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1. Anatomy and physiology
2. Kinesiology
3. Pathology & special populations
4. Benefits and effects
5. Assessment and planning
6. Sandbox Folder
6.1 Musculoskeletal system benefits
6.2 Mechanical and reflex effects
6.3 Circulatory system benefits
6.4 Nervous system
6.5 Example
6.6 Stephen sandbox
6.7 Spinal nerves and peripheral nerves
6.8 Conditions
6.9 Proprioceptors
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6.1 Musculoskeletal system benefits
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6. Sandbox Folder
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Musculoskeletal system benefits

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When you first received massage you likely noticed the beneficial effects on your muscles and fascia (TK maybe internal link to “myofascial” distinction) before you noticed the effects on other body systems. There are some specific musculoskeletal effects that you are expected to be able to identify:

  • Decreased muscle tension may result from your mechanical lengthening and broadening of the client’s muscles as well as tendons and other fascia.
  • Decreased muscle tension may result from your stimulation of Golgi tendon organs (a.k.a., Golgi receptors) and influencing of muscle spindle cells (TK links to A&P).
  • Decreased muscle tension may result from “decreasing nervous system excitability” (TK reference, was originally MBLEx Check) and activating the parasympathetic nervous system (TK links to A&P).
  • Improved healing of injuries in muscle tissue, tendons, ligaments, and other fascia
  • Improving range of motion in joints by disrupting unhelpful patterns of tension in muscles and fascia
  • Breaking-up unhelpful myofascial adhesions (TK internal link)
  • Improvements to fascia pathologies (e.g., plantar fasciitis or patellar tendonitis TK internal links) through the decrease of muscle tension that is contributing to those pathologies

MBLEx questions may also expect you to know that decreased tension in muscle and fascia often results from how therapists affect one of the components of fascia: its ground substance, which is called hyaluronic acid. With appropriate pressure and heat, hyaluronic acid’s consistency becomes more like a liquid and less like a solid or gel. Picture marmalade transitioning from solid straight out of the refrigerator to a spreadable almost-liquid on hot toast. This property of hyaluronic acid is called thixotropy (or you could also say hyaluronic acid is thixotropic). Another way of saying this is that the hyaluronic acid becomes less viscous in response to the mechanical forces you apply to muscle and fascia. (TK: link to A&P section IF I decide to give HA details in A&P)

Sidenote
Viscosity

Viscosity refers to how thick or thin a fluid is. More viscous (“higher viscosity”) fluids are thicker and flow with more difficulty; less viscous (“lower viscosity”) substances are thinner, and flow more easily.

Musculoskeletal effects of massage

  • Decreased muscle tension via:
    • Mechanical lengthening and broadening of muscles, tendons, fascia
    • Stimulation of Golgi tendon organs and muscle spindle cells
    • Decreased nervous system excitability; activation of parasympathetic nervous system
  • Improved healing in muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia
  • Increased joint range of motion by disrupting tension patterns
  • Breaking up myofascial adhesions
  • Improvement in fascia pathologies (e.g., plantar fasciitis, patellar tendonitis) by reducing contributing muscle tension

Fascia and hyaluronic acid

  • Fascia’s ground substance: hyaluronic acid
  • Hyaluronic acid is thixotropic—becomes less viscous (more liquid) with pressure and heat
  • Reduced viscosity aids in decreasing muscle and fascia tension

Viscosity

  • Viscosity = fluid thickness or resistance to flow
    • Higher viscosity: thicker, flows less easily
    • Lower viscosity: thinner, flows more easily
Previous
Next  | 6.2 Mechanical and reflex effects
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Musculoskeletal system benefits

When you first received massage you likely noticed the beneficial effects on your muscles and fascia (TK maybe internal link to “myofascial” distinction) before you noticed the effects on other body systems. There are some specific musculoskeletal effects that you are expected to be able to identify:

  • Decreased muscle tension may result from your mechanical lengthening and broadening of the client’s muscles as well as tendons and other fascia.
  • Decreased muscle tension may result from your stimulation of Golgi tendon organs (a.k.a., Golgi receptors) and influencing of muscle spindle cells (TK links to A&P).
  • Decreased muscle tension may result from “decreasing nervous system excitability” (TK reference, was originally MBLEx Check) and activating the parasympathetic nervous system (TK links to A&P).
  • Improved healing of injuries in muscle tissue, tendons, ligaments, and other fascia
  • Improving range of motion in joints by disrupting unhelpful patterns of tension in muscles and fascia
  • Breaking-up unhelpful myofascial adhesions (TK internal link)
  • Improvements to fascia pathologies (e.g., plantar fasciitis or patellar tendonitis TK internal links) through the decrease of muscle tension that is contributing to those pathologies

MBLEx questions may also expect you to know that decreased tension in muscle and fascia often results from how therapists affect one of the components of fascia: its ground substance, which is called hyaluronic acid. With appropriate pressure and heat, hyaluronic acid’s consistency becomes more like a liquid and less like a solid or gel. Picture marmalade transitioning from solid straight out of the refrigerator to a spreadable almost-liquid on hot toast. This property of hyaluronic acid is called thixotropy (or you could also say hyaluronic acid is thixotropic). Another way of saying this is that the hyaluronic acid becomes less viscous in response to the mechanical forces you apply to muscle and fascia. (TK: link to A&P section IF I decide to give HA details in A&P)

Sidenote
Viscosity

Viscosity refers to how thick or thin a fluid is. More viscous (“higher viscosity”) fluids are thicker and flow with more difficulty; less viscous (“lower viscosity”) substances are thinner, and flow more easily.

Key points

Musculoskeletal effects of massage

  • Decreased muscle tension via:
    • Mechanical lengthening and broadening of muscles, tendons, fascia
    • Stimulation of Golgi tendon organs and muscle spindle cells
    • Decreased nervous system excitability; activation of parasympathetic nervous system
  • Improved healing in muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia
  • Increased joint range of motion by disrupting tension patterns
  • Breaking up myofascial adhesions
  • Improvement in fascia pathologies (e.g., plantar fasciitis, patellar tendonitis) by reducing contributing muscle tension

Fascia and hyaluronic acid

  • Fascia’s ground substance: hyaluronic acid
  • Hyaluronic acid is thixotropic—becomes less viscous (more liquid) with pressure and heat
  • Reduced viscosity aids in decreasing muscle and fascia tension

Viscosity

  • Viscosity = fluid thickness or resistance to flow
    • Higher viscosity: thicker, flows less easily
    • Lower viscosity: thinner, flows more easily

More from Sandbox Folder

  • Mechanical and reflex effects
  • Circulatory system benefits
  • Example
  • Stephen sandbox
  • Spinal nerves and peripheral nerves