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Term

Description

Active Assisted Movement

Movement of a joint in which both the client and the therapist produce the motion.

Active Range Of Motion

Movement of the joint by a client without any type of assistance from the massage practitioner.

Active Resistive Movement

Movement of a joint by the client against resistance provided by the therapist.

Acute Pain

symptom of a disease condition or a temporary aspect of medical treatment. Acute pain acts as a warning signal because it can activate the sympathetic nervous system

Adhesion

The uniting of two surfaces. Layers of connective tissue may adhere to each other limiting the involved muscles and increasing the possibility of injury

Approximation

The technique of pushing muscle fibers together in the belly of the muscle

Autonomic Nervous System

The body system that regulates involuntary body function using the sympathetic "fight/flight/fear response" and the restorative parasympathetic "relaxation response."

Body Mechanics

Use of the body in an efficient and biomechanically correct way

Chemical Effects

The effects of massage produced by the release of chemical substances in the body. These substances may be released locally from the tissue, or they may be hormones released into the general circulation.

Chronic

A term that describes the type of disease that develops slowly and lasts for a long time, sometimes for life.

Chronic Pain

Pain that persists or recurs for indefinite periods, usually for longer than 6 months. It frequently has an insidious onset, and the character and quality of the pain change over time

Circulatory

Systems that depend on the pumping action of the skeletal muscle such as the arterial, venous, respiratory, etc.

Chronic Spasm

Alternating involuntary contraction and relaxation of a muscle

Compensation

The process of counterbalancing a defect in body structure or function

Connective Tissue

The most abundant tissue type in the body; it provides support, structure, space, stabilization, and scar formation

Contraindication

Any condition that renders a particular treatment improper or undesirable

Counter Pressure

Force applied to an area that is designated to match exactly ( isometric contraction ) or partly ( isotonic contraction ) the effort or force produced by the muscles of that area.