Massage Therapy is both an art and a science.  As an art, professional therapists must trust their intuition when applying the techniques of their craft to deliver treatment.  As a science, Massage Therapy relies on scientific knowledge and principles to provide understanding into the workings of the human body.  Within this body of knowledge there are 4 Laws of Massage Therapy that form the basic foundation as to its effectiveness.

Law One:  Everything is connected.  Throughout the body there is connective tissue called fascia, the main function of which is to ”package” the muscles and organs.  It keeps groups of similar muscles together in a myofascial unit (muscle and fascia) and separated from other myofascial units so that each can function more efficiently.  Fascia has been characterized as a continuous sheet of "saran wrap."  Like saran wrap, fascia can stick to itself creating fascial adhesions.

Law Two:  Bones go where muscles put them--bones stay where muscles keep them.  The main function of muscles is to move the body.  They connect one bone to another attaching to each bone via tendons.  When muscles contract bones move.  It is also important to note that muscles come in pairs.  For every action that a muscle performs, there is another muscle that does the opposite.  For example, one muscle raises your arm and another lowers it.  One muscle turns your head to the left, another turns it to the right.

In addition to moving bones, muscles hold them in place.  To look at the big picture, think about your back and stomach muscles.  To bend forward at the waist you contract your stomach muscles.  To stand back up, you contract your back muscles.  But to simply stand erect you don't really contract either set of muscles.  The muscle tone (tension in a resting muscle) in these muscles keeps you standing straight.

Law Three:  Shortened muscles can do no work.  In order to function effectively, muscles (and the surrounding fascia) must be unrestricted in their ability to contract.  Restrictions artificially shorten muscles and can hamper functionality in two ways.  First, muscles may remain partially contracted following periods of overuse and repetitive action.  Second, muscles may be restricted by fascial adhesions (see Law One) that occur within its myofascial unit or within a neighboring myofascial unit.  Adhesions can develop in areas that are under-utilized or held in one position for extended periods of time.  During extended periods of inactivity, the fascia surrounding one muscle may adhere to the fascia around another muscle.  When this happens neither muscle can move freely and each muscle restricts the movement of the other.