Massage therapy
Massage therapists use various hand motions to apply pressure to the skin, fascia (connective tissue), muscles and tendons. The idea is to get the blood circulation going and release tension. Massages have an effect on the nervous system but can also stimulate the internal organs.
There are lots of different types of massage – from traditional (Swedish-style) to methods from the Far East. They use different techniques or focus on specific areas of the body. Some of them use equipment or additional external stimuli. Underwater pressure massage, for instance, involves the person lying in a bath of warm water and the therapist using a hose to apply a strong jet of water to massage them.