"No matter who you are or what you do, your body is your dearest and most prominent tool"
–Thomas Myers
Muscular therapy is a system of massage developed by Dr. Ben Benjamin that focuses on relieving muscle tension and reducing stress through specific techniques designed to bring fluidity and nourishment to the body’s tissues. Born out of the Swedish tradition, The Muscular Therapy Institute has given all of our therapists their base training.
Classical Swedish massage consists of 5 basic movements including: effleurage, petrissage, tapotement, friction, and vibration, performed on the musculature in the direction of blood flow to the heart. These relaxing and rhythmic techniques aid in oxygen flow to the tissue and encourage the release of toxins built up in the muscles.
Deep tissue is a generic term used to describe any massage that either involves a lot of pressure, and/or reaches beyond the layers of tissue closest to the surface. Most of the modalities described here can include work that is deep. It is important to note that a technique doesn't need to be hard or painful in order to be deep. The most effective work goes deep by "melting" into the tissue, thereby working with the body rather than against it.
Sports massage tailors general massage principles to the needs of athletes. The therapist uses techniques such as stroking, kneading, percussion, assisted stretching, and hot/cold therapy to address fatigue, swelling, soreness, and over-use issues. Sports massage can help enhance athletic performance and help decrease recovery time.
Neuromuscular therapy is a specialized type of massage therapy that targets the hyper-irritated points in muscle tissue many people call "knots," which often refer pain to other parts of the body. The therapist applies pressure to these trigger points in order to calm the nervous system out of its pain-spasm cycle. Dialog between client and therapist during the session is an essential component of this work.
Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds and separates all of our other tissues including muscles, bones, nerves, and blood vessels. The matrix of fascia creates structural integrity in our bodies, forming a strong uninterrupted net that holds us together and supports intercellular communication. Like muscles, fascia can become overloaded, "tight", and hold chronic tension. In fact, many tension patterns are a combination of muscular and fascial factors caught in a painful cycle. Whenever we work on muscle, we also, by definition, affect the fascia around it. Nevertheless, fascial work is characterized by the therapist’s intention to affect change in the client’s fascial web.
Craniosacral therapy is a form of bodywork that focuses on the cerebral spinal fluid, which surrounds our brain and central nervous system. Due to physical and emotional stress or trauma, this fluid can get blocked and bring various systems in the body out of balance. By accessing and manipulating the flow of the cerebral spinal fluid through gentle holds and subtle manual movements, the therapist can help restore balance to the nervous system, reducing stress and discomfort throughout the whole body.
Reiki is a spiritually based healing practice that was developed in Japan in the early twentieth century. It is a gentle form of bodywork that requires only light touch to be effective. The therapist channels healing energy or "ki/chi" and passes this energy on to the client through the hands. To do this, the reiki practitioner holds parts of the body or simply rests her or his hands on areas in need of healing energy. Because the energy is taken from the universe, the reiki master does not deplete his or her own reserves. In fact, reiki can also be practiced on one’s self.
Structural Integration is an umbrella term that encompasses several related approaches to bodywork based in the Rolfing Tradition. Ida Rolf was a revolutionary osteopath who, 50 years ago, was determined to find a better way to help people in pain. The result of this quest was Rolfing, a system of hands-on manipulation of tissue that serves to release and realign the body. The techniques are aimed at connective tissue and often include deep fascial work. Therapists who do structural work look at the body as a whole and aim to understand each client’s relationship between form and function.
Aston Patterning is a branch of structural integration that encompasses the body, mind, and spirit into the treatment paradigm. Originally a student of and then consultant to Ida Rolf, who developed the Rolfing system, Judith Aston is an innovator in bodywork and movement education who teaches people from all walks of life how to find the best possible way for people to move in their unique bodies. Drawing on her background as a dance teacher and her life-long study of the human body, she has created an approach to massage alignment that benefits the practitioner as well as the client. The Aston Patterner works with clients on and off the table to make lasting changes that diminish pain and create ease in our daily activities.
Pregnancy massage is designed for the specific needs of pregnant women. Practitioners are educated in how to treat muscular-skeletal issues special to pregnancy, such as low back and hip pain and ligament laxity at the joints. The therapist works with each individual woman to make her pregnancy and postpartum period more comfortable. Research has shown that massage has a positive effect on the baby as well.
Institutions throughout North America are conducting clinical research into the benefits and mechanisms of massage therapy. This wasn’t always the case. Thirty years ago, when Tiffany Field, Ph.D., was a new mother, she massaged her infant daughter, who was born prematurely. The calming effects she witnessed inspired Field, a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry, to study prematurity and massage. Field began conducting research into the beneficial effects of healthy touch in 1982, long before massage was even beginning to be accepted by either physicians or the public. In 1992 she established the Touch Research Institutes (TRI) at the University of Miami School of Medicine, with a start-up grant from Johnson & Johnson. Before TRI, no other organization was focused only on the study of touch.
The research that put Field, and TRI, on the map showed that massage caused premature infants to gain more weight than their non-massaged peers — thereby improving infants’ health and potentially saving millions of dollars each year in healthcare costs. That study was published in 1988. Today, more than 100 studies and 350 medical journal articles later, Field is recognized as the premier expert in, and advocate for, touch research.
Oncology massage is a specialized category of bodywork for people living with cancer. Whether a client is in an active disease state or in recovery from treatment, this complicated disease requires the massage therapist to be thoroughly knowledgeable about the many aspects of cancer in order to offer the best treatment for each client’s particular condition. The practitioner’s goal is to help decrease symptoms of nausea, pain, fatigue, and anxiety. Cancer is not only physically pervasive, it is also mentally and psychologically pervasive — oncology therapists hold both realities present when treating clients. When making an appointment, please ask for an oncology massage therapist.
If you are interested in Massage therapy and have not provided information on your health history, please fill our health history form.