What is Massage Therapy? Massage therapy is the treatment of soft tissue and joint dysfunction by manually manipulating the various structures of the body, it involves working and acting on the body with pressure - structured, unstructured, stationary, or moving - tension, motion, or vibration, done manually or with mechanical aids. Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearm, feet, or a massage device. Is Massage Therapy New? Massage therapy is one of the oldest manual therapies in the world, it has been documented for thousands of years across ancient civilizations in China, India, Japan, Korea, Egypt, Rome, Greece, and Mesopotamia. How Can Massage Benefit Me? Massage can serve to potentially benefit a number of problems from mental stress by reducing cortisol levels, pain by reducing tone in the musculature, adhesions and fibrosis in tissues, increasing range of motion by freeing restrictions in the involved structures, not just the muscles and ligaments but also the joint capsule. Everyone is different so not every treatment is the same from person to person thus dictating how often someone should come in for treatment and whether they require a more proactive approach, occasional maintenance or preventative treatment. Do I Have to Undress Completely? Although clients tend to report that massage is most comfortable with direct unencumbered contact the decision of how much or how little clothing to maintain is completely up to the client, it is possible to treat through clothing if the client finds it more comfortable to do so. What Areas Will Be Exposed And/Or Treated? The only areas of the body exposed are those that are being treated at the time for example if a client is receiving a full body treatment and the back is currently being worked on then the back shall be exposed as agreed upon with the client, although the legs for example may be worked on later in the treatment they would remain covered until they are addressed and any other surface would be re-draped once treatment of the area is concluded. As for treatment it is entirely dependent on what the client is seeking in terms of treatment.