» Stretching the Massage Therapy Client
When the therapist stretches the client, it is performed either actively or passively. Active/Passive stretching, as it is known, relates to the client’s action while being stretched by the therapist: They are either helping the therapist (active), or staying completely relaxed (passive) while the therapist takes them through a range of movement, as in the hamstrings example below. When the term Active/Isolated stretching is used it indicates a technique that isolates deep musculature in an effort to help release and soften this difficult to palpate (massage or apply pressure) tissue.
When stretching the client in a therapy session, the client might be standing or seated, or lying on the massage table, depending on the objective of the therapist. If, for example, it is the therapist’s objective to help the client gain greater range of movement in their hamstring muscles (the back of the client’s upper leg), the client might be lying on the massage table in the face up position. The therapist would then instruct the client to keep their leg extended, but relaxed, while the therapist would move the client’s leg toward the ceiling, and continue until the movement comfortably stops. This would be passive movement on the part of the client. The therapist might then instruct the client to attempt to move their leg back downward, resisting against movement of the therapist, thus constituting active movement on the part of the client.
With the same protocol above, Active/Isolated stretching (developed by Kinesiologist, Aaron Mattes) concentrates on working one muscle at a time to isolate it, thereby enhancing its ability to elongate. The stretch is held for only two seconds at a time, which releases the muscle before it has a chance to reflexively contract. This method has been found to be extremely effective in improving circulation and elasticity within muscle fibers.