Elements Therapeutic Massage - Lake Oswego

The Art of Motherhood Juggling

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:18:00 -0500

Being a mom is one of the most precious, rewarding and challenging jobs on the market. When you sign up to become a mom, everyone tells you the best baby equipment to buy, the best pediatrician to contact and the best preschools to start wait-listing your child on before they’re even born. What most forget to share, though, is the need for a mother to become a master juggler in order to survive the adventure of motherhood.

If you're struggling with keeping all of life's balls in the air, try incorporating the following four motherhood juggling techniques to not only overcome the challenges of motherhood, but establish the groundwork for a rewarding journey.

Make the Family Calendar a Priority
One of the biggest challenges of being a mother is juggling family, school, extracurricular activities and work commitments for everyone in the family. Carly Opheim, owner of an Elements Therapeutic Massage studio in Boise, Idaho, and soon-to-be mother of three, believes that having a detailed family schedule is one of the most important tools for moms to survive juggling all of the different activities of a family.

"If it's not on my calendar, it’s not going to happen," Opheim says.

Eliminate the Guilt Factor
Moms can be the worst offenders of feeling guilty for not doing enough for everyone, not reacting the best to every situation and not being able to solve everyone's problems or ailments.

In order to successfully juggle all of the obligations of motherhood, it's important to release the guilt factor from your mind and body by focusing on healthy and positive thoughts that can carry you to a more stress-free and pleasant mind space.

“We all have mental strains and stresses in our daily lives," Opheim says. "And if we don’t make a conscious effort to flush out these stresses, it will start affecting your mental stability and physical health.

"Making time for yourself is not about being a luxury. It's about taking the time to revive and rejuvenate your mind and body."

Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help
Many moms feel like they have to be Wonder Woman and shoulder all of the responsibility of the family by themselves. However, having a great support system -- a spouse, relatives, friends or a mixture of all three -- can make a huge difference in successfully juggling your life and your family’s.

Asking for help doesn’t mean that you're inferior or less of a mother. Instead, it means that you are a master juggler and understand the importance of the age-old saying, "It takes a village to raise a child."

Make Mommy (Me) Time Mandatory
If you don't take time out for yourself, it can really show in the way you interact with your friends, spouse and kids as well as the way you approach your job and personal obligations. When life gets busy, a lot of moms automatically skip out on "Me Time."

One way that Opheim suggests juggling life's daily stresses is by scheduling personal workout time, relaxation and rejuvenation time, and girlfriend time regularly to not only make them a priority in your life, but to ensure that they happen on a routine basis. It's important for moms to regularly schedule Me Time to clear the mind, relax the body and melt stress away.

When the motherhood juggling act is in full swing, it can be easy to get overwhelmed with all of the balls you have in the air. As a mother, it's important to keep everything in perspective and to remind yourself of these juggling techniques when life gets hectic. And remember, the only item on your calendar that you have control over is Me Time. So make the most out of your Me Time by taking the time to relax and rejuvenate. Your mind, body and family will appreciate it!

Set the Stage for Aging Gracefully

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:21:00 -0500

Aging gracefully is not just a lifestyle – it’s a mind-set that focuses on connecting your mind, body and spirit for overall health and wellness. In order to embrace the golden years as a healthy and active senior citizen, it is important to take care of yourself today by adopting consistent massage, nutrition and exercise habits so you can live tomorrow and the years to come feeling restored, vibrant and pain-free.

Industry trends show that senior citizens are taking a more holistic approach to their health and well-being needs as they age. According to a recent study from the AARP and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), Americans aged 50 and older are discussing the use of complementary and alternative products and practices such as herbal or dietary supplements, meditation, massage therapy, chiropractic care and acupuncture with their health care providers.

The survey found that just over half (53 percent) of people 50 and older reported using Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) at some point in their lives, and nearly as many (47 percent) reported using it in the past 12 months. Herbal products or dietary supplements were the type of CAM most commonly used, with just over a third (37 percent) of respondents reporting their use, followed by massage therapy, chiropractic manipulation, and other bodywork, used by around a fifth (22 percent) of respondents. Nine percent of respondents reported using mind/body practices, while 5 percent reported use of naturopathy, acupuncture and homeopathy.1

Revive and Reinvigorate Your Body and Soul

As today’s baby boomers jump into the next stage of their lives as retirees, golfers, travelers and pool loungers, they are turning to massage therapy for a deeper sense of mind and body relaxation, restoration and circulation. Therapeutic massage is a medically proven method for supporting overall health and wellness. The benefits of massage for senior citizens can include:

Improved range of motion and decreased low-back pain.
Increased circulation, allowing the body to pump more oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs.
Exercise and stretching for atrophied muscles.
Reduced swelling and scar tissue.
Reduced recovery time from injury/surgery.
Reduced stress, the cause of nearly 90 percent of today’s diseases.
Released endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller, thereby reducing the need for medications.
Stimulated lymph flow and support for the body’s natural process of detoxification.
Enhanced production of T-Cells to boost your immune system. 2

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to wait until you are stressed or injured to get a massage. Any time is a good time for a massage. Massage is like a health-supplement or preventative care for a person's body and mind. A regular monthly massage is a great way to cope with physical or emotional stress and to keep it from causing discomfort or harm to your body.

Protect Your Skin

If it’s not properly protected from nature’s elements, your skin can be the first body part to show signs of aging. Experts agree that consistently using sunscreen throughout the year (even during the winter months when the sun may be hiding behind clouds, but skin damaging rays can still be present) is one of the most important steps you can take to help your skin look as young as you feel. There are many make ups and daily moisturizers available that include SPFs of 15 or more to provide constant skin protection throughout the day.

Another element to consider when it comes to protecting your skin is increasing the humidity levels in your home, especially during the winter, to help prevent dry, chapped skin. Using a room humidifier while you sleep and/or using a house-wide humidifier system not only helps to increase the smoothness and softness of your skin, but it also can help with reducing wintertime nasal congestion and discomfort.

Massage also can help promote healthy skin and immune systems by stimulating and activating a body’s circulation. This mind and body relaxation technique can directly benefit skin by enhancing tissue elasticity, improving circulation and joint flexibility, as well as boost a body’s immune function, alleviate life-shortening stress and create a greater sense of self.3

Fuel Your Body

Fueling your body with adequate amounts of whole grains, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables is important for healthy bodies at any age. According to the National Institute on Aging, to eat well, it’s best to incorporate foods that are high in nutrients (vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and healthy fats), but low in calories. When determining how much to eat, it’s important to take into account age, gender and activity level. The National Institutes of Health advises that women over age 50 should consume 1,600-2,200 calories per day depending on activity level, while men should consume 2,000-2,800 calories per day.4

Additionally, an often forgotten fuel for our body that is important to maintaining healthy skin and bodies as we age is drinking an appropriate amount of water each day. A recent study has found that people who drink 17-34 ounces of water daily are 36 percent less likely to develop high blood sugar or diabetes. The study suggests that when you’re dehydrated, your brain pumps out more hormones that tell the liver to produce glucose.5

So, how much is 17-34 ounces of water? Many water bottles have liquid measurements on the side and large ones will hold approximately 32 ounces of water. Fill up your water bottle at the beginning of the day and make sure it’s empty before going to bed. This will help you keep track of consuming the appropriate amount of water for a healthy and hydrated body.

Get Your Move On

Staying active as you age is an integral component to looking and feeling good throughout your golden years. Physical activity not only keeps your body fit and strong, but it also can help maintain mental strength and sharpness as you age. To get started, most cities or local organizations have senior citizen-specific fitness courses and/or activities that you can enroll in. Some popular senior citizen exercise activities include yoga and pilates to strengthen muscles, personal training to achieve specific total body goals or swimming for low impact cardio and full body workout.

In addition to participating in common exercise regimens, incorporating therapeutic massage into your activity plan can help keep you more mobile and pain-free. Massage not only tones muscle tissue, but it also supports joint lubrication to promote ease in movement.

To age gracefully, it’s important to approach your overall health and well-being in a holistic manner that connects your mind, body and spirit. By taking an active approach to regularly scheduled massage, nutrition, skin care and exercise routines, you are preparing for the next stage of your life as a happy, healthy and active senior citizen. Call Elements Therapeutic Massage today to start your journey of aging gracefully.

Sources: 1 AARP, NCCAM. Complementary and Alternative Medicine: What People Aged 50 and Older Discuss With Their Health Care Providers. Consumer Survey Report; April 2010. 2 Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals, Healthy Aging, Body Sense, Spring/Summer 2009. 3 Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals, Healthy Aging, Body Sense, Spring/Summer 2009. 4 National Institute on Aging, NIH Senior Health, Eating Well As You Get Older; May 2008. 5 Men’s Health Magazine, November 2011.

Get Out. Get Active. Get Massage.

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:50:00 -0500

The golf fairways are turning green, the summer race schedules are published, the bicycles are out of the garage, and your running shoes are ready to ditch the treadmill and start logging miles on outdoor trails and roadways.

The only thing that may be missing in this picture is a physically conditioned body that is prepared to endure all of the strenuous activities summer has in store. To get yourself to the start line without injury and prepare your body for optimal performance this year, it is important for both men and women to incorporate frequent massage into their summer training, performance and recovery plan.

Massage is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being, but especially if you live an active lifestyle. And, to be clear, an active lifestyle doesn’t necessarily mean being a competitive athlete or extreme sports enthusiast. An active lifestyle can mean coaching your child’s little league team, regular recreational gym use or playing flag football with family on a summer afternoon. Either way, massage can play an active role in improving athletic performance for anyone ranging from weekend warriors to competitors.

Top Ways Massage Can Increase Athletic Performance

Increased Psychological Readiness. Athletic performance is 50 percent physical and 50 percent mental. If you take care of the physical part by putting in the training, mileage, etc. needed to accomplish your goal, massage can help prepare you for the mental toll of competition. Studies have shown that massage increases your psychological readiness to prepare you for tackling a challenging physical activity. Whether it’s running your first marathon, hiking a fourteener or playing 18 holes of golf every weekend, massage can help you block out negative energy (self doubt, anxiety, nervousness) and tune your focus toward accomplishing the physical endeavor at hand. Massage is also a great mood enhancer that can help with mental preparedness by stimulating our natural endorphins.
Enhanced Physical Performance. The physical benefits of massage have been realized for years by professional and novice athletes across sporting events. In order to realize peak physical performance, it is important to keep the body’s engine in tip-top shape. Deep tissue and sports massage techniques play an essential role in maintaining and advancing physical performance by increasing blood flow, reducing muscle tension, flushing out toxins, lengthening muscles, increasing overall range of joint motion, and decreasing muscle stiffness. Massage also has been known to enhance overall performance by decreasing exercise-induced fatigue in athletes. In a British Journal of Sports Medicine study, subjects performed a warm up cycle exercise, followed by 30-second high intensity exercises that were interspersed with 30 seconds of active recovery. The subjects’ heart rates, peak power, mean power and fatigue index then were recorded after either receiving 20 minutes of massage or passive rest. The study found that a significantly lower fatigue index was found in individuals who received the 20-minute massage versus rest alone.1
Reduced Injury Risk. By incorporating massage into your active routine, you are taking a proactive approach to not only avoiding injury, but also increasing your chances of enhancing and maintaining peak performance in the short and long term. The key to reducing injury, though, isn’t massage alone. The combination of massage, stretching and movement creates a more fluid, strong muscle and body structure that can endure higher levels of wear and tear. Massage also is an integral component to balancing muscle groups and soft tissues in your body, minimizing the tendency for stronger muscle groups to overcompensate for weaker ones, which eventually can lead to injury or strain to the stronger muscle group.
Increased Recovery Time. Each year as you get older and try to maintain the same level of physical performance as before, recovery times seem to become longer and longer. Recovery time is an essential component to overall peak performance because the longer it takes to recover from strenuous exercise, the longer you spend watching the game on the sidelines. Studies have shown that massage after exercise fatigue significantly improved quadriceps performance when compared to rest alone,2 and muscle soreness intensity was significantly lower when massage was used within 48 hours post-exercise. 3 Get back into your active lifestyle more quickly between workouts by incorporating massage into your daily routine. 3

As you embark on your summer activity adventures this year, make sure to always include a regularly scheduled therapeutic massage in your arsenal of must-have supplies for peak performance success. Massage not only supports greater training intensity by shortening recovery time between workouts and feeding essential nutrients to the soft tissue of the body, but it also can be attributed to improving range of motion and muscle flexibility that results in improved efficiency, power and performance.

Get out, get active and start expecting more performance results from regularly scheduled therapeutic massages this summer. The skilled therapists at Elements Therapeutic Massage will evaluate your health history, goals, challenges and lifestyle to determine the best massage for enhancing your physical performance. Call your local Elements studio today to start preparing your body for optimal performance this summer.

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1 Robertson, A., Watt, J.M. & Galloway, S.D. (2004). Effects of leg massage on recovery from high intensity cycling exercise. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 4, 173-176. 2 Rinder, A.N. & Sutherland, C.J. (1995). An investigation of the effects of massage on quadriceps performance after exercise fatigue. Complement Ther Nurs Midwifery, 1, 99-102. 3 Hilbert, J.E., Sforzo, G.A. & Swensen, T. (2003). The effects of massage on delayed onset muscle soreness. Br J Sports Med, 37, 72-5.

Spring Into a New You by Re-Enlisting Your New Year’s Resolutions

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:19:00 -0500

Your New Year’s resolutions may be taking a back seat now that it has been a few months since the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve and the hustle and bustle of your daily life has taken over full speed. But before you give up on fulfilling your resolutions and reverting back to your same old habits, take a minute today to reconsider your New Year’s goals and decide whether they are worth re-focusing on. It’s never too late to spring into a new you by jump-starting your resolutions starting right now. The following are some guidelines to get you started again on the path to overall health and wellness for your mind and body.

Release Mind and Body Tension: Whether you are logging long hours sitting behind a desk or juggling a hectic schedule full of personal and professional obligations, mind and body tension can build up in no time. When you are burdened with heavy tension, it’s easy to lose sight of your goals and aspirations. To stay on track to accomplishing your New Year’s resolutions, make it a point to regularly release your pressure and tension in a healthy way. Start and end each day with slow, deep breathing exercises to keep you focused on your goals and find a tension outlet like an activity or sport to routinely release your mind and body’s tension.

Stay Healthy and Active: When your mind and body become immobile, it can be very difficult to focus on the big picture, as well as take the steps necessary to accomplish your goals. The repeating routine of everyday life can take a toll on your body and before you know it you are playing catch up in every aspect of your life. To stay on top of your game mentally and physically, while consistently working toward your overall goals, it is important to adopt a healthy and fit lifestyle that incorporates well-rounded nutrition with regularly scheduled fitness activities and mental/emotional release outlets.

Spring into Your New Year’s Resolutions with Massage Therapy: To successfully re-start the New Year’s resolutions that you have abandoned and re-focus on becoming the new person you desire, you should enlist the help of expert therapeutic massage therapists to balance your mind and body. Regularly scheduled massage helps keep you on top of your health, rather than playing catch-up when aches and pains begin to develop. Massage also remedies the tension caused by your hectic daily routine, as well as improves your general attitude and outlook on life.

If you are ready to embark on the journey of accomplishing overall health and wellness for your mind and body, it’s time to revive your New Year’s resolutions and make them a priority for the remainder of the year. The highly skilled massage therapists at Elements Therapeutic Massage can help you accomplish your goals and aspirations by reviewing your challenges, goals and health history to match you with the exact type of massage experience you need to spring into a new you.

Melt Away Tax Time Stress with Three Simple Relaxation Strategies

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:30:00 -0500

April showers may bring May flowers, but “stress storms”, common this time of year (April 17 tax deadlines, changes in seasons, failed New Year’s resolution attempts), can leave you feeling wilted, run down and even depressed. Instead of getting caught in a storm of stress this spring, blow away the winter blues by melting tension and fatigue with regular therapeutic massage sessions that will not only nurture your mind and body, but support your overall well-being.

In today’s plugged in, always on-the-go society, stress can be found in all aspects of your life. While some types of stress can be healthy for your mind and body, a January 2012 study from the American Psychological Association (APA) revealed deepening concerns about the connection between chronic disease and stress. Research continues to show that stress can negatively impact your health by:

Weakening your immune system, leading to common colds, sicknesses and even more critical medical problems.
Disrupting sleep problems, leading to fatigue and even insomnia.
Decreasing positive moods and feelings about yourself and others, leading to depression and an overall sense of unhappiness.
Causing headaches, upset stomach or digestion, and muscular tension.
Increasing irritability, anger, anxiety and nervousness.1

Realistically, you may never be able to completely eliminate stress, anxiety and pressure from your life, but there are steps you can start taking today to stop the vicious cycle of being showered with stress. In honor of National Stress Awareness Month this April, you can start by incorporating the following three relaxation strategies into your daily life to promote a more stress-free lifestyle.

Release Mental and Physical Tension

Therapeutic massage is a medically proven method for supporting your health and wellness. Massage can help relieve physical tension such as back/neck pain, reduce stress, increase circulation, and improve your body’s full range of motion. And, by making massage a regular occurrence on your calendar, you will give yourself a designated time each month to release mental and physical tension, lowering the risk of stress piling up to levels that can lead to negative results.

Revive and Reinvigorate Tired, Sore Muscles

Whether you are sitting in front of the computer all day, chasing a toddler around the house or training for a sporting event (or trying to be successful at all three at the same time!), it is more than likely that your hips, back and neck may feel sore and fatigued at the end of the day. By loosening these common stress carrying muscle groups on a regular basis, you can instantly de-stress your mind and body. Deep tissue massage specifically can break up scar tissue and help muscles recover more quickly so you can bounce back faster from a hard gym workout or working on a computer screen for 12 hours a day. Not only will your body feel more revived and stronger after a massage, but your mind also will be sharper, helping you maintain a more consistent focus on all of your day-to-day activities.

Take Time to Get in Touch with Yourself

Massage can help you establish a balance in your life that is not only good for your mental and muscle health, but also your body’s internal system well-being. Studies show that leading factors of medical problems and common illnesses can occur from overworking yourself, carrying too much stress and not dedicating enough time to relaxing your mind and body on a regular basis. It’s important to carve out 15 minutes a day (daily meditation), one day a week (designated “Me” time) and once a month (monthly therapeutic massage) to devote time and energy into establishing a positive mind/body connection.

By implementing these three stress reducing habits, you are well on your way to avoiding a stress storm this spring and giving yourself the opportunity to stop and take time to smell the flowers. The skilled massage therapists at Elements Therapeutic Massage are available to listen to your individual needs and will use the proper techniques to deliver a truly therapeutic experience. Call your local Elements studio today to begin experiencing all of the stress management benefits of massage therapy.

1 Stress in America™, Our Health at Risk, American Psychological Association, January 2012.

Put a Spring in Your Step

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:54:00 -0500

Put a Spring In Your Step By Relieving Lower Back Pain

Posted: 03/13/2013

Do the cold winter weather and gray skies leave your mind and body feeling fatigued and sluggish? Are your lower back muscles stiff and tight from shoveling snow over the winter and staying cooped up in your house during unfavorable weather conditions? If so, it's time to put a spring back into your step and relieve your lower back pain with the following four lower back healthy habits.

Focus on Good Posture: If you spend your day sitting at a computer or driving the family to/from activities/school/etc., it is important to focus on maintaining straight body alignment by elongating your posture. Instead of leaning forward with your shoulders and neck while in a seated position, pull your shoulder blades back, engage your mid-section and breathe from your core for healthier posture throughout your body.

Strengthen Your Core: The root of lower back pain can stem from weak core muscles. Strengthen your abdominal core and lower back muscles by adding simple core exercises to your regular fitness routine. Only 15 minutes of core exercises such as the Superman (extending both arms and legs while lying on your stomach) and Plank (holding your body off the floor by leaving your forearms and toes touching the floor) three to four times per week can help build a stronger core that can help to alleviate lower back pain.

Incorporate Daily Stretching: Loosening tight muscles and elongating your body with daily low intensity stretching exercises can help keep your body fluid and moving pain-free. You can relieve and revive tired back muscles with 10-15 minutes of light stretching per day by incorporating popular yoga movements such as Child’s Pose (kneeling on floor, lower head to ground, extending arms forward and hips backward) and Standing Ragdoll (bending forward, cross your forearms and loosely let your head and arms hang freely toward the floor).

Schedule Regular Therapeutic Massage Therapy Sessions: Therapeutic massage is a medically proven method for supporting your health and wellness by providing relief from lower back pain, reducing stress, increasing circulation and improving range of motion. A deep tissue massage can best be used to treat chronically tight or painful muscles, repetitive strain, postural problems or recover from injury, while a hot stone massage can help ease muscle tension without deep pressure. If you are new to massage therapy, a Swedish massage is a great way to experience muscle relaxation and stress relief for both you mind and body.

Photo: By Iveto (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Trigger Point Therapy

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:02:00 -0500

Would you like to know how your massage therapist knows exactly where your knots are?

Trigger Point Therapy

By Laurie Chance Smith
Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, November/December 2008. Copyright 2008. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

"If you've ever received professional trigger point therapy, you may be baffled at how it works. A therapist explores painful areas on the body with fingertips, searching for sore, tender trigger points. Once the trigger point is found, the therapist applies pressure with fingers, knuckles, or an elbow for about seven seconds.

At first, clients may feel pain, but welcome relief quickly follows. Effective on chronic or occasional pain in any part of the body, learning to practice trigger point therapy on yourself can supplement professional sessions and provide interim relief."

To continue learning about trigger point therapy read the whole article here http://www.massagetherapy.com/articles/index.php/article_id/1612/Trigger-Point-Therapy

Massage + A Healthy Diet: The Perfect Combination to Balance Stress

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 21:42:00 -0500

Eating healthy is never an easy task. Get an early start to forming your healthy eating and de-stressing habits this season by calming your digestive system and balancing your body with these quick tips.

Healthy Eating Habits

Prepare yourself and your meals – Ensure your schedule has time for good health by planning ahead. Plan out your meals and make the trip to the grocery store or local farmer’s market early to stock your kitchen with a nutritious array of foods and on-the-go-snacks.

Manage your plate size – Try to fill only half of your plate with lean proteins (tofu, fish, chicken) and complex whole grain carbs. The other half should consist of fruits and vegetables.

Drink water – The goal here is to drink at least six eight-ounce glasses a day. This amount increases based on your activity level. Drinking water throughout the day aids your body’s detoxification process and boosts energy and digestion.

Do not skip meals – Eating smaller meals more frequently can boost your metabolism and your ability to burn calories. Be sure to eat breakfast, even if it consists of a small portion of fruit or a homemade smoothie of your favorite nutritious ingredients. Carry healthy snacks throughout the day to remedy your cravings with a nourishing solution.

Sleep – A sufficient amount of sleep can act as a mental reset button as well as help you to maintain an ideal weight by omitting cravings for both sugar and carbs. Seven to eight hours is an adequate amount of sleep for the average adult. Despite what some may believe, the attempt to recapture lost sleep on the weekends does not benefit the body as much as maintaining a consistent and healthy sleep pattern will.

Massage and The Digestive System

Therapeutic massage sessions can promote a healthy digestive system by relaxing tense abdominal and intestinal walls, as well as stimulating activity of your major digestive organs (kidneys, colon, small and large intestines) to improve circulation and waste removal. When combined with a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and complex carbs, massage therapy can help regulate your bowel movements, flush out the toxins in your system and leave you feeling more energetic and rejuvenated.

Find Balance for Your Body With Therapeutic Massage:

Studies have found massage helpful for stress relief and for balancing your body by aiding its ability to handle anxiety and depression, as well as boosting immunity. Massage has been shown to help regulate naturally-occurring chemicals in the body (hormones including norepinephrine, cortisol and serotonin) that are associated with stress and relaxation.

These benefits of regular massage can help you cope with stress when it’s occurring — and also develop a stronger everyday resilience to future stress.

Whether you need to release tension, reduce stress or simply relax and feel your best, regularly scheduled therapeutic massage sessions are essential for promoting your overall mind and body well-being. Regular monthly massages provide relief to people of all ages and all walks of life. It is the perfect recipe for helping you unwind and prepare yourself for a happy healthy season.

Self Massage Techniques to Rejuvenate from Summer Activities

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 23:19:00 -0500

Biking, gardening and playing at the park with the kids are healthy, fun summer activities, but the prolonged bending over and muscle strain can lead to neck and lower back pain that isn’t so enjoyable. The following tips demonstrate massage techniques that alleviate neck and lower back pain caused my common summer activities.

Neck massage: Place your right hand on your left shoulder with your thumb firmly placed against the base of the neck. Move the thumb slowly back and forth along the base of the neck while applying pressure. After a few minutes, tilt the head towards the side of the neck you are massaging in order to shorten the muscle and provide an even deeper massage. Switch hands and repeat the motions on the other side of the neck.
Don’t just stop massaging at the neck, rather follow the muscle all the way around the neck and up behind the ear and the back of the
Lower back massage: Place two tennis balls inside of a tube sock. Lie on the floor with knees bent and lower back supported. Place the tube sock just above the sacrum (the large, triangular bone at the base of the spine) so that one ball is positioned on each side of the spine. Roll back and forth slowly using your arms and legs for support.
How to treat an acute strain: If a muscle is stained from over exertion, it is important to apply ice to the muscle throughout the first 72 hours in order to decrease the swelling. A moist heating pad can be applied afterwards to ease the muscle.
Massage long strokes, following a body part until you hit bone where the origin of the muscle lies.

4 Massage Techniques to Boost Your Golf Game

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 18:18:00 -0500

Sports massage therapy has become increasingly popular among athletes. With golf season in full swing, the following tips offer ways to enhance your golf game through massage.

Despite being a low-impact sport, golf can be physically and emotionally demanding. Here are some simple tips for golfers looking to enhance their game and de-stress the body and mind:

Pre-game massage: Though many people think massages are intended for after physical activity, relaxing before heading out on the green can make a marked difference in your game. It’s important to invigorate and loosen those muscles before working them, especially with the repetitive twisting and torqueing in golf.
Golf club hand massage: Golf clubs aren’t just for hitting the ball. In between holes, use the rubber end of a golf club for a quick hand massage. Apply pressure to the base of the thumb and your palm; make circles with your hand in that area and move it around to hit all the pressure points.
Mid-game foot massage: A quick foot massage on the course can go a long way towards keeping you relaxed. With your shoes off, start with a golf ball on the ground while seated on the golf cart or standing. Roll your foot forward and backward slowly; apply enough pressure to feel a pulling but not enough that you are in too much pain; then roll your foot side to side. Next place your heel on the ball to make circular motions; finally cross your leg over the left ankle and take the ball and roll it up and down the arch of your foot; repeat with the left foot.
Post play recovery: After a long day of golf, it’s important to get your muscles back in balance. Back and shoulder muscles are shortened on one side due to the repetitive motion of the golf swing, and tight hamstrings, especially in men, can play a tug of war with your back leading to lower back pain. Post-game massages help golfers avoid achy muscles and get back to the next round in tip top shape.

Tips to Get the Most Out of Massage

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:41:00 -0500

As health care costs continue to increase, consumers are looking towards alternative therapies to treat pain and stress. According to the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), 44 percent of adult Americans who received a massage between July 2010 and July 2011 received it for medical or health reasons compared to 35 percent the previous year. However, many consumers still have misconceptions about massage and how to make the most of their experience. It’s to be expected – there’s a sense of vulnerability when it comes to getting a massage, and many are reluctant to seek clarification.

Get the most out of your massage by following these simple tips:

Speak up! At restaurants, we’re quick to request dressing on the side. At the drycleaners, we’re not afraid to ask for extra starch. Yet when it comes to receiving a customized massage, many consumers are hesitant to ask for what they want. It’s essential to clearly communicate your goals, so don’t be afraid to tell a massage therapist to spend more time on a certain area, or to alter their technique to be more gentle or firm.

Undress to your comfort level: The customer has free range to undress as much, or as little, as he/she likes. Modesty is always accepted, so if you feel most comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt, wear it!

Talk….or Don’t: You can chit chat during the treatment or be still, as you choose. The massage therapist will follow your lead.

Rehydrate: Even though you’re laying still while receiving a massage, your muscles are being worked and they need to recharge. Always drink plenty of water following a massage. An hour-long massage works your muscles similar to that of an hour spent at the gym.

Tip Appropriately: The general rule of thumb is to tip 15 to 25 percent. If using a coupon or packaged deal, tip on the original price of the massage.