Lafayette Massage Therapy with healing hands.

DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE PURPOSE

Deep tissue massage centers on realigning the deeper layers of connective and muscle tissue. It aims to release the chronic patterns of tension in the body through slow strokes and deep finger pressure on the tense areas, either following or going across the fiber’s of the muscles, tendons and fascia. It is particularly helpful for continually tight and contracted areas such as stiff necks, low back tightness, and sore shoulders.

Deep tissue massage is much more than just a “hard massage.” In contrast to only relaxing muscles, the specific lengthening of fascia, muscles and tendons offers many benefits such as increased joint movement, quicker injury recovery, better posture, as well as feelings of well-being.

Deep tissue massage is often used to treat:

Chronic Pain
Limited Mobility
Recovery from Injuries (e.g. whiplash, falls, and sports injury)
Repetitive Strain Injury (carpal tunnel syndrome)
Postural Problems
Osteoarthritis Pain
Muscle Tension or Spasm.

DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE GOALS

Deep tissue has been found to improve muscle function and range of motion, break up scar tissue and adhesions, and decrease pain. It is thought that when muscles are tensed, they block oxygen and nutrients, leading to inflammation that builds up toxins in the muscle tissue. A deep tissue massage may help loosen muscle tissues, release toxins from muscles and get blood and oxygen circulating properly. Because many toxins are released, it is recommended to drink plenty of water after a deep tissue session to help eliminate these toxins from the body.

Goals of Deep Tissue Massage:

Reduce pain.
Improve posture.
Increase flexibility and perception of looseness.
Improve fluidity of movement.
Restore metabolic status of tissue.

DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE TREATMENT

Deep tissue massage uses many of the same movements and techniques as a more classic superficial massage. The difference is that the pressure will generally be more intense, and concentrated on areas of tension and pain. The strokes are the same, but the movement is slower and deeper. At certain points during the massage, most people find there is usually some discomfort and pain. It is important to tell the therapist when they hit a tender spot and if any discomfort you experience is outside your comfort range. Due to the focused nature of the session, the treatment can become intense at times.

Occasionally there is some stiffness or tenderness after a deep tissue massage, but it should subside within a day or so. The massage therapist may suggets applying ice to the area after the deep tissue massage.

Swedish Massage (Relaxing Massage)

The most common type of massage is Swedish massage therapy. It involves soft, long, kneading strokes, as well as light, rhythmic, tapping strokes, on topmost layers of muscles. This is also combined with movement of the joints. By relieving muscle tension, Swedish therapy can be both relaxing and energizing. And it may even help after an injury.

Four common strokes of Swedish massage are:

- Effleurage: a smooth, gliding strokes right used to relax soft tissue

- Petrissage: the squeezing, rolling, or kneading that follows effleurage

- Friction: deep, circular movements that cause layers of tissue to rub against each other, helping to increase blood flow and break down scar tissue

Tapotement: a short, alternating tap done with cupped hands, fingers, or the edge of the hand

Deep Tissue Massage

Deep tissue massage is best for giving attention to certain painful, stiff “trouble spots” in your body. The massage therapist uses slow, deliberate strokes that focus pressure on layers of muscles, tendons, or other tissues deep under your skin. Though less rhythmic than other types of massage, deep tissue massage may be therapeutic — relieving chronic patterns of tension and helping with muscle injuries, such as back sprain.

Reduced Stress, Anxiety and Depression

A massage reduces stress levels in most people. Massage may also help manage or reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression. While no studies prove that massage reduces depression symptoms, some people with depression feel that their symptoms decrease after massage. Massage Professionals reports that massage offers other benefits for your well-being, such as better sleep, increased energy, better concentration and less fatigue.

Pain and Stiffness Relief

What Is Acupressure? The Traditional Chinese Medicine Has Pretty Awesome Science Behind It

Acupressure, like its close cousin acupuncture, is a medicinal method that emerged from traditional Chinese medicine, and has been part of the alternative or complementary medical world for a long time. And studies may indicate that it has real medical value in specific situations — even if it’s just a placebo effect or the product of a calming environment. Acupuncture works by targeting certain pressure points on the body with steady force (acupuncture uses a needle, while acupressure merely uses fingers) and is thought in Chinese medicine to be a way of regulating bodily energy aiding disease healing and helping health. Even if you don’t buy into ideas about energy and flow, however, the idea of targeted massage, whether by yourself or others, at particular acupressure points across the body has been extensively researched, and it reveals some intriguing possibilities for helping sleep, stress, and nausea in particular.

“There are acupuncture points all around the body on the meridian lines that have different uses and effects,” The points help balance the body’s energy flow (qi). Acupressure is when these points are stimulated through applying pressure.” It’s suggested that placing force on some acupressure points actually helps the body because it stimulates the same brain pathways as pain relief drugs. A study in 2015 noted that applying pressure to a particular acupressure point on rats reduces activity in one of the brains stress pathways and may therefore reduce pain, but it’s unknown whether this same mechanism occurs in humans. Whether this is true or not, when you delve into the science of acupressure’s efficacy, you start to discover it’s more than it might appear.

What is Sports Massage?

Sports massage goes beyond promoting relaxation and pain relief.

It can help improve performance and prevent injury – in addition to helping the body recover from injuries associated with physical activity.

Sports can be repetitive, especially for runners, cyclists, racquet sports players and weightlifters. Sports massage helps release that muscle tension and promote tissue repair and muscle balance for a safer next workout.

Shiatsu Massage

In Japanese, shiatsu means “finger pressure.” For shiatsu massage, the therapist uses varied, rhythmic pressure on certain precise points of the body. These points are called acupressure points, and they are believed to be important for the flow of the body’s vital energy, called chi. Proponents say shiatsu massage can help relieve blockages at these acupressure points.

Lafayette Shiatsu Massage

Shiatsu Massage

The many health benefits of Shiatsu Massage

One of the benefits of Shiatsu Massage Therapy is how effective it can be for treating pain.

What does it mean to have chronic Pain ? It defines chronic pain as any pain that lastsThe many health benefits of Shiatsu Massage

One of the benefits of Shiatsu massage therapy is how effective it can be for treating pain.

What does it mean to have chronic pain?

The National Institutes for Health defines chronic pain as any pain that lasts for more than 12 weeks, though it can persist much, much longer. Like acute pain, it may stem from an injury, but chronic pain continues long past the normal healing time for the initial injury.

Another cause of chronic pain may be an illness or a condition, such as fibromyalgia or endometriosis. In some people’s cases, no known cause exists.

Chronic pain sufferers may experience additional challenging health problems, including:

• Fatigue

• Sleep disturbance

• Decreased appetite

• Mood changes

Chronic pain often creates a vicious cycle, where the pain causes sleep disturbances, which result in mood swings, which creates fatigue, which makes pain harder to bear. And on and on….

Many people struggling to manage chronic pain find that holistic health remedies like massage help alleviate their symptoms. One of the benefits of Shiatsu massage therapy is that it can be effective in treating chronic pain.

How Shiatsu massage can help

Shiatsu massage involves using the fingers, palms, elbows and feet to manipulate the body at specific points along the body’s meridians, depending on the patient’s specific condition. Your practitioner may also use gentle tapping, kneading or stretching techniques to alleviate your pain during a Shiatsu session.

Your practitioner will do a comprehensive diagnosis before treating you to understand your medical history, the areas of the body you are experiencing pain and what underlying problems you may have. Shiatsu combines the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine with the Western sciences to help make a diagnosis and determine a course of treatment.

Many studies have shown that massage helps reduce the intensity and duration of episodes of pain, making it helpful for treating many conditions. It also helps improve blood flow and release chemicals within the body that reduce stress and anxiety and elevate your mood — all good things for those who suffer chronic pain!

Other holistic and natural remedies can help with chronic pain. Those may include:

• Counseling or talk therapy

• Relaxation therapy

• Biofeedback

• Behavior modification

• Tai chi

• Acupuncture

• Meditation

Shiatsu massage is also great for treating many other common conditions, including headaches, sleep disturbances, stress and anxiety, muscle pain and stiffness, and pregnancy discomfort. Another one of the benefits of Shiatsu massage is that it also works wonders for general health and wellness.

Finding a Shiatsu practitioner

Massage therapists may have different specializations within their practice. When searching for a therapist online, use the keyword Shiatsu to find practitioners who specialize in the style of massage.

Don’t be afraid to ask any therapist from whom you’re considering getting a massage whether they have a Shiatsu certification or use Shiatsu methods. Check out schools of massage in your area that offer Shiatsu massage training — they may run a community clinic or have resources to direct you to a local Shiatsu practitioner. The benefits of Shiatsu massage therapy are worth it. for more than 12 weeks, though it can persist much, much longer. Like acute pain, it may stem from an injury, but chronic pain continues long past the normal healing time for the initial injury.

Chronic pain sufferers may experience additional challenging health problems, including:

- Fatigue

- Sleep disturbance

- Decreased appetite

Mood changes

Chronic pain often creates a vicious cycle, where the pain causes sleep disturbances, which result in mood swings, which creates fatigue, which makes pain harder to bear. And on and on….

Many people struggling to manage chronic pain find that holistic health remedies like massage help alleviate their symptoms. One of the benefits of Shiatsu massage Therapy is that it can be effective in treating chronic pain.

How Shiatsu massage can help

Shiatsu involves using the fingers, palms, elbows and feet to manipulate the body at specific points along the body’s meridians, depending on the patient’s specific condition. Your practitioner may also use gentle tapping, kneading or stretching techniques to alleviate your pain during a Shiatsu session.

Other holistic and natural remedies can help with chronic pain. Those may include:

- Counseling or talk therapy

- Relaxation therapy

- Biofeedback

- Behavior modification

- Tai chi

- Acupuncture

Meditation

Shiatsu massage is also great for treating many other common conditions, including headaches, sleep disturbances, stress and anxiety, muscle pain and stiffness, and pregnancy discomfort . Another one of the benefits of Shiatsu massage is that it also works wonders for general health .

Finding a Shiatsu practitioner

In addition, certain combinations are said to amplify the healing effects of massage. For example, a Swedish massage combined with a hot stone may increase circulation and metabolism quicker than using only one style.

How do you know which styles the massage will include?

A therapist will use her discretion in tailoring a massage based on your individual needs. Before the massage, don’t be shy in communicating your goals of the massage – such as relaxation or relief of tension. During the massage, tell your therapist if you find a particular style that you like or dislike. You can also check with the day spa or massage place beforehand to find out which modalities a combination massage tends to include.

Lafayette Foot Massage (Reflexology) — Foot Massage (Reflexology)

What Is Foot Massage Reflexology ?

Foot reflexology is an alternative therapy that enhances the distinctive healing mechanisms of the body. It involves pressure to specific reflex points on the feet using certain hand, finger, or thumb techniques. Reflexology is based on the premise that internal organs, bones, and body systems can be positively influenced from properly applying pressure to the points on the feet, ears, or hands.

Reflexology shows that there is much more to that good old-fashioned foot rub you give your spouse on their birthday. In fact, the art of foot reflexology massage is an ancient practice that dates back to Egypt and China over 5,000 years ago. A pictograph on the Egyptian tomb of Ankhmahor is thought to be one of the first recordings of the foot reflexology points.

Reflexology works to help release stress. As a result, the body will heal and regenerate itself. Throughout the years, certain theories have helped explain reflexology:

Reflexology works on the central nervous system: This theory is based on research that explains the neurological relationship between internal organs and the skin, and that the entire nervous system adjusts when stimulated. When pressure is made to the ears, hands, and feet, a calming message is sent to the central nervous system. As a result, overall relaxation helps the organs function at their best.

The neuromatrix theory of pain: This theory suggests that pain is simply subjective. In other words, the brain responds to the sensory experience of pain, but it can also work in response to cognitive or emotional factors. As a result, reflexology may decrease pain by improving mood and reducing stress.

Theory of vital energy: When stress is not addressed, there is energy congestion, and inefficiencies in the body will lead to illnesses. Reflexology will allow energy to flow freely.

Health Benefits of a Foot Reflexology Massage

Reflexology is not a diagnostic or curative procedure. Instead, it is used to complement a variety of health conditions. After one or two foot reflexology sessions you will begin to notice results. That being said, one session per week for four to five straight weeks is the general recommendation. At the end of the sessions the reflexologist will assess the client’s improvement. Reflexology is a lot more than a foot massage. Besides relaxation, there are a number of health benefits of a foot reflexology massage:

1. Cancer: There are a number of studies that show how reflexology can help reduce cancer treatment symptoms, including nausea, pain,or diarrhea.

There are five immediate health benefits of using a massage chair:

1. It aligns the spine and reduces pressure on nerves.A reclining chair reduces pressure on the spine by supporting the back in a horizontal position. Major nerves run through the vertebrae to peripheral areas of the body including hands, feet, fingers and toes. Tension in the spine or misaligned vertebrae can compress nerves. As muscles that support the vertebrae relax, the spine lengthens and vertebrae resume their natural alignment. When impinged nerves are freed from pressure, nerve impulses travel easily through the spinal column to the extremities.

2. It relaxes your muscles and helps you to maintain good posture. Massage chairs target specific muscles and use several kinds of strokes to relieve pain. As muscles relax, imbalances are corrected. Relaxed muscles allow the body to move with increased mobility. A natural tendency to alleviate pain is to compensate by using another set of muscles. This often places undue stress on adjacent muscles and ligaments. For example, a sore hip may make someone sit unevenly to reduce pressure on the painful side. This causes the muscles along the lower spine to bear weight unevenly. Neck or shoulder muscles may become strained from misalignment or from bearing weight usually held by the lower spine. After a session in a massage chair, many people feel that their posture and balance have improved.

3. It relieves stress. Stress affects not only mental well-being; it has a physiological impact on health as well. Stress may cause sleeplessness, poor appetite or high blood pressure. Alleviating stress reduces levels of cortisol in the bloodstream, which helps to control blood pressure.

4. It improves your circulation. Increased circulation promotes healing. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to cells and organs and removes toxins. Constricted, tense muscles can constrict blood flow. By relaxing muscles, blood flows to the tissues and organs. The Mayo Clinic reports that some studies suggest that the immune system is strengthened by massage.

5. It stimulates the body’s secretion of endorphins.Endorphins are neurotransmitters that help to reduce the perception of pain and lessen the effects of stress. Endorphins create a feeling of well-being and enhance immune response. Studies have shown that massage triggers secretion of endorphins.

Massage chairs not only ease aches and pains, but can help relaxation and lower stress. Using a massage chair can have a positive effect on both your physical and mental health.

Dry Massage Therapy

As the name goes, a dry massage doesn’t include any oil application. A dry massage is usually a full-body massage that’ll be pretty intense because it could involve stretching and working on your body’s pressure points. Take a Thai massage or Chinese massage for example, and you’ll get a dry massage at its best.

Now, you may say, “I’ve tried a Thai/Swedish massage, so will it count as a dry massage too because it’s part Thai?” No, it won’t be a pure or traditional dry massage. For instance, if you get a traditional Thai massage, then you’re going for a dry massage that’ll be powerfully rough yet rejuvenating. If you go for a fusion Thai/Swedish, then it will usually incorporate oil and combine aspects of both Thai and Swedish massage.

Apart from the Thai and Chinese variants, there are countless Asian Massage styles that’ll be done without any oil or lotion. Because this massage style is darn intense and doesn’t involve the use of any specific lubricant, it’s always advisable to wear comfortable, loose clothing while getting a dry massage. Plus, since there isn’t any lubricant, a dry massage will require therapists to work pretty hard. This massage type will have therapists using their knees, elbows, arms, feet, and hands for offering intense bodywork.

Why should you get a dry massage?

•    Your body will reduce its stress levels.
•    Because of its reduced stress levels, your body will be refreshed.
•    Blood circulation of your body will be improved.
•    This bodywork focuses on body and mind.
• You’ll improve your body’s flexibility with this bodywork

“Lafayette Trigger Point Therapy

Muscle knots might seem like no big deal, until you feel their characteristic soreness and concentrated spikes of pain. Your freedom of movement is inhibited, and the demands of daily life only seem to wind these knots tighter. Sure, you can take an Advil to temporarily help the symptoms, but there’s a better, long-term (not to mention completely natural) solution. Meet trigger point therapy; it’s a special massage technique that targets tender muscle knots—so-called trigger points—to alleviate pain and tension.

. “Trigger point therapy is a system of different points in the body that the therapist isolates and applies pressure on to relieve a pain that may be located in another area of the body—which is called referred pain.”

First things first: Trigger point therapy can be used almost everywhere on the body. “Many people receive trigger point therapy in larger muscle groups like the glutes, hamstrings, quads, trapezius and more,” says Millhouse. “But because trigger points send pain to areas that are hard to determine by the people experiencing it, sometimes therapy is needed in places you might not expect.” Think of places like your mouth (to combat TMJ), your neck (to help thoracic outlet and carpal tunnel syndromes), and even your pelvic floor. “Trigger points are found all over the body. Therefore, you can use them on any area of the body,” Lim says, although most of her clients experience them in the neck and shoulders.

It all starts with a nerve placed over a muscle fiber. “That area is called the motor end plate, or neuromuscular junction,” she says. “At the motor end plate, a chemical signal is sent from the nervous system that tells the muscle to contract. If there’s an imbalance in the area (often caused by an injury that strains the muscle or by repetitive overuse), then a trigger point can form. As far as the therapy is concerned, the sustained pressure applied by a massage therapist interrupts the nerve signal and causes the muscle to let go.” It will also “encourage blood and oxygen circulation and release lactic acid from that muscle,”

The difference between these two lies in their longevity and painfulness. “The active trigger point produces the unrelenting, debilitating pain, which motivates people to seek relief. It hurts when pressed with a finger, causing pain around it as well as referred pain to other areas. It causes the muscle in which it’s located to be weak and have limited flexibility.”

Contrastingly, latent trigger points aren’t as painful, though they can remain within the muscle for years at a time. “Unless you press on these trigger points and feel the tenderness, you probably won’t know they are there,” . “Most people have at least a few. Latent trigger points may persist for years after apparent recovery from injury, and while they generally don’t cause pain unless compressed, they do cause restricted movement, distorted muscle movement patterns, and stiffness and weakness of the affected muscle.”

Because of this, trigger point therapy is always helpful, even for those who don’t think they need it due to a lack of concentrated pain. “If you’ve ever thrown your back out or woken up with a painfully stiff neck, unable to turn your head, chances are that you may have some trigger points that became activated and then went back to a latent state after a few days of taking it easy,”

Lafayette

Tui Na Massage Near Me in Lafayette La

6 Benefits Of Tui Na Massage

An old Chinese proverb suggests, “relaxation is who you are, tension is who you think you should be.” Traditional Chinese Medicine has been using massage since the beginning of time, aging at about 3,000 years old. Traditional Chinese Medicine aims at keeping the energy, or qi, balanced in the body. The qi moves through the meridians. When the movement is stagnant, dis-ease occurs. When the energy is too low or too high, dis-ease occurs. The most common type of Traditional Chinese Medicine bodywork practiced today is called Tui Na massage.

Tui Na directly translated into English is “pressing and rubbing.” The Tui Na body worker will use pressing and rubbing techniques on the fascia in the body, to eventually get to moving the qi through the meridians. So how can this ancient method of bodywork assist with healing and what can it heal? Tui Na massage is usually combined with herbal remedies and acupuncture. Tui Na massage can help heal ailments caused from a build up from stress in the body and specific areas of tension and pain.

When stress builds up in the body, it can cause dis-ease. With certain ailments stress can make the condition worse, or get in the way of the healing process. Therefore, it is extremely important to crave time out of the day to take time to de-stress and relax. Tui Na massage can help relieve stress and help with the following ailments:

1. Insomnia: We’ve all had stressful nights where we toss and turn trying to get some zzz’s in, perhaps before a big day. Insomnia can be caused by stress, as well as cause stress to the body. It is important to health to get enough sleep each night. Tui Na massage can help someone unwind, and get a good night sleep at night. Tui Na massage works with the energy in the body. Therefore, if your energy needs to be sedated, the bodyworker can press on acupressure point that will help settle down the active energy. Bodywork in general has been known to help with insomnia, due to the ability to turn on the parasympathetic nervous system and turn off the sympathetic nervous system. In other words, it activates the part of your brain that tells your body to rest and digest and off the part that says fight or flight.

2.Irritable Bowel Syndrome: IBS can be irritated by stress and cause physical symptoms of constipation or diarrhea. Tui Na massage in combination with herbal and acupuncture treatments can be extremely helpful for those working with IBS. The cause of IBS is still unknown. However, since Traditional Chinese Medicine assists with ailments in an energetic and a holistic way, it is a great option for IBS. By pressing on the pressure point related to the colon it helps to balance the vital life force in that organ. Therefore, for the condition where there is too much energy, diarrhea, the bodyworker will aim to decrease the abundant energy. In addition, the condition where energy is lacking, constipation, the bodyworker will aim to increase the deficient energy. In conjunction, it is thought that IBS might be related to stress. Tui Na massage assists in reducing stress, making it an overall great choice for those who suffer from IBS. This will help the client to find balance in their colon, and help them find more balance in their overall well being.

3.Headaches: Occasionally headaches can be caused by stress and nervous tension in the body. As we know already, Tui Na massage help to relax the tension and stress in the body and in the mind. In addition, one can get a headache from the energy being stuck in the head, causing and imbalance, and a dis-ease. This formulates a headache. The beauty of Tui Na massage is that it circulates this energy. Helping the client find relief from their headaches.

Tui Na massage is also an effective remedy for ailments that are not directly related to stress. Tui Na massage can help with musculoskeletal ailments as well as neuromuscular ailments. Tui Na massage can help with these specific issues:

4. Any Pain in the Joints or Muscles: Tui Na massage help to soften the fascia in the body, helping to reduce pain in the areas in the joints or muscles. The fascia is the connective tissue in the body. In between each muscle and the skin, each muscle and another muscle, the organs and the muscle, the organs and the other organs, there is connective tissue. When it is tense and hard it causes pain an discomfort. Therefore, softening the connective tissue using Tui Na massage is a great way to find some pain relief.

5. Arthritis: According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Arthritis is a condition that is caused by too much dampness, or yin in the body. Tui Na massage helps to balance the yin and yang aspects in the body. In other words, it balances the hot and the cold. For a client coming in with Arthritis, a bodyworker would assist them in increasing the heat in the body and reducing the cold. Also, the softening of the fascia can be extremely helpful in finding some pain relief in the joints for those with Arthritis.

6. Sciatica: Sciatica is caused by the sciatic nerve sending impulses from the low back and could go all the way down to the lower legs. Tui Na massage helps with this neuromuscular condition by softening the connective tissue around the nerve. It also helps to relax muscles that might be pressing on the nerve. Sciatica can be caused to by blocked energy near the sciatic nerve. The movement of energy that Tui Na provides helps blood flow to the areas of the sciatic nerve as well. However, it cannot heal the any structural issues that are causing the sciatica. It is effective for pain relief, but not treatment of the cause, if the cause is structural.

There are many other great reasons to try Tui Na massage, these were just a few of my favorites. Tui Na massage can help a client get out of a place of tension, and get into a state of relaxation. Tui Na massage uses Traditional Chinese Medicine as a foundation for the style of bodywork. It is best received in conjunction with acupuncture and herbal remedies.