Good morning, afternoon or evening,

I have been trying hard to write some new and interesting things for you all to read. The post that I am currently working on is something that I have been stewing over for years, a terribly nagging conundrum which I have difficulty finding a solution to.

The unfortunate thing is that I have been growing ever more frustrated over it, however I am confident that the rant article that I have written may clear up some of the frustration on my end, as well as any confusion that you as clients may have regarding this particular subject. That has yet to be determined.

In the meantime, I noticed that I use several different terms to describe what appears to be one single concept. Of course this is not the case, and I want you to be aware of the subtle differences in the words that I choose to use because it will change the context of what I am trying to say. I fear that some of you may find it a bit confusing and become frustrated with my writing. To stop this before it has begun, I have decided to define each of these terms, which I know will come in useful for future posts as well because I will be using them all frequently. I wanted definitions specific to massage therapy and the context in which I use them here, but the ones I found online were too general. These definitions have been compiled from several sources and paraphrased to include specifics relevant to the context in which I will use them (in a Lemony Snicket-esque fashion).

Appointment
noun
1. an assigned date & time, set aside for the purpose of paying a visit to your massage therapist.
2. in regards to massage therapy: includes consultation, assessment, massage & treatment/therapeutic techniques, stretches & intrinsic exercises.

Massage
noun
1. the manipulation of soft tissue to stimulate increased circulation, warm tissue, reduce pain & tension.
2. in most cases, used to refer to the general application of a full-body Swedish massage and it’s basic techniques.

Treatment
noun
1. the portion of a massage where therapeutic techniques are applied to positively affect an area of dysfunction and/or achieve a specific outcome.

As you have already noticed, I have titled this little blurb Terminology Pt. 1 and for good reason. If there are any massage therapy words or phrases that you have heard but don’t quite understand, let me know in the comments and I will be happy to include them in the next round!

Take care Winnipeg

Randi