You have wondered what type of massage you need as you see different types of massages in the clinic you attend? Well, let’s break down to the level of comprehension for everyone so you might make the right decision in regards with this question. Firstly, I will enumerate some situations and then explain each type of massage and you can choose the one who you believe is the most fit for your purpose. My selection is made based on a physic of a man without much fat or a high muscle mass.
1 You need to just relax, you have no pain or discomfort in your body: - Relaxing Massage - Holistic Massage - Hot Stone Massage
- Aroma Therapy Massage
2 You are a sportive person and have some discomfort / soreness in your body: - Deep Tissue Massage - Sports Massage - Balinese Massage
3 You are sportive person and have suffered a slight injury in the past month practicing your sport: - Clinical Massage - Rehabilitation Exercise - Physiotherapy
4 You have pain in your back for weeks and you don’t want to go to hospital: - Physiotherapy - Clinical Massage - Rehabilitation Exercises
5 You are a woman who wants to become a mother: - Fertility Reflexology
6 You are a pregnant woman who wants to de-stress your legs, shoulders and back: -Pregnancy Massage
7 You are recommended to have a detox and recovery plan after surgery or a prolonged period in bed: - Lymphatic drainage massage (10 sessions – 1 every other day for detox) - Rehabilitation Exercises / Clinical Pilates / Physiotherapy for recovery.
8 You want to balance your natural way of healing of your body: - Reflexology - Tui Na Massage - Acupuncture - Cupping - Balinese Massage - Holistic Massage
-Aroma Therapy Massage
Relaxing Massage: It is in general Swedish Massage. The therapist use techniques learned as: Effleurage, petrissage, tapotement, and frictions. The practitioner can also add or remove some techniques according to the time, body type, and client requests. For this type of massage, the pressure is light or medium for the purpose of relaxation. Another things they can add but not always, is music and scented candles or oil diffusers in the room for an extra stimulus to your senses to help you relax and have the best experience. The light in the room can be dimmed. For more info visit our page here.
Aromatherapy Massage:
Aromatherapy Massage uses the therapeutic power of pure essential oils, applied during a massage treatment after being blended in a light carrier oil or lotion. The highly concentrated extracts of plants, called essential oils, stimulate the limbic system of the brain, which is attached the olfactory system (sense of smell). The limbic system controls emotions and influences the nervous system and hormones. They can positively affect heart rate, stress level, blood pressure, breathing, memory, digestion, and the immune system.
For more info visit our page here.
Deep Tissue Massage: It is the most requested massage, is called Deep Tissue because the techniques aim to focus on the deeper layers of muscles to release the tension and help you recover faster. The practitioner use medium / hard pressure. It can also be relaxing at the same time but not for all, because each one of us has a level of tolerance and what it is pain for one can be a pleasure for other. The best is to talk with your practitioner at all times to let them know when is too much pressure or too les so he can change according to your needs. For more info visit our page here.
Sports Massage: It is recommended for anyone who practice sports and have discomfort according to the sports they practice. The practitioner will focus on the muscles you use the most to practice your sport and the benefits of massage will help you recover faster, eliminate discomfort, and increase your performance. For more info visit our page here.
Balinese Massage: This type of massage uses deep tissue techniques, pressure points, and reflexology points on your body and gentle stretches. It treats your body holistic. For more info visit our page here.
Lymphatic Drainage: This type of massage uses light pressure only because it is used only on the surface of the body and the aim of these techniques is to help the lymph to drain into the lymphatic nodes and from there back into the circulatory system. The technique can be done at a fast or slow pace. Beside the health benefits, It can be a relaxing experience. For more info visit our page here.
Tui Na Massage: Similar to acupuncture, Tui Na massage uses the same energetic meridians and acupoints to balance the qi and blood in your body, leading to better health. Qi that’s flowing incorrectly can cause blockages, such as poor blood circulation in the affected area. For more info visit our page here.
Cupping: This is an ancient, multi-purpose form of alternative medicine that can relieve pain, inflammation, improve blood flow, induce relaxation and well-being, and acts as a deep-tissue massage. This will also help in detoxification of the body. For more info visit our page here.
Reflexology: Is an ancient therapy that focuses on different points of your feet/hands/head/ears that correspond to an organ or part of your body to stimulate the natural way of healing and balance. It can be a relaxing experience for some, whilst for others can be less relaxing. For more info visit our page here.
Clinical Massage: Treats the pain felt in the body after assessing the nerves and muscles. It can help with injuries and long term conditions.
Physiotherapy: Physiotherapy is not a massage treatment but it helps in case massage can’t help. Physiotherapy restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness, or disability. It can also help to reduce your risk of injury or illness in the future. For more info visit our page here.
Note: It is advisable to not have a massage soon after an injury because it’s possible to make it worse (wait 1 to 2 weeks in case of an easy injury, higher level of injury, longer time to heal needed).
Level one injury is a little torn or rupture of the connective tissue or muscle.(you might have or not pain while use the arm or leg and under load). Level two is half of the tissue rupture (you have pain and can’t use the arm or leg). Level three is a total rupture of the connective tissue or muscle and you can’t use the arm or leg and have a high level of pain (go to hospital).
Physiotherapy is recommended. After some recovery treatment period, you can use massage to continue to improve your muscle tone and flexibility.
You can see our practitioners here. For more info about how to prepare for a massage click here. For more info about why to have a massage click here.
This Blog Post will be updated from time to time.
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