| Massage involves acting and manipulating the | | | | the traditional relaxation massage that you may |
| patient's body with pressure (structured, | | | | get in a spa. |
| unstructured, stationary, and/or moving), tension, | | | | When you come to visit me with your back pain |
| motion, or vibration done manually or with | | | | you will sit in the special massage chair that you |
| mechanical aids. Target tissues may include | | | | see above. Slowly and gently I will be using my |
| muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, joints, or other | | | | thumbs, finger tips and even my elbows to |
| connective tissue, as well as lymphatic vessels, | | | | explore every fiber tissue looking for bands of |
| and/or organs of the gastrointestinal system. | | | | muscle fibers that are tighter than the rest of |
| Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, | | | | them. |
| elbows, forearm, and feet. There are over eighty | | | | Benefits |
| different massage modalities.The most cited | | | | Postural Distortion: This is an imbalance of the |
| reasons for introducing massage was patient | | | | muscular system resulting from the movement of |
| demand and perceived clinical effectiveness. | | | | the body off the longitudinal and horizontal planes. |
| Neuromuscular massage | | | | This is a fancy way of saying your body needs a |
| Applied to specific muscles, often used to increase | | | | muscel alignment just like your car does after |
| blood flow, release knots of muscle tension, or | | | | hitting a pothole! |
| release pain/pressure on nerves. It usually | | | | Biomechanical Dysfunction: This refers to the |
| involves trigger points (painful spots in a muscle) | | | | imbalance of the musculoskeletal system resulting |
| and helps break up scar tissue that has formed | | | | in faulty movement patterns such as : |
| over the injured muscle. | | | | Poor lifting habits |
| Some patients can be rid of pain in only one | | | | Terrible golf swing |
| session with a neuromuscular massage therapist, | | | | Lousy tennis stroke |
| while other patients will require several sessions | | | | Incorrect typing posture |
| before a noticeable change takes place. | | | | Massage therapy and bodywork eases tension |
| Neuromuscular massage therapists usually spend | | | | and helps people cope with stress more |
| time warming up the tissue with Swedish or | | | | effectively. It slows racing thoughts and worries, |
| traditional massage before progressing into | | | | helps consumers to reconnect with their body, |
| neuromuscular massage therapy. It can also take | | | | and brings attention to the mental and physical |
| time to actually locate the trigger point(s) because | | | | needs of their bodies so that they may better |
| the patient may be feeling pain in areas unrelated | | | | take care of themselves. It promotes a sense of |
| to the source of the problem. | | | | wholeness and helps enhance one’s |
| NMT is a deep tissue massage and is applied | | | | self-image, while keeping energy levels high. |
| directly to individual specific muscles, ligaments, | | | | Massage therapy and bodywork can be effective |
| connective tissue & tendons that are contributing | | | | in preventing illness and other physical ailments if |
| to your pain and misery. NMT excels here over | | | | received on a regular basis. |