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Glossary

Connective tissue massage

[Subterm of Manipulative therapies]

Connective tissue massage refers to a method of manipulating the connective tissues of the body using pressure and traction. It was invented by Elisabeth Dicke (1884-1952). Massage of the connective tissue impacts organs that communicate with certain connective tissue zones based on the viscero-cutaneous reflex. The three major techniques utilized in massage of the connective tissue are the skin technique (moving skin relative to subcutaneous connective tissue), deep-skin technique (moving subcutaneous connective tissue relative to fascia) and fascia technique (moving fascia relative to each other).