The current edition of the "Technical Manual of Therapeutic Massage in Medical Practice and Complementary Physiotherapy" - revised and completed, is an editorial publication of reference, a reality proven both by the need for professional information in the field, and by the presentation of the correlation "massage therapeutic - physical therapy". The author of the work, Mr. Anghel Diaconu, with an experience in the field of over 45 years, approached this topic with scientific, didactic, theoretical and practical value, distinguished by its pragmatism.
In 2008, Mr. Anghel Diaconu transferred for the first time his entire professional and didactic experience in the pages of a work of this type. The manual covered the existing gap in the specialized medical literature, both in our country and in other countries, and proved to be of remarkable utility in training and perfecting the application of therapeutic massage in medical practice for an important number of practitioners, for physiotherapists - classic or special post-secondary level, for physiotherapists in the university register, residents and medical specialists.
This first appearance was requested by an extremely important number of specialists, beneficiaries of complex information with an applicative nature regarding therapeutic massage in medical practice.
The manual, according to the Order of the Minister of National Education no. 5455/18.10.2010, is mandatory for the training of all those who will practice massage, regardless of the level of education, because it corresponds to the analytical program for all schools with training in the field.
As a result of the requests, the Medical Publishing House published the second edition of the "Technical manual of therapeutic massage in medical practice", revised and supplemented. Also, the Romanian Academy of Scientists approved the publication of its numerous editions as a "Treaty", presented in the history of the work, mentioned at the end of the manual.
The Association of Non-Wearers from Romania, at the request of its members who are preparing and carrying out their activities in this field, published the "Manual" in the Braille alphabet.
The work was published in the USA in numerous editions, both as a Treatise and as a Manual, in English, Italian and Romanian, which were printed by different publishers (distributed through amazon.com), presented in the history of the work, mentioned at the end the manual.
Craiova University Publishing House publishes the 13th edition of the work, entitled Manual of therapeutic massage technique in medical practice and complementary physical therapy.
Bucharest University Publishing House has published and printed numerous editions distributed through bookstores and online, presented in the history of the work, mentioned at the end of the manual.
The works presented, including the present one, keep part of the structure and content of the first appearance, update the themes and bring added technical and scientific value, through the new presentation vision, through the development of the subjects in a correlative context - "therapeutic massage and associated physical therapy".
The historical context and the current reality of the European platform regarding the training of the various specialists in the recovery group require continuous professional training (long life learning). Physiotherapy fully responds to this requirement, which requires periodic updating of information, in order to have a good correspondence between the theoretical and practical aspects of professional training, at the national level and in accordance with the level of training from the European platform. In this context, other publications on therapeutic massage were sporadic and insufficient as a basis of information and training for the specialist practitioner of balneophysiotherapy and massage or balneophysiokinetotherapy and massage, so the appearance of this work was extremely timely, finding both its place and and utility.
The work covers an important area of theoretical and practical training needs for the specialist in Balneophysiokinetotherapy, Physiokinetotherapy and Kinetotherapy, by structuring the material, by detailing the application methodologies of different categories of therapeutic massage procedures, with the association of a rich illustrative material.
The content of the Manual is structured logically, initially with the specific aspects related to the infrastructure of the physical medicine sector, respectively therapeutic massage and associated physical therapy, followed by the general principles that guide the activity of the staff in the therapeutic massage sector.
Through the methods of presentation, organization and description of the chapters, methodologies, notions and technical procedures, the content of the Manual covers the training and improvement requirements of specialists in the field, at the same time corresponding to the analytical program related to therapeutic massage in medical practice indicated as a treatment method, in the context of recovery programs or in prophylactic programs. Through the content, readers receive information on the peculiarities of different topographical areas, become progressively familiar with the physiological and physiopathological aspects of the tissues and organs on which the massage maneuvers are performed, learn to follow the physiological and therapeutic effects of the different forms of therapeutic massage and find, in the application way, the justification of the correlations between the therapeutic massage and the associated physical therapy.
Chapter I presents essential criteria for selecting people who want to become masseuses. Also, the basic notions that any person who wants to practice this profession must acquire and - further - the conditions and equipment of the massage room are presented.
In Chapter II, the author Anghel Diaconu classifies and details, structured, the technique of performing each maneuver of the therapeutic massage.
Chapter III includes the general recommendations regarding the technique of correctly performing the therapeutic massage maneuvers, the anatomophysiological and topographical description of each region, as well as the technique of performing the massage maneuvers on each area and on each region of the body.
Chapter IV presents the general massage technique, which is a synthesis of massage by region. The author insists on respecting neighborhood reactions, taking into account the musculo-vasculo-nervous package and the deep organs, on local or neighborhood algic and trophic particularities and on non-specific somatic and psychobehavioral reaction particularities.
Chapter V presents the conditions and technique for massaging children (babies) by parents and/or masseuses. Next, the role of therapeutic massage in increasing the effectiveness of treatment with lymphatic, reflex and sports massage is presented.
In chapter VI, craniosacral therapy is presented.
I also appreciate and consider (because they are welcome and necessary) the following chapters, presented by top personalities from the medical field, which complete the technical-scientific and practical notions in the field, necessary in the complex training of the people who will practice this therapy, in order to render the state of health of those who are suffering.
In Chapter VII massage is presented - particular techniques.
Chapter VIII describes the technique of performing the massage with the patient sitting on the chair.
In Chapter IX, the therapeutic massage is presented - the basic procedure in recovery, the medical evaluation, the indications and contraindications of this therapy.
Chapter X presents the role of massage in the therapy of neurological and rheumatic diseases.
Chapter XI contains corrective exercises for balancing the muscle tone, as well as for increasing the mobility of the joints, performed by the therapist in collaboration with the patient.
On the basis of this work with a clearly presented, coherently structured and convincingly illustrated content, both theoretical presentations and practical works such as comparative demonstrations, applied exercises, case studies, analysis of situations on different categories of pathology, specialized on case. The work can be the basis of acquiring the skills and abilities required by the training standard for a good quality professional offer. It has an applicative nature, covering a need for information and corrective exercise in the field of physiotherapy, as a specific offer of non-pharmacological therapy. The aspect of novelty for the international specialized literature is also worth noting.
The work is written after a long experience of knowledge and application of what was presented, being the fruit of sequential professional accumulation, both in the area of therapeutic application and in the area of education. The author, constant and meticulous in his permanent training and improvement, graduated from the European level adult training courses, organized by the National Council for Professional Training of Adults, by the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Labour.
Anghel Diaconu trained and trained many generations of specialists in the field. He also participated in the realization of the research topics regarding the recovery of the working capacity of locomotor disabilities, within the Research Laboratory of the National Institute of Medical Expertise and Recovery of Working Capacity and directly coordinated the improvement and retraining courses organized by the Ministry of Labor in within the Institute.
At the same time, his work has proven its usefulness in the training of people who will practice massage, as evidenced by the appreciation of numerous specialized units who considered that the author of this work with scientific and didactic content deserves to receive their appreciation, offering him the following distinctions:
Diploma of the Romanian Academy of Scientists: "Alexandru D. Radulescu"
Diploma of excellence from the Medical Rehabilitation Commission - Ministry of Health;
Diploma of merit from the National Institute of Recovery, Physical Medicine and Balneoclimatology;
Diploma of excellence from the Ilfov County Emergency Clinical Hospital;
Diploma of excellence from the "Fundeni" Post-secondary School of Health and others.
Also, the work was evaluated by top personalities from education and specialized units: Acad. Prof. Dr. Vasile Candea, Prof. Dr. Stefan Suteanu, Prof. Dr. Delia Cinteza, Prof. Dr. Gilda Mologhianu, Dr. Bianca‑Doina Posirca and Dr. Cornelia Popescu.
Prof. Dr. Adriana SARAH NICA
Specialist in Recovery, Physical Medicine and Balneoclimatology