Are you interested in a career that will allow you to help others? If so, you might want to consider a career in the field of massotherapy. Also referred to as massage therapy, massotherapy is a generally term that applies to all forms of medical treatment or therapy that involves the use of massage. As such, massotherapy is one of the oldest forms of medical treatment in the world and, according to those who benefit from this form of therapy, it is also one of the most effective forms of medical treatment as well.

Although no one really understands why massotherapy is able to provide the benefits that it does, there are many who swear by the effectiveness of this form of therapy. As such, it should be no surprise that massotherapy is performed by a number of different professionals. Some of these include:

· Athletic Trainers
· Massage Therapist
· Physical Therapists

These professionals also work in a variety of different settings, including medical facilities, recreational settings, private businesses and even private residences.

There are actually several different forms of massotherapy that a practitioner may utilize when treating a patient. Some of these include:

· Acupressure – traditional form of Chinese Medicine that involves apply pressure to specific acupuncture sites with the elbow, hand or other devices
· Anma – form of traditional Chinese massage that involves kneading the muscles and completing deep tissue work
· Ayurvedic Massage – involves using a heated herbal oils with the massage
· Balinese Massage – gentle therapy that often incorporates aromatherapy and focuses on making the patient feel calm and relaxed
· Barefoot Deep Issue – involves providing massage therapy with the foot and mostly applied to the large muscles of the body
· Bowen Therapy – involves performing a rolling motion over the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints in order to relive muscle strain and tension
· Breema – incorporates gentle, rhythmically stretches that are performed while the patient is clothed and on the floor
· Champissage – a form of massage that focuses on the neck, head and faced with the focus being on balancing the charkas
· Deep Tissue Massage – focuses on the muscles that are beneath the top muscles and is meant to relieve tension within the muscles and connective tissues
· Esalen Massage – involves gently rocking the body and performing passive joint exercises
· Hilot – a traditional form of healing that focuses on relaxing stressed muscles and involves joint manipulations
· Lomi Lomi – a traditional Hawaiian form of massage practiced by healers in Micronesia and Polynesia
· Medical Massage – form of massage used within the medical field that is used in conjunction with other forms of treatment
· Meso-American – indigenous form of massage that focuses on structural and soft tissue massage
· Myofascial Release – technique that focuses on stretching the fascia in order to alleviate pain and improve the patient’s range of motion
· Postural Integration – combines breathwork, deep tissue massage, awareness and body movement to provide benefits to the patient
· Raynore Massage – deep tissue form of massage that focuses on alleviating tension
· Reflexology Massage – provides benefits by focusing on the body’s natural reflees in every organ, system and gland within the body
· Russian Massage – involves a three phase process that starts slow and gentle, moving to hard and fast and then pack to slow and gentle massage
· Shiatsu – oriental therapy that involves applying pressure to the fingers, thumbs and palms
· Stone Massage – involves applying cold or water-heated stones that have been covered with oil to certain parts of the body
· Structural Integration – focuses on restoring natural balance through slow and deep fascial massage
· Swedish Massage – involves providing long strokes to help reduce joint stiffness and pain
· Thai Massage – combines yoga long with positions that are similar to those used in yoga
· Traditional Chinese massage – involves stretching, pushing and kneading the muscles while focusing on acupressure points
· Trager Approach – combines massage, movement and education to provide relief
· Trigger Point Therapy – involves providing pressure to certain parts of the body in order to deactivate trigger points that cause pain
· Visceral Manipulation – a form of abdominal massage
· Watsu – form of massage that combines shiatsu with hydrotherapy and takes place with both the therapist and patient in a pool of water

If you are interested in pursing a career in massotherapy, visit the Top-College massage therapy web page. Or, visit the Top-College home page to start exploring other career opportunities.