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| TYPES OF TREATMENT
Each massage session usually includes a variety of
techniques, depending on what the client requests and what the client needs
during a session. However, here are some definitions of the massage
modalities I find most effective.
Injury
Treatment is a broad term encompassing various techniques used to treat
many specific conditions and injuries. I use Trigger Point Therapy,
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Fascilitation, Muscle Energy Technique, Myofacial
Release, Myokinesthetics, Visceral Manipulation, and Gentle Multi-Directional Friction, as well as Deep Tissue work to
treat low back injury, headaches, whiplash, carpal tunnel syndrome, upper
back and neck injury, frozen shoulder, sciatic pain, fibromyalgia,
thoracic outlet syndrome, tennis and golfer’s elbow, TMJD, and plantar
fascitiis among other injuries and conditions.
Developed
by Dr. Janet Travell, trigger point therapy targets the release of
intensely tight, irritated points in a taut band of muscle. While quite
tender to the touch, these trigger points also have patterns of referred
pain associated with them. This pain may manifest as radiating numbness,
weakness, tingling, or simply as an area of broad muscle ache. However,
the point where the trigger point is located is often not where the pain
is felt. For example, trigger points in muscles of the neck often cause
headaches, and points in the shoulder area can cause pain to radiate down
the arm. Specific pressure, stretching, and often ice are used to release
and relieve trigger points.
- SWEDISH (RELAXATION) MASSAGE
Probably
the most well known type of massage, Swedish massage offers deep
relaxation through long gliding strokes, scooping and lifting muscle
tissue, and other circulatory strokes. Most types of massage usually
incorporate some Swedish strokes to get the client relaxed and to ready
the muscle tissue for deeper work. Swedish massage increases circulation
and flushes toxins, promoting tissue health. Additionally, Swedish
massage invokes the body’s parasympathetic nervous system causing rest
and deep relaxation. During the massage, blood pressure and body
temperature usually decrease. The pressure applied during a Swedish style
massage can vary. Be sure to let your therapist know what makes you most
comfortable.
Deep
Tissue Massage is often used to treat chronic pain and injuries and
incorporates many massage techniques, including Swedish massage strokes,
friction, myofascial release, and often trigger point therapy. The
pressure is often more intense than Swedish massage and can be
uncomfortable at times. However, your therapist can adjust the pressure
to work within your tolerance. Deep tissue massage can be used to treat
chronic pain and new and old injuries by breaking up adhesions (scar
tissue) that form, thereby improving circulation, mobility, and
flexibility and reducing or removing pain. Deep tissue massage may cause
some initial tenderness in the areas worked; however, this should be
minimal (a day or two) and replaced by more lasting relief.
Sports
massage is designed to prevent injury and to maintain muscles health in
preparation for activity, to help active people recover from exertion,
and to keep athletes’ muscles in top shape for competition. Stimulating
pre-event massage warms up muscles and flushes them with blood and
oxygen. Pre-event massage is fast-paced and serves to energize the
athlete. Post-event massage stretches tight, fatigued muscles and
revitalizes them by increasing circulation and flushing potentially
irritating substances from the system. Recovery is faster and athletes
generally report being less sore with massage.
Sport
specific massage can also be tailored toward keeping a client in
condition for a specific sport in an effort to prevent injury. A pitcher,
for example, could have specific work done on her shoulder and arm to
keep muscles and tendons supple and healthy even under the tremendous
strain and repetitive use that pitching requires. A runner might require
specialized treatment for tight IT (iliotibial) bands to reduce knee pain or
increase stride.
Myofascial
Release focuses on the densely woven connective tissue (fascia) that
wraps every muscle fiber and every individual muscle in our bodies. It
also connects our skin to our muscles and provides structural support. Like
muscles, fascia can become tight and can develop scar tissue and
adhesions. However, whereas muscle is like a rubber band and can bounce
back into shape after being stretched or shortened, fascia responds more
slowly. It takes steady pressure to release tightened fascia. And
stretched fascia is more like the plastic in a shopping bag than a rubber
band; it stretches with slow, constant pressure, and it doesn’t bounce
right back. Repeated stresses,
habitual poor posture, an injury such as whiplash, or surgery can cause
scarring and tightening in areas of fascia. Think of someone who has
severely rounded shoulders. Not only are tight muscles involved, pulling
those shoulders forward, but the fascia enveloping those muscles has
slowly shortened and become adhesive in some spots and has been stretched
out of shape in others. Myofascial Release applies slow, steady pressure
(usually without or with very little oil) to stretch the tight, adhesed
fascia, restoring the body to balance. Because the process of fascial
distortion is slow, it may take more sessions to make a permanent
change in fascia than in muscles, but in my experience, noticeable changes are felt after a single session.
Neuromuscular
massage uses specific techniques to manipulate the soft tissue of the
body (muscles, fascia, and tendons) in an effort to change the
information received by the body’s nervous system and thereby change its response
to real or perceived injury and pain. Neuromuscular massage is used to
treat many factors known to cause pain: ischemia (lack of blood flow to
an area), trigger points, nerve compression or entrapment, postural
distortion (muscular imbalance that causes the body to move out of
alignment in the horizontal or longitudinal planes), and biomechanical
dysfunction (imbalance caused by repeated actions using poor
bodymechanics). The effects of these conditions can cause numbness,
tingling, or chronic pain. To facilitate neuromuscular
changes, I use Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation,
Myokinesthetics, Muscle Energy Technique, Post Isometric Relaxation, and
Visceral Manipulation.
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