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How Massage Can Relieve Your Anxiety

 

Auto Injury/ Car Accidents Care: High impact injuries require an expert massage therapist. You need the most skilled and experienced LMT when dealing with a car or bike accident. The impact is both physical and emotional and it takes a toll on your life. You will need someone very skilled in whiplash and other related issues. Our group of massage therapists have all worked with thousands of patients through pain and recovery. No matter how big or small the injury, we work with you until you’re better. We also work with bicycle, and pedestrian accidents. Fortunately in Oregon, massage is fully covered for up to one year without any out of pocket costs to the patient. We know how to communicate with your auto insurance and handle the paperwork associated with insurance companies and physicians so you can concentrate on a full recovery!

Deep Tissue and Ultra Deep Massage: We guarantee that you have found the best deep tissue massage center in Portland Oregon. We are truly deep tissue massage specialists with the ability to do ultra deep pressure when needed. We can also do deep tissue massage more lightly for those that may be more sensitive! We focus on the deep layers of tissue to release chronic patters of pain and restriction.

Deep tissue massage requires slower movements with focused pressure and often a cross fiber technique to dissolve adhesions. Getting the pressure right and verbally checking in with the client is very important to us. Deep tissue massage can be very comfortable and is a great technique for relieving spasms, increasing range of motion, improving posture, muscle tone and deep tissue massage can be very relaxing.

Medical Massage: Massage is medically necessary and it can be covered by your insurance. We are trained as medical massage therapists. This massage is specifically directed to treat the patient who may have been diagnosed or prescribed by a physician. We use a variety of modalities or techniques during the treatment session. As medical massage therapists we are allowed to work with your Doctor, Physicians Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, Chiropractor, Naturopath, Acupuncturist, or Physical Therapist. A skilled medical massage therapist is also a skilled clinical massage therapist who knows how to speak the language of insurance companies, physicians, attorneys etc. If you have been injured in an auto accident, its a great benefit to work with a medical/clinical massage therapist so that you can concentrate on getting better instead of having to deal with all of the paperwork and insurance issues that come with your prescribed course of treatment. If you have health insurance coverage you need to make sure your massage therapist is experienced with insurance, calling on your benefits, writing the appropriate notes that are required by insurance companies.

Pregnancy Massage: We have all been specifically trained in and have mentored other massage therapists in prenatal massage techniques. One of our LMTS is also a lactation consultant. Some of our training has been from the American Pregnancy Massage Association.

We work with OBGYN’s and midwives to ensure you have a wonderful birth experience. We welcome “high risk” mothers (expecting multiples and women who have had miscarriages etc.) also women who have spent years trying to conceive. Prenatal massage prepares your body for delivery by helping increase and balance the range of motion in the joints and muscles that are involved in birth and your changing body. It improves blood flow to the legs which can help to reduce edema (swelling),lowers the chance of getting stretch marks, varicose veins and blood clots. Pregnancy massage helps you prepare your mind for the birth experience. Massage helps you recover quicker after your delivery as well!

Post-natal massage can help your body restore and fully recover. Unlike massage spas you get a therapeutic massage for a full 60 or 90 minutes. Most therapy centers don’t actually give you the full treatment time. and charge a spa price. This is a very  personal and life changing experience and we encourage you to choose your massage therapist carefully.

Sports Massage: We work with athletes young and old. If you need to perform at your best then sports massage may be a very good massage treatment option. Strained muscles can cause alignment issues that directly affect performance. We often use active and passive stretching techniques to improve range of motion and decrease muscle spasms. Deep tissue massage is used along with trigger point and connective tissue release, to name a few. We work with competitive athletes that come to us before and after sporting events so they can continue do what they love even
when they are much older.

Pre-Sports massage is the best preparation before a sporting event. With the jostling of muscle tissue it is intended to invigorate the athlete and prepare the body before competition. It also warms the tissue as a means to avoid injury. It is usually combined with other techniques,

Post-Sports Massage is the vigorous therapeutic milking of muscle tissue after competition, in order to flush the body of built up lactic acid. Ashiatsu if often used to give you double the benefits in half the time.

Therapeutic Massage: Our therapists have over 5,000 hours of training not including all of our continuing education. We are so fortunate to have many massage styles and techniques to draw from. We use the most effective massage techniques and it is an intuitive process when blending all of these modalities. Wether its deep tissue or pregnancy massage our tool box is full of options. We customize every massage session to fit your needs.

Swedish & Relaxation Massage: Wonderful for relieving physical and emotional stress and tension. Receiving Swedish massage is a gift and an art form. Swedish and relaxation massage increase circulation, reduce swelling and flush out toxins from the body by using long, smooth, gentle strokes moving blood and lymph towards the heart. Swedish massage balances your immune system while lowering cortisol that can cause weight gain.

Ashiatsu (Ashi) Massage Therapy: This is for true deep pressure enthusiasts without the sharpness of an elbow. This type of massage is an ancient technique that was practiced mainly in Asia. The balanced strokes create a deep structural shift in chronic problems related to soft tissue. It induces a profoundly deep form of relaxation. We use beautiful wooden bars mounted overhead for support and balance using our feet. The deep pressure is continuous. This massage covers much larger areas of the body than a therapist could ever cover with both hands. The compression feels smooth and full, not bony or sharp like typical styles of deep tissue using just the elbow and thumbs. It is unlike any massage you have ever received. We often hear from clients that they feel like they received the equivalent of a 90 minute massage in just 60 minutes. The results from this type of massage have been amazing. Our clients show obvious improvement in postural alignment and greatly reduced scar tissue in the larger muscle groups. We find the people with hip and hamstring problems are the most excited by this style of treatment. This approach to massage is one of the most effective that you will receive in Portland, Oregon.

Myofascial Release with Trigger Point Therapy: Our therapists have had focused training in myofascial release and trigger point massage. These are some of the most useful techniques we have used for injury recovery. Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds each muscle, bone, and organ. Myofascial therapy restores mobility in the body and softens connective tissue that has become rigid over time and with injuries. This treatment is recommended for chronic pain and for areas where you may have had an old injury. Myofascial massage is often combined with trigger point therapy to greatly reduce scar tissue by using an unwinding, slow pressure that is typically in the direction of the fascial planes. When there is a myofascial adhesion it causes the muscles to be drawn into a state of contraction, spasm, and pain. The tissue often feels rigid and immobile. Trigger points have a referred pain pattern. Once we identify the pain and tension points we can relieve them with a specific compression. We often use the thumbs or tips of our fingers.

Structural Integration: This approach focuses on bringing the body back to its original state of balance. Some of the benefits are improved posture, movement, and balance. Gravity, injuries, poor postural habits, and the wear and tear of life’s stressors can influence structural imbalances. Structural integration takes into account all of the things that have affected your body over your lifetime. We often recommend a series of 8-12 sessions with some “tune up” treatments in order to transform your body to a natural state of alignment.

Repetitive Use Injury Therapy: This unique therapy combines stretching and moving the muscles while massaging them. This breaks up the scar tissue while resetting the normal length of the muscle and reducing pain from overuse.

Craniosacral Therapy: Cranial Sacral Therapy is a light touch therapy that profoundly affects the body. The therapist removes deep restrictions in both the central nervous system and the cranial sacral system with a subtle approach. This type of bodywork can be combined with other types of massage or by itself. The therapist uses very light pressure over areas of the body, with a focus on the head, to rebalance this delicate system; which includes the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and spinal fluid. This is one of the few types of massage that can be received with your clothes on. Benefits of this modality include immediate calming effect, more restful sleep, and balancing the central nervous system related to stress. Some conditions we more commonly use this method for are:

• Motor-Coordination Impairments
• Pain Conditions
• Parkinson’s
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Infant and Childhood Trauma
• Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries
• Chronic Fatigue / Adrenal problems
• Fibromyalgia
• TMJ Syndrome
• Scoliosis
• Learning Disabilities
• ADD / ADHD

Acupressure: This technique uses Chinese medicine and Acupuncture points on the body. The points are activated with finger pressure instead of with a needle. There is a channel of energy which flows through “meridians” in the body. The intention is to clear blockages in these meridian pathways and to get the life force or chi moving through these blocked areas of the body. Pressure may also be applied by the heel of the hand, by elbow, or by feet.

Reflexology: In the modern practice of reflexology, we apply deep pressure to reflex points in the feet and hands that in turn affect the organ systems of the body. By applying this pressure to specific reflex points we are able to affect other areas by reducing blockages and promoting healing while balancing the nervous system.

Thai Fusion Massage: As invigorating as it is relaxing, this treatment combines the stretching aspects of Eastern Thai Massage and the tension release and recovery work of Western Deep Tissue Oil Massage. This technique is one of the best choices for increasing flexibility and circulation, and eliminating fatigue. When the session is complete you will feel as though you just completed a full therapeutic yoga class without any effort at all.

Cupping: Increases blood flow to an area as much as deep tissue therapy by using “negative pressure.” The therapeutic use of cupping lifts up the connective tissue in a different way than a therapist can typically massage with their hands. This therapy has been well documented for several thousand years and is a very effective tool for releasing the most adhesed scar tissue.
Check out our blog article: Break Down Scar Tissue with Cupping Therapy and Massage

Applied Kinesiology/Muscle Testing: The combination of sports muscle kinesiology and Chinese five elements acupuncture brings the body into balance. Muscles that you feel pain in are often weak, and this modality helps us quickly identify and access them. We directly massage the neuromuscular points that activate the muscles like a circuit breaker to strengthen them. Not only can you feel the difference but you can actually see the difference in how the muscle responds to this very effective massage technique.