The Benefit of Learning Kinesiology in Your Massage Therapy Practice

Massage therapy triggers quite a few parts of the body.

It is a common misconception that a massage only affects the blood circulation of the body.

Some people believe that massages have little or no effect on the muscles in the body.

However, it is untrue, as most forms of massage stimulate various muscles to trigger relaxation.

This is why knowing about the human anatomy is essential for a massage therapist.

The first and foremost thing to learn is how the muscles work in sync with each other to move the body.

Once a massage therapist has a comfortable understanding of this, they should be able to work on the muscles effectively.

Learning about how the muscles work could enable the therapist to learn about various treatments which may force the muscles to work in perfect sync with each other.

Relaxing the body or muscles is not the only aspect of giving a massage to a client.

The therapist also has to learn about the effect of overall mental health on the body.

Kinesiology involves the study of how the mind and the body should work together.

Studying about it could give you, as a therapist, the ability to figure out the root cause of a particular pain.

Even though pain is often caused by physical injury, it can be a result of mental stress as well.

What Does Kinesiology Teach?

In essence Kinesiology teaches how the muscles in the human body work with the brain.

At times the muscles are not in sync with the brain which may cause them to work in an unhealthy manner.

There are quite a few reasons for this.

However, the most documented reason is the domination of various strong muscles over the rest of the body.

Certain muscles in the body are strong due to their size, while others are smaller in size and weaker.

The balance of the muscles gets disturbed when the stronger muscles begin overpowering the smaller ones.

This causes immense discomfort and can lead to chronic pain unless treated.

The reason the muscles become out of sync is that each muscle has a particular function whether strong or weak.

The stronger muscles are meant for a specific purpose, while the smaller muscles have their own job to do as well.

If the stronger muscles are performing the tasks that the weaker muscles should, they will be overworking.

The overworking of the strong muscles results in discomfort and issues with the way the body functions.

Kinesiology also studies how immense stress to the brain can cause physical problems.

It is extremely important to determine the cause of the issue because the mind and body are closely linked.

Once you learn how the mind and body work together, you may be able to devise treatments. These treatments are specific to every client’s needs and physical issues.

Importance of Studying Human Kinetics

There can be quite a few aches and discomforts in the body that are not due to physical stress.

In fact, such pains and ailments are often due to mental stress.

The mental stress can take a serious toll on the body.

Kinesiology determines the relation between the body and mind and once this is determined, it becomes rather easy to figure out a way to heal the body.

The reason Kinesiology is important is that massage therapy alone only deals with physical pain.

Of course, curing physical pain is important but, one cannot cure a physical ailment if the cause is not physical.

Kinesiology allows the client to work with the therapist to cure various discomforts and pains in the body.

The main reason this helps in curing physical ailments is that the client believes in it.

For a physical treatment to work, the client has to believe in it.

This technique allows you to work on the client mentally and physically.

Once Kinesiology is used in sync with pressure point therapy, the results can be remarkable.

Using both of them together allows you to use your understanding of the muscles to locate and clear any energy blocks which might be causing discomfort.

The muscles begin working in sync after energy starts flowing freely.

How Kinesiology Helps In Massage Therapy Practice

Massage therapy involves applying pressure to different areas of the body.

Moreover, massage therapists also stretch muscles in order to cure discomfort.

These techniques prove to be effective in many cases.

However, you also need to have profound knowledge about how the muscles work together.

In addition, it is also important for you to know about connective tissues.

The aim here is to determine how muscles work when they are in a perfect condition.

This could allow you to differentiate a healthy functioning muscle from a dysfunctional one.

This is why studying Kinesiology often proves to be beneficial for massage therapists.

Studying Kinesiology also helps you determine if a stronger muscle is taking over the function of a weaker one.

You may also be able to ascertain which muscles are not behaving in a normal manner.

Where Can You Study Kinesiology?

Massage therapy simply tells you about the human body.

It teaches you how to give a good massage using various techniques.

However, there is a lot more to relaxing the body than just relaxing the muscles.

In many cases, the muscle pain is not just physical and there is something more underlying it.

Such pains are almost impossible to cure with regular massage.

This is where a massage therapist who has studied Kinesiology can add more value.

Unfortunately, you cannot learn Kinesiology at a massage school.

There are however quite a few Kinesiology schools you can learn in.

A simple internet search should help you find one in your area.

Once you locate a school you can go to, you can research payment options.

Many times taking a class or two on the subject matter can go a long way.

You can definitely attend classes on a part-time basis while working full time.

Be sure to consider studying about human kinetics as it could benefit your practice.

Every once in a while you may come across a client with deeper muscle issues which can only be cured with the help of Kinesiology.

Learning massage therapy should provide you with various skills you can use to cure physical ailments.

However, learning Kinesiology allows you to do so much more.

Time, schedule and resources permitting.

It is definitely a good idea to learn this technique along with traditional massage therapy.

Neal Lyons is a founding member and volunteer contributor at the MTSI Institute, an information based portal dedicated to guiding and assisting aspiring massage therapists establish a successful career in massage. Neal is a published author and has collaborated on several mobile applications that serve the massage profession. You can view his published work on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Sony and Kobo. You can connect with him on Facebook, Twitter and on Google+

One comment on “The Benefit of Learning Kinesiology in Your Massage Therapy Practice
  1. Ashra Hardesty says:

    This was very helpful

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