Why Train for Deep Tissue Massage?

What is Deep Tissue Massage?

Deep Tissue Massage is a massage modality that focuses on deeper layers of muscles. It aims to release the chronic patterns of tension in the body through slow strokes and deep finger pressure on the contracted areas, either following or going across the fibers of the muscles, tendons or fascia.

This type of massage releases chronic muscle tension through slower strokes and more direct deep pressure or friction applied across the grain of the muscles not with the grain. Deep tissue massage helps to break up and eliminate scar tissue. Deep tissue massage usually focuses on more specific areas and may cause some soreness during or right after the massage. However, if the massage is done correctly you should feel better than ever within a day or two.

Why should one get a Deep Tissue Massage?

This special massage feels good and it is beneficial to health. When muscles are stressed, they impede the regular flow of oxygen and nutrients, leading to inflammation that builds up toxins in the muscle tissue. A deep-tissue massage helps loosen muscle tissues, release toxins from muscles and get blood and oxygen circulating properly. Because many toxins are released, it's important to drink plenty of water after a deep-tissue session to help eliminate these toxins from the body.

What is the purpose of Deep Tissue Massage?

The purpose is to separate the fibers of a muscle while releasing deeply-held patterns of tension, removing toxins, while relaxing and soothing the muscle. It is both corrective and therapeutic.

  

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Special Note on Massage for Athletes

Sports massage is the technique of kneading and manipulating soft tissue in order to help prevent sports injuries, treat injuries already incurred and improve performance. As participation in sports becomes more popular at all ages, and performances improve from year to year, more is demanded of the athlete. This can mean that performances which were seen as outstanding twenty years ago are now commonplace. Mentally and physically, psychologically and emotionally, athletes are pushing themselves to deliver more and more, and they are looking for innovative and effective ways to improve their performances. Regular sports massage is part of the training program of all top sports people and its increased availability in clinics and health centers is now making it accessible for everyone.

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Shin Splints and Massage Therapy

Shin splints may be caused by various disorders, including compartment syndrome (buildup of pressure in a muscle as a result of exercise), tendinitis (inflammation of a tendon), myositis (inflammation of a muscle), a muscle tear or periostitis (inflammation of the outer layer of a bone).

Shin splints may be avoided with some common sense measures:

• Replace or repair exercise shoes that are worn down to the heels. Switch to well-fitting shoes with plenty of impact-absorbing material in the forefoot and heel area. Remember that your running shoes may lose much of their shock absorbency after as few as 500 miles.
• Warm up before running by first walking, then gradually increasing your speed to a jog.
• When you raise your heart rate and lightly perspire, stop and stretch your calf muscles with a wall stretch. One way to stretch out tight calf muscles and Achilles tendons after warming up is to walk slowly on your heels for 100-200 yards.
• Whenever you go for a run or walk, do it on dirt, grass, cinder or a rubberized track to minimize shin trauma.
• In an aerobics class, make sure the floor is wooden and slightly raised off of the ground so it will "give" as you exercise. This will reduce impact forces.

Management for Shin Splints:

• Use heat and massage. After the couple of days with shin splints, you should add a regimen of heat and massage to your treatment. Applied heat combined with deep tissue massage is a highly effective way to speed the healing process of your muscles and tendons.
• Stretching your muscles thoroughly. If you plan on running regularly you should invest in book or manual about stretching. If your muscles are tight or unprepared for the stress of running you can cause numerous injuries and do more harm than good with your exercise. It’s important to be aware of how and when to stretch properly, and if you have shin splints stretching the injured muscles (especially if you continue running with them) can help the healing process.
• Keep running. Continued running is essential to getting rid of shin splints and making sure they don’t come back. If you just wait it out for the 3-4 days it takes for shin splints to go away on their own, then start running again, you’re almost guaranteed to get another round of shin splints right away. Of course, you don’t need to (and probably shouldn’t) continue an intense regimen of running with your shin splints; opt for a slower run on soft surfaces instead while you wait for your shin splints to heal.

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Scoliosis and Massage Therapy

What is Scoliosis?

All people have natural curves in their spine, but scoliosis causes the spine to curve in the wrong direction. It causes sideways curves, and those are different from the spine's normal curves.

If you were to look at your spine from the side, you'd see that it curves out at your neck (cervical spine), in at your mid-back (thoracic spine), and out again at your low back (lumbar spine). Your back is supposed to have those curves. But if you look at your spine from behind, you shouldn't see any curves at all. When there are sideways curves in the spine from this view, that's scoliosis. The curves may look like either an 'S' or a 'C.'

Scoliosis is generally associated with children, but adults can have it, too. This typically happens when scoliosis is not detected during childhood or the disorder progresses progressively. Scoliosis also brings up images of braces and perhaps memories of being tested for it in grade school by the school nurse. Bracing is one of the most common treatment options for scoliosis – a way to try to correct the curve conservatively (without spinal surgery). Sometimes, though, the curve is too extreme and bracing doesn't help enough. In this case, you can have surgery to correct the curve.

For children especially, it can be frightening to learn that they have scoliosis. Having that label makes them different at a time in their lives when they don't want to be all that different. They might not like the idea of wearing a brace, either. But scoliosis is not something to be scared or ashamed of. With the proper treatment, scoliosis doesn't have to define your life.


Massage Treatment for Scoliosis

Left untreated, scoliosis can produce chronic back pain, breathing problems and headaches, all depending on the severity of the curvature. A thorough professional evaluation is needed before finding an effective form of therapy.

Various alternative health practices, such as yoga and acupuncture have been found to help in lessening the problems cause by scoliosis. Another alternative health practice, several massage therapy techniques are also effective in alleviating discomfort.

Cranial-sacral therapy, which utilizes gentle pull or traction, can help to restore some balance to the spine and improve mobility. Also, deep tissue massage and assisted stretching techniques can help to increase blood circulation, ease some of the pain and reduce soft tissue adhesion.

Massage therapy is not one of the more common options for treating scoliosis, but it can help to relieve some of the resulting symptoms.

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Massage Therapy for Muscle Cramps

Muscular cramps happen most often in legs. The leg muscles are vulnerable to cramping because they're large muscles that do a lot of work. Cramps in the hamstrings and quadriceps are both common, but from my experience I'd say that the most common type of leg cramps is the calf muscle cramp.

There are a few things that contribute to getting muscle cramps. It used to be that lack of salt was the major cause of cramps, but we get so much salt in our diet these days in the form of processed foods so that's probably not the problem. Here are some other more likely contributing factors:

• Lack of potassium can cause muscles to cramp. Potassium helps regulate your muscle's activity and is important for healthy muscle function.
• Electrolyte imbalance can happen easily if you're doing a lot of strenuous activity that makes you sweat and you're not properly replacing lost electrolytes.
• Overwork can also contribute. If you work out too hard or strain lifting too much weight, your muscle could go into spasm.
• Dehydration occurs when you don't drink enough fluids. If your muscles are dehydrated they don't have the lubrication they need to function correctly.

If you weren't sleeping when your cramp occurred, you can do a few things to follow up. Try putting ice on the area. Remember that when you do ice an area you shouldn't apply ice for longer than 15 minutes every hour.

Once you've iced it you can do some petrissage on the area to get the blood flowing properly. When a muscle cramps up it restricts the blood flow to the tissue.

After a good massage be sure to stretch the area. The stretching will also help loosen the muscle tissue even more.

Sometimes the area where the leg cramp was will remain sore even after the cramp has gone away. This happens because some muscle fibers may have been damaged or torn because the cramp was so intense. Getting a massage from a professional therapist will help you deal with that injury.
  

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Online / Long Distance Massage Training for the Sprained Ankle

Having a sprained ankle is one of the most common types of ankle injury, chiefly in athletics. It results when the ankle ligaments are either stretched or torn. Most frequently, an ankle sprain is caused by the ankle spinning under so that the sole of foot is facing inwards, injuring the ligaments that are on the outside of the ankle. More rarely, the ankle will roll the other way and injure the ligaments on the inside of the ankle. Cross friction massage applied to the affected ligaments after the injury will help to prevent scar tissue from forming.

1. Wait for at least 48 to 72 hours before you begin any massage, which should only be done in the sub-acute and acute stage.
2. Make certain that there are no contraindications such as a broken bone, open wound, skin infections, and tendon ruptures, chilblains and the like. If any, you must not perform the massage.
3. Convene the person with the ankle sprain in the resting position. Widen out the foot with the sprained ankle, so that the ligaments are in a stretched position.
4. Apply a deep, direct pressure on the ligament using a single finger. Begin the manipulation at a point that is faintly away from the sprained area, and then work your way gradually towards it. Massage deeply back and forth ACROSS the ligament, not along its length. You should feel the ligament under the skin.
5. Slowly begin to massage even deeper, but within the limits of bearable pain. Continue the massage for five to ten minutes. Tape the ankle or use an ankle support to support it.
6. Massage the ankle with the same method every other day, not every day. After this deep-massage technique, the sprained ankle will need some time to recover. If the pain or swelling is worse the next day, then put off the massage again.

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