Frequently Asked Questions

Traditional massage is best known as a way to help you relax and relieve stress. It's usually gentle and soothing and may even make you fall asleep. Medical massage is more therapeutic and is results based. It focuses on problem areas that are causing pain and discomfort. I use traditional Deep Tissue and Neuromuscular techniques to help the muscles to release "knots" and trigger points. My intention isn't relaxation, though many find parts of it relaxing. Instead of a whole-body treatment, our sessions tend to be focused on your targeted areas of concern and the opposing muscle groups to support the area for a  more comprehensive treatment. If you have pain in your body, I can help. My goal for you is long-lasting relief.

Of course. I know when you're already hurting, you don't want someone making it worse. Deep Tissue is a technique that means I hold the muscle down while stripping it out. The point of release for each person is different. Some people require very deep pressure for their muscles to let go of the tension, while others don't need as much. I can feel when the muscles let go and we don't need to go any deeper than that. On a pain scale of 1-10, therapeutic is in the 6-8 range. Anything over that and it can actually cause damage to the tissues. If at any time it's too intense in certain areas, you just need to say "9" or "10" and I'll know what that means. It's common to feel a little sore for a day or two after a session and it should feel like you worked out pretty hard or may be tender to the touch. All of my clients feel relief after just one session though.

I don't usually set you up on a specific schedule of appointments unless it is for pre-surgical work. Your body will let you know when it's time to come in. Don't wait too long, but when you begin to feel pain again, it's time to schedule. In the beginning you will probably come in more often as we working through months and years of scar tissue build up. As we progress, you won't have to come in as often. My goal for you is that you will only need to see me for maintenance to make sure things are running smoothly. 

When we have repetative stress from sitting or standig or doing the same motions over and over, our bodies try and help us by building extra scar tissue for strength and stability. When we have mild inuries we actually tear the muscle tissue on the surface of the muscle. As the body builds the scar tissue, like a scab and scar on the skin, the scar tissue isn't smooth and has a little texture. The interstitual fluid that flows throughout the body, is full of waste and extra proteins and they start getting caught on the texture of the scar tissue. Over time it builds and builds and becomes a knot. That's why some times there can be a burning sensastion as we are applying pressure on the knot, it's the acidic waste products dissolving and being released back into the interstitual fluid. The longer the knot has been bothering you, the bigger it can be and longer it takes to smooth out the layers of build up and scar tissue.

Making sure to roll the shoulders back and sit up straighter if you are a computer all day can help. When you get out of the shower, standing in the door frame and holding it as you step through will stretch the pecs. Hold the door frame higher on the sides, in the middle and lower to get the full range of stretching in the pecs. If you sleep on your side and your arm is fallig asleep, try hugging a firm pillow or folding a soft one to get your shoulders more aligned and not put so much weight on the arm that's falling asleep. You can also press into the pecs gently and into the attatchment sites near the collar bone. Opening the chest will release the pulling you are feeling in the back between the shoulder blades.

A lot of low back pain comes from the hips and butt as you may already feel. The key here is opening the quads. Kneel on floor and sit up straight. Slowly lean back and hold the floor as you feel your quads stretching. Another good one is while you are laying flat on your back, like when your in bed, cross and twist one leg across your body. Then do the other leg. You can also massage along the top outer line in the quads to release the low back. Massage pretty much anywhere in the quads will release the low back. 

When people are lifting weight to build strength, they are creating tares inside the muscles, not the surface of the muscles (like during mild injuries). The scar tissue build within the muscle and creates that bulk or gains as we know it. So the scar tissue itself builds more strength and stability, but it depends on where the scar tissue is being built, for it to be considered beneficial or not. When it's built on the surface of the muscles, it decreases mobility and range of motion.

Drinking water is important for many reasons, but from a massage point of view, we just broke up all the old waste product from the knots. The more water you can drink after a session, the less likey all that junk will land on that scar tissue again and begin to build up. It will help flush out all the old toxins and metabolic waste from the cells. It improves overall circulation and helps all your organ to function properly. Remember, if you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated!