Treatment Descriptions
Massage Therapy
Therapeutic Swedish Massage: A massage that mechanically affects muscles, nerves and circulation, reflectively affects organs, glands, and bones, and brings about the ability to sense oneself differently. This massage is comprised of a combination of various types of strokes including gliding, kneading, compressing, and vibration applied to the tissue and underlying muscles. The massage is a full-body massage including hands, feet, limbs, face, trunk, neck & head. The application is easily adaptable to provide either a stimulating or sedating massage. Client is usually unclothed and draped.
Therapeutic Goal: To improve health and bring about homeostasis in the body.
Neuromuscular Massage: Is both an assessment and therapeutic technique. It can be applied to specific areas or to the total body. The therapist will use direct strumming/stripping strokes with varying degrees of pressure to release and relieve constricted areas within and around the tissue and may also include Trigger Point Release therapy.
Therapeutic Goal: Tends to normalize tissue - dependant on a body’s ability to accept new patterns. Provides tension relief, postural reintegration, structural realignment, pain relief and improves joint mobility. The client is usually unclothed and draped for this procedure:
Sports Massage: can be specifically designed to target areas that are subject to use/overuse due to regular or rigorous physical activity. Post event and in between activities, the therapist will use a combination of range of motion and massage techniques (kneading, compression, friction, effleurage, broadening & lifting) to relieve sore tired muscles. Pre-event, the therapist will use range of motion and massage techniques to increase blood flow and enhance oxygen exchange. The client can be partially or lightly clothed or undressed and draped depending on where treatment is administered.
Therapeutic Goal: To facilitate optimal functioning of muscles through the reduction/elimination of adhesions, through increased blood flow and O2 exchange, by assisting to flush out metabolites, and enhancing the pliability of tissue.
Lymphatic Drainage Massage: assists in maintaining the immune system strengthening the body against various diseases. Impairment of the lymphatic flow often stems from poor diet, infection, and stress. Colds and allergy symptoms, and arthritis and inflammatory symptoms can be alleviated by encouraging lymphatic flow and the cleansing process which accompanies it.
Therapeutic Goal: To reduce lymphatic congestion and retention of waste, to condition the immune system. This is achieved by assisting the flow of lymph along its normal routes. This is not a muscular massage. The therapist will apply very light brushing strokes directly to the skin to stimulate lymph flow. The client is usually unclothed but draped for this procedure.
Circulatory Massage: The circulatory system is the only system that has involvement with every cell in the body. It is responsible for:
Delivery of oxygen & nutrients
Removal of waste products & CO2
Maintenance of temperature
Maintenance of clotting
Maintenance of Chemical composition/PH
Protection from Pathogens
Any impairment in this system will affect all of the body.
Therapeutic Goal: This technique of Circulatory Massage adjusts and redirects poor circulatory flow and reinforces proper circulation. The therapist will apply compressing and wringing strokes to encourage blood flow and direct it to follow its naturally intended pathway. For well clients Circulatory Massage “tunes” the system, for clients with an impaired circulatory system (illness, poor diet, lack of exercise, prolonged stress, etc), it assists the self-recovery mechanism. The client may be unclothed (& draped)or lightly clothed for this procedure.
