Medical Massage Pros is a medical massage clinic. But, what does that mean and how do YOU benefit?
This means that besides spa type massage, we also offer and focus on a wide range of other manual therapies and techniques that help you realign your body, relieve pain, and gain more range of motion and functionality.
When the body is misaligned it can cause a decrease in range of motion, create nasty and painful knots, and stop you from performing how you were designed to perform. It also is less attractive looking (and honestly less attractive feeling too).
What we do for you is reverse these types of problems and help get you back to your most attractive and most optimal performing condition. One thing of importance to note here is that we don’t just help you get rid of pain, we work specifically on what is causing your pain structurally in order to stop it or delay it from bothering you in the future.
Curious how we do this? Keep reading to find out what modalities and techniques we offer that give you the longest and most effective results. (You’ll notice there are sources listed throughout the article if you want to further study certain modalities and techniques).
Triggerpoint/myofascial Release:
Under the massage category we offer the usual effleurage and compression type massage, but we also offer Trigger point work.
Trigger point helps free up the body and can give you more range of motion. Trigger point can be intense at times, but the payout is worth the momentary pain. Trigger point work is brilliant because: 1. it feels so good if done correctly, 2. it’s highly effective (and hence lasts long), 3. it works fast, 4. It’s low cost, and 5. it’s evidence based (backed by research and is reproducible)(Neil-Asher, 2014). That being said, it pays to visit a therapist that’s skilled in performing correct trigger point massage. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Too hard of pressure or not listening to the body can cause damage instead of being helpful. Therapy Squared therapists always listen to their clients if they tell them that they want less pressure. You know what your body needs and we’ll follow your communication.
Probably the most helpful benefit about trigger point work is that the effects last for weeks to months depending on what you can handle and based on your lifestyle (i.e. if you’re active vs. sedentary, healthy vs. unhealthy). Often people tell us that they don’t stay sore for very long afterwards too.
Medical/Orthopedic Massage:
This is not a modality per se, but more an end results oriented manual therapy. The focus of medical/orthopedic (referred to as Ortho) massage is to help a person realign into proper posture. This is achieved by the therapist working on and lengthening shortened muscles and also providing pain relief to the overly lengthened (and often knotted) muscles.
When a person is properly aligned their body is less likely to knot up and get sore. Proper alignment makes muscle, tendons, ligaments, and joints more supple (which is what we usually want) and/or more functional.
Usually ortho massage work is pain free and it is also a very effective long term therapy.
This is extra training for a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) to go through and there aren’t many who are trained in this therapy. Those who do go through the training add the “MMP” acronym at the end of their name to certify they have had the extra training and experience. Therapy Squared therapists are all trained as MMP’s meaning they are Medical Massage Practitioners.
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (Also known as PNF Stretching)
This is a technique where you contract while being stretched (and possibly worked on) at the same time. This therapy often helps a person feel less pain while being worked on and it is very effective at helping tissues relax. This therapy helps you gain maximum static flexibility and greatly increases range of motion (Hindle, et al., 2012). It also improves neuromuscular efficiency which means that you are able to recruit more of the muscle(s) to complete a task. This is very important for everyday life.
Positional Release
This is a therapy technique that takes pained joints and brings the joint ends closer together. The purpose is to shorten the ligaments in order to help them relax. This technique is generally painless and effective for reducing pain from tightness and bringing about more joint mobility (Brigham Young University, 2021). Be sure to be patient, as holding these positions can take a minute or more.
Pin and Stretch
This technique is pretty simple, but yields massive gains in range of motion and functionality. This can also be pretty painful in certain areas, but therapists can get good results when less pressure is applied too. We all know stretching is good for certain tightness problems (though it’s not good for all tightness problems), but have you ever tried to pin a muscles or a tendon down and then stretch it while it’s pinned? This is one of the fastest and most effective techniques to loosen up a body area and restore proper muscle length.
When muscles are shortened and tight they pull the body out of alignment and thus hinder range of motion and/or functionality of the affected area. This is also a major contributor to knot formation as now the lengthened muscles have to try harder to keep you upright and functional.
Once a shortened muscle is lengthened out though, your body can gain back proper alignment more easily (although retraining the area is often advised too).
Look at the pictures of the man’s poor posture (picture A) and notice how his head and shoulders have a forward position. This causes the back muscles and posterior neck muscles to have to work harder. For example, the head in an aligned position (picture C) weighs roughly 11-12 pounds but, “For every inch of Forward Head Posture, it can increase the weight of the head on the spine by an additional 10 pounds” (Kapandji, 2007). This means your 12 pound head could end up weighing up to 42 pounds with a forward head posture! Talk about forming some serious knots in your posterior neck and back! So being in alignment not only stops a person from developing knots as badly, but it also saves on energy and aids in helping people become less tired. (Technically, correct posture would be more like picture C.)
A
B
C
Static Stretch Sessions
Stretching can be so helpful in loosening up tight tissue and aiding in recovery. Therapy Squared therapists offer full body stretch sessions which have the benefits of putting you through a stretch you could not do on your own. We often say if massage can’t get it out try stretching (and vice versa).
Stretching is so important in helping lengthen out muscles. In today’s society we are often coerced into doing the same physical thing over and over again day after day (think of sitting at a desk or working the same repetitious job). This causes chronic pain and also chronic shortening of muscle tissues.
A lot of pain can be had from chronically shortened muscles. Eventually the bones will follow the trend of the muscles and this can create problems such as experiencing pinched nerves and/or bad posture.
Stretching can reduce bad posture and help with pain, and mobility (Page, 2012). Want to try a stretch and massage session together? It’s one perfect match for gaining range of motion and functionality. (Book a 30 minute stretch session with a one hour massage and see how amazing you feel afterwards!)
The End Results
The purpose of this article is to show you how Medical Massage Pros can help you regain your most optimal physical health by realigning your body, getting rid of pain, and helping you gain proper range of motion and functionality.
Being aligned is attractive and useful for all of us to do the things in life we love. Don’t take our word for it. Read other’s experiences here and see if you can relate. Ready to schedule your next session with a Medical Massage Pros therapist?
