Senior Therapy
With the baby boomers aging and with the help of higher technology and greater innovations in medicine and geriatric science, life is not merely being prolonged but more and more senior citizens today have the opportunity to take advantage of more quality life than ever before. This translates into a generation of more senior citizens of more advanced ages living among us, and that is, in my opinion a very good thing. National demographic studies tell us that nearly 40 million Americans are currently 65 years of age or older and over 2,000 more reach age 65 every single day. To accommodate the ever grown demand for massage therapy among senior citizens, many massage therapists are choosing to expand their expertise by studying the art of age-specific massage therapy which is often referred to as senior's massage or geriatric massage.
For the most part, massage therapy for senior citizens is extremely beneficial and of utmost importance to relieve the aches, the pains, the stiffness and the great number of health condition which are so often associated with aging; such as inflammations in the joints; arthritis; skin discoloration and other dermatological conditions; deteriorating muscles and bones; fading eyesight and loss of hearing, reduced appetite and therefore weight loss, poor blood circulation; sleep disorders; weakened mental capacity, tendonitis; bursitis; asthma; emphysema; high blood pressures; diminished functions of the internal vital organs such as the heart, the liver, the brain, the thyroid, the stomach and the intestines; and so much more. Most importantly, however, lonely and isolated, depressed, anxious and fearful senior citizens derive pricelessly valuable benefits from the simple pleasure of the caressing human touch and the intimate companionship afforded them during massage therapy sessions.
The Weaver's Tale Retreat Center in the State of Oregon recently conducted a two-year study examining the effects of massage therapy for senior citizens and they found that at least 50 percent of the elderly who were tested showed a reduction in their rates of breathing, an increase in their range of motion, an improvement of their postures, development of more body awareness, their skin took on healthier colors and their muscle tones were enhanced. The same study also showed that 100 percent of the senior citizen who were tested showed a dramatic improvement in their moods and their attitudes toward life in general.
Massage therapy for senior citizens does not differ in technique but it does differ, and it differs greatly in the application of that technique, whichever that technique may be. In other words, just about any of the different massage techniques can be used on senior citizen but they must be modified enough to accommodate the facts that, very often, the skin of senior citizens have become thinner while growing much less pliable and much more easily broken, their bones are thinner and more brittle, their joints are more stiff with reduced range of mobility, their blood vessels are more prominent and closer to the surface of the skin and their overall health, vigor and vitality have been downgraded through the years. Taking all that into consideration, extra care musts be taken when positioning them on the massage tables, they should never be expected to perform the same movements as younger adults, and wheelchair-bound or bedridden seniors should get their massage treatments while remaining seated in their chairs or reclining in their beds.
Most massages for senior citizens are limited to anywhere from thirty to forty five minutes because the elderly seem to respond better to shortened sessions with greater frequency. Furthermore, greater time is usually spent on massaging their hands and feet than any other part of their bodies. That is especially true for those seniors who have lost the use of their hands and feet as massaging them will enhance their body awareness as well as increase sensations and blood circulation throughout.
We all need plenty of TLC (tender love and care) but senior citizens need and deserve quite a bit more of it.
|
Alternative Therapy Massage therapy is a broad term that encompasses a wide variety of procedures and methods of pressing, rubbing ... read more
Balinese massage Having originated on the exotic island of Bali, the Balinese massage therapy is one of a number of ... read more
Chiropractic Therapy If you are anything like me, you probably prefer staying away from providers of conventional Western medicine as ... read more
Cosmetic Massage The oldest known Facial massage in human history dates back to the third century B.C. where it was ... read more
Deep Tissue The deep tissue massage is a kind of massage therapy which centers its attention primarily on the ailing, ... read more
Eastern Massage There are very many massage techniques in existence today some of them stemming from the far Eastern World ... read more
Foot massage Some 2,500 ago and during Lord Buddha's time in ancient India, a physician named Jivaka Komarabhacca developed a ... read more
Happy Me This is for all of you out there who are like most of us too busy and too ... read more
Head Massage Its origins stem from an Indian remedial and grooming practice which had been and continues to be part ... read more
Hot Stones The Hot Stone massage is a therapeutic massage technique in which a heated stone is held by the ... read more
Invisible Energy Reflexology Massage, which is also known as the zone therapy, is an alternative medicine technique in which massaging, ... read more
Japanese Shiatsu Literally translated from Japanese, "Shiatsu" means "finger pressure" and it was incorporated into the Japanese culture approximately 1,500 ... read more
Korean Massage The Korean Martial Therapy, also well known by its acronym KMT, had been recognized for its effectiveness in ... read more
Medical Massage Massage Therapy is just one persuasion from a wide array of other very effective and closely related persuasions ... read more
Office Massage Massages in chairs or simply in sitting positions have always had their place among most ancient and traditional ... read more
Orthopedic Massage Occasionally referred to as an orthopedic massage, Clinical massage is an entire array of manipulation techniques designed to ... read more
Pediatric Massage Countless studies and pediatric research have shown that massage therapy is supremely beneficial for a wide variety of ... read more
Personal Massage Are you aware of having a personal massage therapist, actually two of them, available to you and ready ... read more
Pre Birth Massage Who better deserves and needs a good massage therapy than a mother to be? I cannot think ... read more
Safe Massage By and large, massage therapy that is performed by a properly schooled and well experienced massage therapist who ... read more
Senior Therapy With the baby boomers aging and with the help of higher technology and greater innovations in medicine and ... read more
Sports Massage Describing it in a nutshell, the Sports Massage is a specialty massage technique that was created and developed ... read more
Swedish Massage The Swedish Massage, which was conceived by Henri Peter Ling, a Swedish physiologist at the University of Stockholm, ... read more
Therapeutic Hand Massage From the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep, we all work with our ... read more
Therapeutic Massage In an attempt to understand how and why massage therapy is as effective as it seems to be, ... read more
|
|
|
Disclaimer:
The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in
the creation of this website, notwithstanding the fact that he does not
warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate
due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet.
This site
is a common sense guide to Senior Therapy. In practical advice websites,
like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of income made.
Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their
individual circumstances to act accordingly.
This site
is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or
financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent
professionals in legal, business, accounting, and finance field.
Any
perceived slights of specific people or organizations are unintentional.
|