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What Is Active-Assisted Massage?

Active-assisted massage is actually a combination of massage and active-assisted stretching. This combination of massage and stretches is termed orthopedic massage and is a part of sports massage as well. Active-assisted stretching uses muscle contraction, muscle relaxation and a decline in neurological activity to affect target muscles.

  1. Postisometric Relaxation

    • Following an isometric contraction -- a muscle contraction without much change in the distance between its origin and insertion -- the muscle is more relaxed. The postisometric relaxation (PIR) is the immediate decline in neurological activity. Active-assisted stretching uses this decline during PIR to stretch the muscle after its isometric contraction. "Stretching during the PIR is more effective than stretching without the isometric contraction," says Whitney W. Lowe in her book "Orthopedic Massage: Theory and Technique."

    Reciprocal Inhibition

    • Reciprocal inhibition is the decline of neurological activity of an antagonist, or opposing, muscle from the agonist, or prime muscle. When the agonist contracts, the antagonist is inhibited. Active-assisted stretches during this period of reciprocal inhibition are useful. The target muscle can be stretched while the antagonist muscle is contracted, because the target muscle will then be inhibited and in a state of declined neurological activity.

    Two Main Types of Stretches

    • The first type of active-assisted stretch, contract-relax stretch, is used immediately following an isometric contraction. You hold the contraction for three to seven seconds, then you hold the stretch for three to seven seconds on the target muscle. Perform the cycle for several repetitions to obtain the most effective results. The second type of active-assisted stretch, contract-relax-antagonist-contract, utilizes both the PIR and reciprocal inhibition concepts. Begin with an isometric contraction on the target muscle followed by using the opposite muscle group to stretch the target muscle. Next, use the antagonist muscle to engage reciprocal inhibition, thereby decreasing neurological activity in the target muscle for a better stretch.

    Other Kinds of Active-Assisted Stretching

    • Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) includes spiral and diagonal movement patterns, and physical therapists developed it in the 1940s. The original PNF was a system consisting of an exercise program and a stretching program, but today PNF refers only to the stretching component. Muscle energy technique (MET) utilizes the muscle contraction energy to improve stretches. Facilitated stretching is the name given to stretching procedures using the client's energy. These stretches are similar to PNF. Active-isolated stretching (AIS) uses reciprocal inhibition but does not utilize isometric contraction prior to its very short stretch of the target muscle.

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