Massage Therapy
Massage is a general term for pressing, rubbing and manipulating your skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Massage therapists typically use their hands and fingers for massage, but may also use their forearms, elbows and even feet. Massage may range from light pressure to deep pressure.
If you have never had a professional massage because you might not know exactly which one to choose, here are a few descriptions on the types of massages that our massage therapist has to offer at our office.
Swedish
This is a gentle form of massage that uses long strokes, kneading, circular movements,vibration and tapping to help relax and energize you.
Deep Tissue
This massage technique uses slower, more-forceful strokes to target the deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue, commonly to help with muscle damage from injuries and over use.
Sports Massage
This modality is geared toward athletes of every kind, from world-class professionals to weekend joggers. Athletes have discovered that specially designed sports massage promotes flexibility, reduces fatigue, improves endurance, helps prevent injuries and prepares their body and mind for optimal performance.
Trigger Point Massage
This massage focuses on areas of tight muscle fibers that can form in your muscles after injuries or overuse.
Aromatherapy Massage
Essential oils are great to use for common issues such as sinus headaches,allergies, muscle or joint pain, anxiety and much more so while having a relaxing massage, Melissa will use the right oils to add into your massage session.
Prenatal Massage
Massage therapy during pregnancy is a wonderful complementary choice for prenatal care. It is a healthy way to reduce stress and promote overall wellness. Massage relieves many of the normal discomforts experienced during pregnancy, such as backaches, stiff neck, leg cramps, headaches and edema (or swelling).
In addition, massage for pregnant women reduces stress on weight-bearing joints, encourages blood and lymph circulation, helps to relax nervous tension ,which aids in better sleep and can help relieve depression or anxiety caused by hormonal changes. At you next OB visit ask your doctor for a release letter giving you the permission for massage.
Fire Cupping
Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. People get it for many purposes, including to help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage. The suction and negative pressure provided by cupping can loosen muscles, encourage blood flow, and sedate the nervous system (which makes it an excellent treatment for high blood pressure). Cupping is used to relieve back and neck pains, stiff muscles, anxiety, fatigue, migraines rheumatism, and even cellulite.
Benefits of Massage
Studies of the benefits of massage demonstrate that it is an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain and muscle tension and can also be helpful for conditions such as pregnancy, digestive disorders, migraines, fibromyalgia, headaches, insomnia related to stress, myofascial pain syndrome, paresthesias and nerve pain, soft tissue strains or injuries, sports injuries, and temporomandibular joint pain (TMJ).