Massage Yourself: Self-massage of muscles, tendons and ligaments

Massage Yourself is concerned with self-treatment, self-help and personal empowerment and describes a remedial massage system where you massage yourself. The use of the word 'massage' keeps the main title concise but it is the full title 'Massage Yourself - Self-massage of muscles, tendons and ligaments' that reflects the fact that this is a serious medical book, based on anatomy, covering a wide range of soft tissues in the body. Massage Yourself provides a comprehensive list of self-massage techniques dealing with most of the muscles, tendons and ligament of the body, empowers people with the skills to help their body function better and to treat specific soft tissues problems and helps them develop greater awareness of their own bodies and name its different parts. Self-massage can complement treatment by helping to fix problems or remove the need for treatment by preventing health problems developing, reduce treatment time and improve the health and efficiency of your muscles, tendons and ligaments without the need for expensive equipment, and once learned, can be used safely at home. Self-massage is suitable for the sedentary person or athlete, the layperson or professional. Massage Yourself is comprehensive and concise. It contains a list of safe and effective massage techniques, and it focuses on specific areas of the body and targets specific muscles and muscle groups without unnecessary repetition. It covers two main types of technique: cross fibre kneading and transverse friction and explains which soft tissues are being massaged and where they are located, which part of your hand or massage tool is best to use and it explains how to do the massage technique. Massage Yourself is clear, easy to read, user friendly and contains hundreds of photographs and line drawings showing massage techniques for every part of the body, as well as anatomy illustrations explaining which muscles are being massaged, and the bullet points take you through the techniques step-by-step.

About the Author :
Rowland Benjamin has worked as an Osteopath for thirty-seven years and in the health and massage field of massage for over forty years. In the late 1970s he established yoga schools in Australia and the U.K and worked with yoga and massage for several years before training as an Osteopath at the N.S.W. College of Natural Therapies and the Pacific College of Osteopathic medicine, Sydney, Australia. He set up his first Osteopathic practice in July 1985 in Sydney, Australia. In 1987 he moved to Liverpool, UK and worked for a year there and used the time for postgraduate studies at The British School of Osteopathy. Rowland started working as a lecturer in 1987 teaching 'Natural medicine' for Liverpool City Council and 'Natural living' at Burton Manor College, Cheshire, U.K. Since then, he has lectured in Alternative medicine, Natural living, Soft tissue technique, Surface anatomy, Transverse friction, Deep tissue massage, Contemporary health issues, Life skills, Hydrotherapy and Advanced massage at various colleges in Perth, Western Australia. During his career as an Osteopath Rowland has worked in Australia and the UK in private practice and as a locum. His first book 'Myofaction - Myofascial Manipulation' was published in 2002 and has sold widely. In 2015 he published 'Safe Stretch' that looked at individual differences and took them into account when prescribing the right stretches. www.safe-stretch.info. Rowland also authors environmental books that use cartoons and the written word to explain and generate greater awareness about the issues www.ecofreakocartoons.comThe author has travelled extensively throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North America, Central America and South America. He has worked as an environmental activist and lobbyist for over forty years and currently runs Information for Action. Since 2010 he has been working on the construction of a Permaculture based orchard and nature area in Bridgetown, Western Australia where he resides and practices osteopathy. Progress at Bridgetown Hillside Garden can be viewed at www.bhg.org.au. He continues to practice evidence based and anatomy based manual therapy using self-help systems such as stretching and self-massage to empower his patients.