Massage Therapy
Trigger Point Therapy
Description and Benefits:
Myo-facsial trigger points, also called “knots”, are an extremely common cause of pain. Trigger points are painful when touched, cause the muscle fibers to shorten, and have a special property known as referral pain. Referral pain means that a trigger point in one muscle can create pain in a different area.
Trigger Point Therapy, also referred to as Neuromuscular therapy, is a type of soft tissue manipulation that is directed to treat underlying causes of chronic pain involved with the muscular and nervous systems. This medically-oriented form of massage addresses trigger points (tender muscle-centered points), circulation, nerve compression, postural issues, and biomechanical problems. These can be caused by a variety of reasons, including repetitive movements, holding patterns, stress, over-exertion of muscles.
Therapeutic Massage
Description and Benefits:
Also known as deep tissue massage, the therapeutic style is best for giving attention to painful, immalleable “trouble spots” in your body. The massage therapist uses slow, deliberate strokes that focus firm pressure on the deeper layers of muscle, tendon and fascial tissue. Though less rhythmic than other types of massage, therapeutic massage can help relieve chronic patterns of tension and help with muscle injuries.
Myofascial Release
Description and Benefits:
Myofascial release is a manipulative treatment that attempts to release tension in the fascia due to trauma, posture, or inflammation. Connective tissue called fascia surrounds the muscles, bones, nerves, and organs of the body. Points of restriction in the fascia, also called adhesions, can place a great deal of pressure on nerves and muscles causing chronic pain.
Myofascial release practitioners employ long stretching strokes meant to balance tissue with muscle mechanics to improve joint range of motion in order to relieve pain.
Prenatal Massage
Description and Benefits:
During pregnancy, your body goes through some big changes. Pregnancy massage can help with these changes by reducing stress, decreasing swelling in the arms and legs, and relieving muscle and joint pain. Massage may be particularly helpful during a time when medications and other medical options tend to be more limited. Using deliberately-arranged massage pillows, the massage therapist will help get you into a comfortable position, typically side-lying, for this type of massage. Pregnancy massage is safe during all three trimesters, but by Pennsylvania law, cannot be performed during the first trimester.
Here’s a link for more information about pregnancy massage from the American Pregnancy Association: http://americanpregnancy.org/
Swedish Relaxation
Description and Benefits:
The most common type of massage in the western world is Swedish massage therapy. It involves gentle, long, kneading strokes, as well as light, rhythmic, tapping strokes, on the topmost layers of muscles. This is also typically combined with movement of the joints. By relieving muscle tension, Swedish therapy can be both relaxing and energizing. It may also even help after an injury.
The four common strokes of Swedish massage are:
- Effleurage: a light, gliding stroke used to relax soft tissue.
- Petrissage: squeezing, rolling, or kneading that generally follows effleurage.
- Friction: deep, circular movements that cause the layers of tissue to rub against each other, which helps to increase blood flow, loosen adhesions, and break down scar tissue
- Tapotement: short, alternating taps done with cupped hands, fingers, or the edge of the hand
All of these types of massage (used together or alone, depending upon each individual) can be utilized to help with: muscle pain, tension, headache, migraine, back pain, osteoarthritis, swelling, fatigue, anxiety, depression, insomnia, immune system & cardiovascular system strengthening, as well as relaxing & recalibrating the nervous system.
