Virginia Massage School

Massage can be based on mechanical manipulation of body tissues and joints (western classical or medical massage) or massage can be based on touch (See Haptics, study of human touching behaviour).

Massage is the practice of touching or of applying structured or unstructured pressure, tension, motion, or vibration ? manually or with mechanical aids ? to the soft tissues of the body, including muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, joints, lymphatic vessels, organs of the gastrointestinal system to achieve a beneficial response.

Massage Therapy is performed primarily by a professional Massage Therapist but is often used as a form of therapy by other Healthcare practitioners such as Chiropractors, Osteopaths and Physical Therapists.
Touch Therapy is performed by professional practitioners who study Bodywork (alternative medicine) as well as somatic psychotherapy (see Somatic Psychology) or by body-psychotherapists who have studied body work.
Massage usually involves touch with or without clothes but also can be applied to the energetic field around the body. Massage can be applied to parts of the body or successively to the whole body, to aid the process of injury healing, relieve psychological stress, manage pain, and improve circulation. When massage is used for its physiological, mental, and mechanical benefits, it is termed "therapeutic massage" or manipulative therapy.

In professional settings, massage involves the client being treated while lying on a massage table, sitting upright in a massage chair, or lying on a pad on the floor. Except for modalities such as Acupressure, Shiatsu, Tui Na, Thai Massage, or Barefoot Deep Tissue, the massage subject is generally unclothed or partially unclothed, also referred to as disrobed, and their body would be "draped" with towels or sheets. The practice of covering the parts of the body that are not being massaged is referred to as draping and its practice varies from one part of the world to another. In addition to making a professional statement and providing a boundary, draping helps keep the client warm which aids in the relaxation response. In some countries it is required that certain areas such as the genitals on both genders and the breast/nipple area on women be draped at all times. In the United States draping is a standard of the profession, while in other parts of the world, such as some parts of Europe, it is not practiced at all. In most forms of Massage, the session begins with the client face up, referred to as supine, or face down, referred to as prone, for the first part of the session and then the client rolls over for the second half. Relaxation is necessary for benefits to be achieved.