Massage can be applied to be used for many bodily ailments and discomfort.   It can be used when you have a tendency to feel bloating in the stomach and you feel as if you have indigestion.  You feel uncomfortable in your abdominal area especially after eating.  You feel that you have swallowed too much air or have eaten something that is not digesting well. 

In such a situation, you can get rid of the air in your stomach and hence reduce the tension in the stomach and intestinal walls.  Otherwise there can be full blown pain when the stomach and intestinal walls are stretched excessively by the air and gas trapped within them.

You can press your knuckles into the abdominal wall in the midline just below the rib cage.  When you find a tender area, you can hold the pressure longer at that area. The tender areas will most likely be at the upper abdominal region and you can massage the area with your knuckles until it feels softer and less tender to touch.  

You can also massage all sections of the abdominal wall using your fist to thump until you hear gurgling movements in the stomach and intestines.  This will help you belch to release the air and reduce the tension inside the stomach and intestines.  Drinking several glasses of warm water will help in initiating stomach and intestinal movements and help expel gas.

To be more effective in getting movements in the stomach and intestines, you can use your fist to thump the mid-back and lower back muscles also.  Tightness of the muscles of the middle and lower back tends to make the abdominal wall lax.  Relaxing the back muscles will help to contract the abdominal wall better and release the trapped air inside the stomach and intestines. 

If you have a shiatsu massager or an electric massager you must use it to massage the back muscles along the entire spine.  By massaging the abdominal wall and the entire back muscles effectively as soon as you start feeling stomach area discomfort, you can prevent abdominal pain from developing.  

Also use heat on the muscles of the abdominal wall and the entire spine to keep the muscles soft and relaxed before and after massage.

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