What type of massage is right for me?

The short answer is…

  • Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage is a short focused massage to release tension in the Neck & Shoulders
  • Choose Sports massage over deep tissue massage when you go to the gym with a specific sporting goal in mind, i.e. you are going for more than just generally keeping fit. Or you are really focused on your sport including actively taking part in competitions or you are keen to improve your performance or your training is solely focused on your sport and you do not cross train.
Description of your back Recommended Treatment
My back feels like concrete? Deep Tissue Massage – the use of hot stones to relax the muscle can be less painful than other deep pressure techniques
My neck and shoulder are tight and sore from sitting at my desk all day? Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder Massage
You play sports, don’t cross train and have specific trouble spots? Sports Massage 
You work out religiously at the gym, but don’t always stretch? Sports Massage as it incorporates stretching 
You are training for a specific sporting event or just completed one? Sports Massage 
You are inactive or active but just have a bad back? Sports Massage or Deep Tissue Massage

 

Related Posts

  • Is massage safe when you are pregnant?

    I know the top priority for pregnant women is to keep the baby safe. With this in mind I want to start by stating there is no evidence that demonstrates

    • massage can induce labour
    • massage can cause miscarriages
    • massage creates complications
    It is important to remember women's bodies were designed to become pregnant and nuture a baby to full term.  Pregnancy is not an illness.  In addition pregnancy can't be made worse by massage.  Muscles are still muscles, joints remain joints, nerves stay nerves. The effects of massage on muscles is the same if you are pregnant or not pregant.   It is common sense that the masseur ensure that the pregnant women is comfortable normally by lying them on their side and proping them up with cushions. So in short massage is safe for pregnant women.

  • The Impact of Sitting All Day – Part 4

    In part 1, I looked at the impact of sitting on your muscles,  and in part 2 generally explored the impact  on the rest of your body.  In part 3 I focused on the impact of sitting on your circulatory system including your heart.  In this article I will explore the impact of sedentary behaviour (sitting) and the link to cancer.

    So how common is cancer? According to Cancer Research UK
    • Every two minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer.
    • 1 in 2 people in the UK born after 1960 will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime.
    • Breast, lung, prostate and bowel cancers together account for over half of all new cancers each year.
    • Overall cancer incidence rates in Great Britain have increased by more than a third since the mid-1970s, with almost this entire rise occurring before the late 1990s.
    And here is the good news is more people survive cancer than die from it now.
    • 46% of men and 54% of women cancer patients diagnosed in 2010-2011 in England and Wales are predicted to survive 10 or more years.
    • Cancer survival in the UK has doubled in the last 40 years.
    The Link Between Cancer & Inactivity Last year in a meta-analysis, Daniela Schmid and Michael F. Leitzmann of the University of Regensburg in Germany analyzed 43 observational studies, amounting to more than 4 million people’s answers to questions about their sitting behavior and cancer incidences. The researchers examined close to 70,000 cancer cases and found that sitting is associated with a 24% increased risk of colon cancer, a 32% increased risk of endometrial cancer, and a 21% increased risk of lung cancer. D Schmid & MF Leitzmann, 2014, Sedentary behaviour insreases the risk of certain cancers, Journal of National Institute of Cancer, Volume 106, No 7. see http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/106/7/dju206.full The really bad news is that your can't exercise away the harmful effects, "Adjustment for physical activity did not affect the positive association between sedentary behavior and cancer" write Schmid & Leitzmann.  Even participants who achieved the daily recommended levels of physical activity were at the same risk as those who spent their day sitting. One theory as to why this is the case, is that regular movement boosts natural antioxidants that kill cell-damaging and potentially cancer-causing free radicals, another theory is that the excess insulin encourages cell growth. The pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that carries glucose to cells for energy.  But cells in idle muscles don't respond as readily to insulin, so the pancreas produces more and more. A 2011 study by Stephens et al found a decline in insulin response after just one day of prolonged sitting. Stephens et al, 2001, Effects of 1 day of inactivity on insulin action in healthy men and women: interaction with energy intake, Metabolism Volume 60, No 7 pages 941 - 949. see http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002604951000315X  

  • How to increase the chances of a natural birth…

    Interventions during labour and childbirth are on the rise but a large proportion of pregnant women would like a natural birth but are concerned about pain relief.  Against this back drop, a recent randomised control trial looked at the effectiveness of a two day birth preparation course  in supporting natural birth. The birth preparation course attended by both the pregnant women and their birthing partners, covered the standard medical advice and self-administered complementary therapies including

    • visualisation, breathing, massage and yoga to enhance relaxation
    • yoga and acupressure to facilitate labour progression
    • breathing, yoga and acupressure to aid pain relief
    Those in the control group received the standard medical care advice.  In total 176 women took part in the trail. The results showed a reduction in the use of epidurals and caesarean section in the intervention group when compared to the control group. This trail shows clear evidence of the benefits of complementary therapies to support natural childbirth. Reference Levett KM, Smith CA, Bensoussan A, et al (2016). Complementary Therapies for Labour and birth study: a randomised control trial of antenatale integrative medicine for pain management in labour, BMJ Open 2016