Modalities of Therapeutic Massage and Healing Touch

Massage and other forms of therapeutic bodywork encompass a great many different techniques and treatment modalities. In our clinic, we offer several experienced Massage Therapists with a broad range of knowledge in a many different styles of massage and bodywork.

Structural and Medical Massage

Swedish Massage

Swedish Massage is the basis for most of the Western based massage philosophy. It consists mainly of long flowing motions, kneading, and other rhythmic manipulations of the superficial tissues of the body.  The main benefits of this type of massage are increased circulation and relaxation.

Deep Tissue Massage

Deep Tissue Massage seeks to influence the deeper layers of muscle through intentional and direct contact with the superficial layers of tissue and a gradual "sinking-in" to the muscle fiber. This generally starts with warm up of the superficial tissues, including the fascia, and then a connection to the myo-fascial and deeper muscle fibers themselves. This type of massage is extremely focused and very good for rehabilitation and pain relief.

Sports Massage

Sports Massage is more of a mentality than a modality. It borrows techniques from many different styles of massage to help athletes reach peak performance. This type of massage is valuable for any time in the process of event training: while training, just before the event, during the event itself, and immediately after the event. In all of these cases, sports massage seeks to increase athletic performance through increased flexibility and range of motion, circulation, reduced pain and increased recovery time. During training, Sports Massage can help the athlete reach optimal range-of-motion with less overall pain and quicker recovery time.

Chair/Onsite Massage

Chair or Onsite Massage is a set of techniques used to bring massage out of the massage room and to your office, home, sporting event, or anywhere where a quick, invigorating massage can bring great results.  Chair massage is done is a special massage chair, which provides easy access to the neck, shoulders, head, and arms.  Several forms of onsite massage can be brought you your event, including Shiatsu, Pre-event/Post-event Sports Massage, and Chair Massage. (This is an especially good treatment for those clients who are more modest and would like to receive massage treatment fully clothed.)

Craniosacral Therapy

Craniosacral therapy is a subtle physical bodywork modality in which the massage therapists apply a subtle movement of the spinal and cranial bones to bring the balance to the Central Nervous System. This therapy involves assessing and addressing the movement of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which can be restricted by trauma to the body, such as through falls, accidents, and general nervous tension. By gently working with the spine, the skull, and its cranial sutures, diaphragms, and fascia, the restrictions of nerve passages can be removed and the movement of CSF through the spinal cord can be optimized. This therapy is particularly useful for mental stress, neck and back pain, migraines, TMJ Syndrome, and for chronic nervous conditions such as fibromyalgia.

Energetic Bodywork

Shiatsu

Shiatsu is a healing modality of Japanese origins that is ever-evolving and encompasses many other treatment modalities, especially those from Traditional Chinese Medicine and even several modern medical techniques.  The word "Shiatsu" literally means "finger-pressure," although fingers, knuckles, thumbs, and even elbows are used during treatment.  The philosophy of this type of massage involves a treatment of the energetic flows of the body, as the body is electrical, as well as muscular and structural.

Shiatsu is traditionally done on the floor, on a mat, with the recipient fully-clothed. No oils or other lubricants are used on the client.  Most of the treatment involves downward, direct, and stationary pressure, which philosophically helps to free blocked qi or chi energy along the meridians.  Physiologically, the effects are very similar to Deep Tissue style pressure point therapy.

Shiatsu has been used to treat many conditions, including many nervous system disorders, digestive system disorders, metabolic disorders, and fatigue, but is used in our clinic mainly to relieve chronic muscle pain, tension, and to aid rehabilitation from injuries.  

(This is an especially good treatment for those clients who are more modest and would like to receive massage treatment fully clothed.)

Reflexology

Reflexology is the application of massage techniques to the feet and sometimes the hands to affect corresponding parts of the body. Reflexologists view the feet as a mirror image of the body. By applying massage techniques, stress in various parts of the body can be relieved and bodily balance can be more easily achieved and maintained.

Acupressure

Acupressure is a traditional Chinese medicine technique based on the same ideas as acupuncture. Acupressure involves placing physical pressure by hand, elbow, or with the aid of various devices on different acupuncture points on the surface of the body.

Chi Nei Tsang

Chi Nei Tsang literally means 'energy of the internal organs'. It was developed by Taoist monks in China and consists of massage (both deep and superficial) chiefly directed to the abdominal area and the organs and tissues contained there. Because all the major fascial and neural pathways pass through this region of the body, it is possible to address complaints experienced elsewhere in the body, including those that may have proven resistant to more direct approaches.

For this reason, Chi Nei Tsang is probably more suited to treating chronic sport and athletic injuries than to the acute phase of treatment, working on the complaint from a wholistic and integrative perspective.