| As a massage therapist there are certain things | | | | muscle that is being overstretched and that |
| that you need to know about the human body | | | | muscle automatically contracts. In the stretch |
| that enable you to effectively do your job. Other | | | | reflex, the muscle actually tightens which creates |
| things that you can learn about anatomy and | | | | a situation where your muscles are doing the |
| physiology will take your massage practice to the | | | | opposite of what you are trying to get them to |
| next level. Taking the time to educate yourself | | | | do. |
| about the body and learning the intricate functions | | | | Proprioceptors and Stretch Reflex as a System |
| of the body will help you be a better massage | | | | Proprioceptors and the stretch reflex actually |
| therapist and you will show your clients that you | | | | work together as a system to protect the body. |
| are indeed an expert in the massage therapy | | | | The stretch reflex is the result of a proprioceptor. |
| industry and you have taken the time to further | | | | One set monitors the length of the muscle and |
| your education and be the best massage | | | | the other monitors the tension of the muscle. |
| therapist that you can be for them. | | | | They work together to keep the body from |
| Traditional Massage Therapy Schools do not teach | | | | becoming injured. This intricate system works to |
| these advanced massage therapy techniques. | | | | make the human body a highly functional machine. |
| Proprioceptors | | | | There is a sort of push and pull mechanism at |
| Proprioceptors are sensory nerve endings that | | | | work, but the push protects against the pull and |
| send information to the brain about the angle of | | | | vice versa. |
| joints, length of muscles and muscle tension. All of | | | | What do these mean to your Massage Therapy |
| this information is brought together to tell the | | | | Training? |
| body about the position of a limb so that even | | | | When you have a deep understanding of how the |
| with the eyes closed the body knows just where | | | | human body works, you can begin to use that |
| that limb is and what it is doing. Muscle spindles | | | | knowledge to reach your clients in a manner that |
| and Golgi tendon organs are both proprioceptors. | | | | many other massage therapists can not. |
| Muscle spindles send information on the changes | | | | Understanding how the proprioceptors work and |
| of the length of the muscle while Golgi tendon | | | | when they will work will help you in the stretching |
| organs send information on the changes of the | | | | stage of a massage. You will understand that |
| tension of the muscle. | | | | when you work a muscle and stretch it, when it |
| Stretch Reflex | | | | reaches its maximum stretch it will automatically |
| The stretch reflex is a protective measure that | | | | contract. That is why when you lie on your back |
| the body takes to prevent a muscle from | | | | and stretch your hamstrings, once you reach |
| stretching too much. It is an involuntary reaction | | | | your maximum stretch your leg is no longer |
| by the nerves that make the muscle contract | | | | straight, it involuntarily contracts and bends. When |
| when it has been overextended or stretched too | | | | you have mastered this concept, you will be |
| far. If you stretch your muscles too far, neural | | | | much more effective and your massage therapy |
| impulses are sent through your body to the | | | | education will show. |