the benefits of bodywork
Nothing is more important than your well-being, make taking care of yourself a high priority
Immune System Benefits
The Physiological Benefits of Massage Therapy
Make your massage results last by avoiding as many stressful elements as possible. Schedule your next appointment! When you make bodywork a regular part of your life, you are helping your body maintain a better state of balance! In the end, you stand to enjoy much better health gains through consistent sessions. Enjoy Your Life! Nothing is more important than your well-being, so make taking care of yourself a high priority. When you feel your best, you are in much better condition to deal with all of life's challenges and demands!
- Relieve physical and mental stress: by decreasing muscle tension in the back, shoulder, and neck muscle
- Improve sleep quality: by relieving stress and aiding in relaxation
- Nurture a general sense of well being by increasing body awareness and improving posture through massage
- Psychological benefits: the one-on-one interaction of massage reduces anxiety, depression, and stress. Mental clarity and alertness are enhanced
The Physiological Benefits of Massage Therapy
- Massage therapy relieves tension in your muscles; many people use it for relaxation and to reduce muscle soreness.
- Hasten recovery: massage can speed recovery from exercise or injury by promoting healthy tissue
- Increased flexibility: massage assists in restoring joint mobility by reducing the restrictions of the soft tissue surrounding the joint.
- Maintain healthy muscle tissue: oxygenation of muscle tissue is increased by massage, due to increased blood flow, keeping it healthy
- Reduces pain: massage can become a component of long term pain management by reducing muscle spasms and reducing edema, and also by the flushing out of metabolic build up in tissue
- Lowers blood pressure: massage increases blood flow to treated areas, and may have a systemic effect by reducing the heart rate and blood pressure
- Massage can be used to treat: headaches, migraines, adhesions, muscle spasm, myositis, bursitis, fibrositis, tendonitis, and myofascial trigger points
Make your massage results last by avoiding as many stressful elements as possible. Schedule your next appointment! When you make bodywork a regular part of your life, you are helping your body maintain a better state of balance! In the end, you stand to enjoy much better health gains through consistent sessions. Enjoy Your Life! Nothing is more important than your well-being, so make taking care of yourself a high priority. When you feel your best, you are in much better condition to deal with all of life's challenges and demands!
THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS OF CUPPING THERAPY
Manual stimulus, with the objective of influencing and manipulating internal or external organs must start at the most superficial level. The skin, which is the body’s largest organ, contains fluids, blood vessels, connective tissue, muscle and rich nerve supplies.
Since Cupping techniques use negative pressure, rather than tissue compression, superior bodywork ranging from Myofascial Release and deep tissue work to manual lymphatic drainage is easily accomplished. The suction of the cups rapidly facilitates rigid soft tissue release by pulling it up and away from the underlying structures, thus loosening areas of adhesion or restriction. It activates muscle spindle reflexes that relax contractile tissue and retrains the myofascial structures.
Contracted, congested tissue structures will soften quickly and it’s remarkable on rigid and aching muscles, activating the secretion of synovial fluids to release joint stiffness in ways not possible using the pressure of traditional massage – with only a few minutes of negative pressure therapy. It concurrently creates localized expansion of tissue, producing a profound vasodilatation reaction – drawing blood flow to areas of ischemic pain, raising skin temperature, promoting metabolism within the skin tissue for better functioning of sweat and sebaceous glands, flushing capillary beds, draining stagnant blood, toxins and lymph, and re-supplying vital nutrients.
Some of the benefits of Cupping Therapy:
· Treats headaches, neck pain and backaches
· Dispels colds and respiratory infections
· Benefits the lungs for cough and asthma
· Strengthens the immune system by promoting the flow of lymphatic fluid
· Improves circulation to reduce inflammation
· Relieves gastrointestinal symptoms such as stomachache, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea
· Affects the body down to a depth of four inches beneath the surface – thus making the best deep tissue massage available
· The suction created by cupping pulls stagnant intercellular fluid to the surface, removes toxic debris and replaces it with fresh oxygenated, nutrient rich fluid.
· Stretches and unwinds fascia at the superficial and deepest levels
· Removes micro and small adhesions, allowing for more range of movement in tissues. Larger and/or deeper adhesions may need cumulative treatments for permanent changes.
· Stimulates the local nervous system, causing an increase of endorphins and a decrease of pain
Receiving cupping can feel mildly uncomfortable or deeply pleasurable, depending on the individual. People often report that the experience stays with them longer than most treatments, and the speed with which negative pressure massage changes the tissue is truly amazing.
When used in a treatment series, the results are cumulative. Yet even in a single treatment, a long-term physical issue may be resolved!
TRIGGER POINT THERAPY
Trigger Point Therapy was pioneered and developed in this country by Dr. Janet Travell, President John F. Kennedy's personal physician during his years of persistent back pain.
Trigger-point therapy can provide dramatic relief to many pain symptoms brought on by everyday stresses, overused muscles, whiplash trauma or conditions such as fibromyalgia and arthritis. In these conditions, “soft tissue” pain is often characterized by “trigger points.” Trigger points are extremely sensitive areas that carry the referred sensation of a sharp pain, dull ache, tingling, pins and needles, or the feeling of hot or cold. Trigger points often refer pain to other locations as in headaches or back pain. In some instances they can create symptoms such as nausea, ear aches, equilibrium disturbances, and blurred vision. Trigger point therapy examines and treats the layers of the muscles, closely addressing both the surface and deep tissues and ligaments.
A trigger point is a hyperirritable tender spot in a muscle that refers pain ("triggers pain) to other muscles. This is why the pain in your head may be coming from a neck muscle and the pain in your neck from a shoulder muscle and the pain in your low back from a hip muscle.
If the trigger points are not treated, they can be the culprits in lingering pain even after an injury has healed, and the reason why the headache, neckache, and backache keep returning year after year. Some of the causes of trigger point activity in your muscles are stress, excessive chilling, injury, overuse, strain, as well as chemical, drugs, alcohol, and environmental pollutants.
Active trigger points keep the muscles tight, restricting blood flow and compressing nerves perpetuating a vicious pain-spasm cycle in the muscles. The effect of decreased flexibility limits movement encouraging postural patterns which may sustain the cycle for years.
Trigger Point Therapy was pioneered and developed in this country by Dr. Janet Travell, President John F. Kennedy's personal physician during his years of persistent back pain.
Trigger-point therapy can provide dramatic relief to many pain symptoms brought on by everyday stresses, overused muscles, whiplash trauma or conditions such as fibromyalgia and arthritis. In these conditions, “soft tissue” pain is often characterized by “trigger points.” Trigger points are extremely sensitive areas that carry the referred sensation of a sharp pain, dull ache, tingling, pins and needles, or the feeling of hot or cold. Trigger points often refer pain to other locations as in headaches or back pain. In some instances they can create symptoms such as nausea, ear aches, equilibrium disturbances, and blurred vision. Trigger point therapy examines and treats the layers of the muscles, closely addressing both the surface and deep tissues and ligaments.
A trigger point is a hyperirritable tender spot in a muscle that refers pain ("triggers pain) to other muscles. This is why the pain in your head may be coming from a neck muscle and the pain in your neck from a shoulder muscle and the pain in your low back from a hip muscle.
If the trigger points are not treated, they can be the culprits in lingering pain even after an injury has healed, and the reason why the headache, neckache, and backache keep returning year after year. Some of the causes of trigger point activity in your muscles are stress, excessive chilling, injury, overuse, strain, as well as chemical, drugs, alcohol, and environmental pollutants.
Active trigger points keep the muscles tight, restricting blood flow and compressing nerves perpetuating a vicious pain-spasm cycle in the muscles. The effect of decreased flexibility limits movement encouraging postural patterns which may sustain the cycle for years.
KINESIO TAPING METHOD
Kinesio taping gives support and stability to your joints and muscles without affecting circulation and range of motion. It is also used for preventive maintenance, edema (swelling) and pain management.
Kinesio taping exhibits its efficacy through the activation of the neurological and circulatory systems. This method basically stems from the science of Kinesiology, hence the name “Kinesio”. Muscles not only move the body, but also affects the circulation of blood and lymphatic fluid. Therefore, the failure of the muscles to function properly induces various kinds of symptoms.
Kinesio Taping Method is applied over muscles to reduce pain and inflammation, relax over-used, tired muscles and to support muscles in movement on a 24hr/day basis. It is a non-restrictive type of taping that allows for full range of motion. It is not a fixation tape like most traditional tapes, nor does it obstruct the flow of bodily fluids.
Many professional athletes such as Lance Armstrong and the entire cycling team swear by Kinesio tape. So much attention was given to the importance of muscle function that the idea of treating the muscles in order to activate the body’s own healing process came into reality.
The tape is unique with 140% elasticity designed to mimic skin and allow for optimal non-restricted support. The method is designed to work off your body's own natural healing process, which makes it a healthy drug-free alternative.
Kinesio taping gives support and stability to your joints and muscles without affecting circulation and range of motion. It is also used for preventive maintenance, edema (swelling) and pain management.
Kinesio taping exhibits its efficacy through the activation of the neurological and circulatory systems. This method basically stems from the science of Kinesiology, hence the name “Kinesio”. Muscles not only move the body, but also affects the circulation of blood and lymphatic fluid. Therefore, the failure of the muscles to function properly induces various kinds of symptoms.
Kinesio Taping Method is applied over muscles to reduce pain and inflammation, relax over-used, tired muscles and to support muscles in movement on a 24hr/day basis. It is a non-restrictive type of taping that allows for full range of motion. It is not a fixation tape like most traditional tapes, nor does it obstruct the flow of bodily fluids.
Many professional athletes such as Lance Armstrong and the entire cycling team swear by Kinesio tape. So much attention was given to the importance of muscle function that the idea of treating the muscles in order to activate the body’s own healing process came into reality.
The tape is unique with 140% elasticity designed to mimic skin and allow for optimal non-restricted support. The method is designed to work off your body's own natural healing process, which makes it a healthy drug-free alternative.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Ben Cumming
