Massage Therapy Journal Spring 2024

Spring 2024 • 65

Between Massage Sessions: Self-Massage to Maintain Massage Benefits

Dorothea Atkins, ThD, MA, DSN, LMT, stresses the importance of self-massage to her clients, and sets clients up with the resources they need to be able to stretch the benefits of the work they do together during a session. “I demonstrate the techniques on my own leg and ask the client to repeat it. This can help empower them to use the techniques at home,” Atkins explains. “I then use the client’s phone to video while they perform the techniques and ask them to explain if they sense any changes in their joint pain.” Atkins also takes pictures of any pillow placement so the client will be able to remember the location and purpose for any bolstering when performing self-massage at home. Jennifer Hanna, LMT, LMT, also provides clients with ways to manage self-care after massage sessions. “I will suggest rolling, stretching, and sometimes strength training as part of a client’s self-care routine,” she says.

Self-massage can be very helpful for clients who want or need to extend the benefits of massage between sessions. Foam rollers are some of the most common and inexpensive self-massage tools on the market today, and some of the purported benefits include improved flexibility and balance, and relief from sore muscles and muscle tension. But are they actually effective? A few recent studies have examined that exact question. One study 9 explored the effects of self-massage with a foam roller on ankle joint range of motion and tendon-muscle morphology. The main goal of the study was to investigate extensibility changes in the gastrocnemius muscle (GM), muscle-tendon unit and the Achilles tendon. The foam rolling intervention was performed on the right leg plantar flexor muscles for three minutes on each of the 10 study participants. Results showed ankle joint dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) increased significantly following the foam rolling intervention. “Foam rolling was effective in increasing ankle joint dorsiflexion ROM,” researchers noted. “Moreover, it was suggested that the GM morphology might be affected by the intervention.” A separate study 10 looked at the effectiveness of foam rolling versus manual therapy in post-exercise recovery interventions for athletes. The results of the study showed that in the foam roller group, dynamic balance scores increased for both limbs at post-intervention and at follow-up, which suggests self-massage with a foam roller may be more effective than manual therapy for the recovery of dynamic balance in athletes after intense exercise.

sleep quality and RLS. Patients were divided into three groups, massage with lavender oil, massage with orange oil and a control. Patients in the massage group received 30-minutes of foot massage with either lavender or orange essential oil three times a week for three weeks. Results were measured via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and RLS questionnaire, and researchers noted both massage groups significantly increased

the mean score of sleep quality and reduced RLS symptoms. A separate study 4 also looked at the effect of massage therapy with lavender oil on the severity of RLS and quality of life in hemodialysis patients. This study found that massage with lavender oil lessened the severity of RLS and improved quality of life. Finally, a meta-analysis of 14 studies 5 evaluated the effect of non-pharmacologic

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