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How a Back Massage Works

The back is one of the most commonly massaged parts of the body. Since the back is prone to soft tissue injury and is quite often relieved by a skilled massage artist, it is no wonder that the back massage is one of the most common alternative medicine techniques.

  1. The Back

    • The back is the area of the body which lies on the posterior of the thorax and abdomen from the nape of the neck to the small of the back which lies above the buttocks. The anatomy of the back makes it an effective frame which protects your vital organs, absorbs shock, and acts as an anchor from which you move all your appendages. Because of its intimate collection of muscles, nerves, and bone, it is easy to injure the back and almost as easy to relieve it of pain and tension with an effective back massage.

    The Massage

    • The back massage relies on gentle manipulation and percussion of the soft tissue and bones of the back in order to realign its anatomy, loosen tight muscles, and improve blood flow. The common back massage relies on percussion, rubbing, kneading, and pulling to loosen muscles which are under passive tension, flush blood in and out by direct pressure, and warm the tissue by friction. These attributes of the back massage are what make it so effective at relieving pain, which is most often caused by increased tension in back muscles due to chronic strain.

    The Results

    • Since the back is constantly under stress, it is easy for it to become tight. When muscles are tight, they pull on bone, and when bones are pulled out of alignment, they can pinch nerve roots. Pinched nerves are a common cause of pain in the back. Tight muscles hurt because they cannot accommodate the natural tendency for the body to move. The back massage relaxes tight muscles by gently warming and stretching them, leading to effective pain relief.

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