Contemporary Massage

With today's class, we reach the end of our classes for Fundamentals.

Weekly tasks

• Elluminate session: Monday 8 June, 1-3pm
  Contemporary Massage
  
  
  
• Task 6 - due Friday.
  

Approaches to massage

Last week in Fundamentals we looked at the historical development of massage in the western tradition. As discussed, the dominant western massage model is conceptually based on physiological ideas. This week we'll consider several other conceptual models, and ways of working.

Weekly tasks

1. Explore Maori models of health - You have three options of flash file (animation), web-page or downloadable .pdf file for each.
   
   
2. Elluminate - Thursday 2 Jun, 10-12
   Approaches to massage
   
   
3. Additional reading - Salvo, Chapter 28 - Eastern Massage therapies
   

Ethics | Historical development of massage

This week in Fundamentals, we will finish off considering ethics related to massage practice, and we will have a look at the historical development of massage.

Weekly tasks

1. Elluminate session: Monday 1-3pm
   Ethics review
   Massage New Zealand
   Sustainable Massage
   
   
2. Reading Salvo - Chapter 1 (History of massage)
   
   
3. Elluminate session: Thursday 10-12
   The historical development of massage.
   
   
4. Further reading from Massage Magazine for those who are interested
   

Ethics & massage practice

This week in Fundamentals we'll be looking at ethics as they relate to massage practice.

Weekly tasks

• Readings: Salvo Chapter 2 - The therapeutic relationship
  
  
• Elluminate session: Monday 2-3pm
  Ethics
  
  
• Elluminate session: Thursday 10-12am
  Ethics
  Massage New Zealand
  
  

Legislation relevant to massage therapy

This week in Fundamentals, we're overviewing the key legislative requirements which are relevant to massage practice.

Assessment
This week's material is relevant to Task 3 - legal requirements. The task is due during the practical block next week, so I would recommend completing it this week.

Weekly tasks

• Elluminate session - Legal requirements Thursday 30 April, 10-12am
  In this session we will cover the key points of relevance in massage-related legislation. By the end of the session you should be able to answer the assessment.
  

Indications & the effects of massage

This week in Fundamentals, we'll be continuing to look at the effects of massage, and we will have a look at Indications for massage.

An indication for massage can be considered a reason why you should give someone a massage (as a pose to a contraindication which is a reason why you should not). Indications are strongly related to the effects of massage.

Assessment due: Task 2 - a blog post on the effects of massage is due by the end of the week.

Weekly tasks

• Reading: Salvo - Read How safe is massage (p. 87-88), Skim through the effects of massage (p. 88-93)
  
  
• Read Salvo - Indications for massage (p. 93-96). As you're reading this section, consider how it relates to what we discussed in last week's elluminate session on the effects of massage.
  
  
• Monday's elluminate session 2-3pm
  Indications for massage
  
  
• Read Salvo - Swedish massage movements (p. 142-172), paying particular attention to the benefits of each massage stroke. Also notice how many different ways there are of doing each type of massage stroke. Are there many that you haven't tried using yet in your massages?
  
  
• Thursday's elluminate session 10-11am
  Effects of massage strokes
  

The effects of massage

Over the next two weeks in Fundamentals we will be looking at the effects of massage.

I know that most of you are quite busy with Study skills work this week, so the work for Fundamentals will be a little reduced this week.

Weekly tasks

1. Elluminate session Thursday 10am-12
   The effects of massage
   
   
2. Have a look at Task 2 for Fundamentals - the effects of massage strokes (Fundamentals course page). Please note that the date which is shown in the assessment task differs from the one on the cover page. The date on the cover page is correct - 3 April.
   
   This will be your first experience of the blog grading rubric which will be used to grade your blog posts in this course. We'll talk through it in the elluminate session, but the assessment task has a link to the actual rubric if you're interested to have a look at it before the session.
   

Safe massage practice

Our focus in Fundamentals this week will be "how do we ensure that the massage we are giving is safe for our clients?". We'll investigate hygiene, contraindications, and endangerment sites. This material is the subject matter for Fundamentals Task 1 which is due next week.

Weekly tasks

1. Read Chapter 4 of Salvo (2007) - Infection control, safety, health & hygiene.
   
   
2. Elluminate session - Monday, 2-3pm
   Fundamentals task 1
   Clarification of key concepts - hygiene, contraindications
   Class meeting
   
   
3. Work through the Contraindications to massage practice learning module.
   
   
4. Elluminate session - Thursday, 10-12am
   Medications
   Endangerment sites
   

The massage process

This week in Fundamentals of Massage we will consider the massage process. This will be the main focus of your online learning this week.

Estimated completion time: 9 hours.

1. You are to work through the online learning module - the massage process, explore the reading material and answer the questions.
   
   
2. Apply the ideas in the massage process module to your massages this week. Ask yourself what am I doing well? and what could I do better?
   
   
3. Elluminate session Monday 1-2pm
   a) Record Keeping for massage
   b) Fundamentals assessment
   
   
4. Design and create your own client details form.
   
   
5. Elluminate session Thursday 10-11am
   Discussion of the massage process
   

Introduction to fundamentals

The purpose of the Fundamentals of Massage course is to provide you with a theoretical framework within which to practice relaxation massage.

It is a fairly broad course. Over the semester we will cover

• The massage process (Week 10)
  
• Record keeping for massage (Week 10)
  
• Safe massage practice (including hygiene, contraindications and endangerment sites) (Week 11)
  
• The effects of massage (Weeks 13-14)
  
• Legal requirements relevant to massage practice (Week 18)
  
• Ethical considerations relevant to massage practice (Week 20 - 21)
  
• Sustainability and massage practice (Week 21)
  
• The historical development of massage practice (Week 23)
  
• Divergent cultural and philosophical approaches to massage practice (Week 24)
  
• Contemporary massage (Week 24)
  

Here is the Fundamentals of massage course page.