Massage Therapy, suggests that orthopedic massage is not a specific technique, but a comprehensive system integrating a variety of the most effective massage techniques for treating soft tissue pain, dysfunction, and injury. He lists four primary components of orthopedic massage, including assessment, a match between the physiology of the injury and the effects of treatment, treatment adaptability, and an understanding of the rehabilitation protocol.
One of the most respected and dynamic educators in the country, Lowe provides comprehensive research, footnotes, and references for his clinical writings and orthopedic principles. He asserts that orthopedic massage practitioners must be knowledgeable and skilled in their understanding of pain and injury conditions and specific massage therapy techniques. Lowe can be reached online at www.omeri.com and was a featured presenter at the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) Council of Schools annual teachers’ meeting in Atlanta.
Chiropractor Thomas Hendrickson is the author of Massage for Orthopedic Conditions (Lippencott, Williams and North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine in Edmonton, Canada. Massage therapists Dawn Schmidt, of the Brenneke School of Massage in Seattle (now Cortiva Institute – Seattle massage school), and John Katomski, of the Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences in New York City, presented the workshop, which was co-sponsored by the Massage Therapy Research Consortium.
In the meantime, are competing books, workshops, and bodies of knowledge necessarily a bad thing? I think not. Debate, disagreement and differences of opinion are signs of a growing, healthy and maturing profession. The three contributors profiled in this article each present valuable and practical assessment and hands-on protocols, in many cases supported by rigorous scientific thinking and clinical studies.
Bodywork practitioners have full freedom of inquiry, the ability to question scientific assertions, and the opportunity to think critically, practice discernment, and profoundly enhance their hands-on skills.
This is a vital and valuable first step, maybe more important than clarifying definitions.
— by Bob King, founder of Chicago School of Massage (now Cortiva Institute – Chicago)
