Tag - relaxation massage

Sports Massage for Soft Tissue Injuries

A detail image of a female leg being massaged. “Soft tissue” is the collective term commonly used to refer to the “softer” materials of the external parts of the body that exclude bones and joints. Your body is made up of 70% soft tissue such as muscles, tendons, fascia, ligaments, and nerves that connect, support, or surround other structures and organs. The body’s soft tissues are particularly susceptible to injury that can result in anything from minor to very serious depending on [...]

Can Massage Help Your Migraine?

Migraine headaches are one of the most common disorders affecting approximately one billion people worldwide. A migraine is characterized by debilitating moderate to severe pain and throbbing in the head (usually on one side), and can be accompanied by nausea, sensitivity to light, smells, sound, as well as visual disturbances called an ‘aura’. These symptoms can worsen with any exertion and are sometimes preceded by neurologic signs such as seeing flashes of light or noticing blind spots in vision [...]

Massage to Relieve Neck Pain

Neck pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical treatment. Out of 291 conditions studied, neck pain is ranked 4th highest in terms of disability according to an Australian study, Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study.  Additional global research ranks neck pain as a significant impairment that affects quality of life and well-being. The neck is the main thoroughfare for muscles, blood vessels and major arteries, nerves, bones and cartilage to support vital brain, respiratory, and nerve [...]

Massage for Children and Infants

Touch therapy triggers many physiological changes that help infants and children grow and develop. ~ Tiffany Field, PhD. Touch is one of the first senses to develop in utero through the growth of skin that contains millions of sensory fibers of this first organ of the body. It is the first thing we experience when we are born and thus it is a vital communication that signals safety and survival. Studies have proven that child or infant massage is a positive [...]

How Massage Benefits The Aging Process

“…While integrating massage therapy into a health and wellness plan is useful for all ages, it holds particular value in the growing elder population.” ~ Nancy M. Porambo, President of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA). Statistics are showing that global life expectancy is increasing. A recent study by the United Nations indicated that worldwide population of persons over 60 years old represented 11.7% in 2013. This figure is projected to reach 21% within the next 30 years. Those persons [...]

How Massage Can Improve Posture

“Our necks and backs hurt, and poor posture is the No. 1 culprit,” says Janice Novak, M.S., author of the book, Posture, Get it Straight! Poor posture is one of the signature physical patterns that reflect our lifestyle and our stress. While it can be an inherited disability, it most often is the result of developed bad habits in daily living. Today, you are asked to adapt to a world that operates against the natural tendencies of good posture in your [...]

Can Massage Promote Better Sleep?

“Every day we have new scientific connections about sleep and [its connection to] every aspect of our health, from obesity and hypertension to heart disease, cancer, every aspect of our emotional intelligence and mood.” ~Arianna Huffington Scientific sleep studies have discovered that, next to pain, sleep deprivation is one of the prime issues that affect our well-being. What Causes Sleep Deprivation? Any number of issues can be at the heart of your inability to experience vital, restorative sleep. Stress and worry about [...]

Low Back Pain and Massage

One of the most common sites for injury is the lower back. It can become the source of pain, referred pain and chronic pain in an estimated 80% of adults. If not treated, it can lead to loss or dysfunction of motor skills, balance issues, inflammation and general degradation of well-being. Each low back injury has its own signature pattern of pain and referred pain that can be identified and often successfully treated with massage therapy. Studies have shown that [...]

How to Get the Most out of your Massage 

  Massage therapy is more than just a pretty face in the line-up of self-care protocols available to us all today.  It is a powerful modality for your health that harmonizes and brings consciousness, flow and communication between your mind, body and heart. It makes sense, then, that you would want to optimize this connection with every massage you experience so you can generate healing wherever it is needed in your being.  Getting the most out of your massage session requires [...]

Is It Normal to Experience Some Soreness After a Massage Treatment?

You probably feel right on top of the world after your massage – relaxed, calm, and with your muscles feeling better than they ever have. So, much to your surprise and dismay, the next morning you wake up feeling like you’ve been beaten up. Not only are your muscles sore and your body stiff, but you actually feel like you’re coming down with the flu. Don’t panic; this is an almost universal side effect of getting a therapeutic massage. Oh, [...]