| 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. |
