You might remember that a few months back, we had a little piece on Deep Tissue Massage and Clinical Aromatherapy – for those of you missed this, a brief description:
Deep tissue massage is an invigorating treatment which works on deeper layers of muscle than normal Therapeutic, Swedish or Holistic massage. It combines a variety of techniques although it also features to a certain degree in most massage methods. Through a process of detection, stiff or painful areas are determined by the texture and quality of the deeper layers of musculature. Your therapist will use slower and firmer pressure slowly moving into the deep layers of muscle and concentrating on areas of tension and discomfort; usually those muscles that are tight or knotted. Strokes generally go across or along the muscle fibres, tendons and fascia (rather than along them) with the intention of realigning them. More often, the strokes will go across the grain of the muscle with deep pressure or friction which helps to break up and eliminate scar tissue. Deep tissue treatment usually focuses on a particular problem area, and it is not unusual to feel some soreness following the session – however, if it is done correctly, this should vanish quickly and you will feel better than ever within a day or two. Thus, it is an ideal therapy for injuries or persistent muscular problems, and works well in conjunction with other more manual or manipulative therapies such as chiropractic, physiotherapy and osteopathy.
Seeing as we are working towards putting together a series of comprehensive articles on each of the 57 therapies offered at The Complementary Health Care Clinic at the moment (with the ultimate aim of uploading them to our brand spanking new website (due to be launched very shortly)), I thought it best to do the womanly thing and kill two birds with one stone. Therefore, this month we shall look at Deep Tissue Massage, and what some of the most commonly treated conditions are.
Generalised research on massage therapy (MT) has shown three major areas of benefit:
a. It improves blood circulation which aids recovery of muscle soreness from physical activity or injury.
b. It improves range of motion by relaxing stiff or spasming muscles, and this has the added benefit of helping insomnia.
c. It improves endorphin levels – one of the greatest benefits of this therapy, and one of the least well publicised. Endorphins are the chemicals the body uses to feel good, and they are also used in the management of chronic pain.
Unlike a classic massage, deep tissue treatment usually focuses on a specific problem. It can also be used by those who do not like a light pressure for stress relief and relaxation, however the most commonly treated physical problems are:
- Lower back pain including muscular spasm
Try doing a search on google for massage and lower back pain, and see how many research papers, meta analysis or reports you can find…. Lots I would imagine! Let’s summarise them. Many studies have found that massage can help back pain, especially lower back pain (LBP). Massage can also help the side effects of LBP – including depression, anxiety and sleep quality; range of motion should be improved following a treatment, and serotonin and dopamine levels are often enhanced – making you feel happier and also better enabled to deal with life’s situations.
So how does massage therapy reduce muscle pain? Muscles that are in spasm are painful to touch; this pain is caused by ischemic muscle tissue lacking the proper blood supply – which is usually blocked by the spasm. This also means that the muscle does not receive an adequate oxygen supply, which then means if the muscle is required to work it does so anerobically, and thus produces far more lactic acid – a toxin to the body which causes the soreness you feel following any physical activity.
Massage can help to relax any muscle spasms, and works to boost the circulation – returning blood and oxygen to the area and clearing any lactic acid build up. Following the treatment, any soreness which presents should fade after 24-36 hours, and any tight areas should be more relaxed for 4-14 days following – this depends on levels of stress, physical activity and the severity of the LBP prior to treatment. If the muscle does not relax in response to the treatment this is usually because there is inflammation present – at which point remedies such as magnesium (a muscle relaxant) or arnica (similar to deep heat, but natural!), another discipline and/or ice/heat should be prescribed.
Although your therapist will tailor your treatment to suit your ailments, a general guide is that most muscle spasms will take between 2-6 treatments usually over a course of weeks; with the period between treatments gradually extending as the problem areas begin to respond.
- Shoulder tension
Shoulder and neck tension is one of the most commonly presenting problems, and is frequently caused by stress. Stress, anxiety and tiredness can work on the body to cause tension headaches, neck pain or generalised discomfort. Massage therapy is a very effective long time treatment for many neck and shoulder problems. The importance of the neck/shoulder area structurally means that any tension can cause overall pain and discomfort and can also cause other problems such as headaches, misalignment of the pelvis and lower back pain.
The discomfort caused by stress and tension in the neck and shoulders can furthermore reduce mobility and range of movement in the neck and shoulder – massage can reduce the discomfort and increase range of movement, together with helping to reduce the overall muscular stiffness, and allowing both nutrients and oxygen back into the area whilst clearing toxins.
A very good marker for neck and shoulder tension is tingling and numbness in the fingers. This is a classic sign of carpal tunnel syndrome, but due to the placement of the brachial plexus (basically, a bunch of nerves) in the shoulder area, any tension of the shoulder muscles can cause a slight impingement and thus the tingling. Relaxing the muscles though massage can present an immediate solution, but being more aware of the cause will help too. The tension most of us carry in our necks and shoulders is usually totally unconscious, and it doesn’t take much stress or anxiety to bring about additional tension, worsening the problem. Very small contractions of the muscles, held all day whilst you sit at your desk, hold the telephone between shoulder and ear, or work on the computer can cause symptoms which may present later on in the evening or at night. A simple solution is to several times a day breathe deeply in and raise your shoulders, hold this for a few seconds then breathe out slowly and, imagining weights attached to your hands, drop your shoulders down again as far as they will go.
This may help a little, but seeing a professional to manually clear out the toxins and to reconnect the muscles to a good nutrient and oxygen supply will give a much longer term solution.
Well…I appear to have used up all my word count on those two, what a shame! Perhaps in the near future we can go over some other things that deep tissue massage is great for – including headaches, stress management, lifestyle changes, muscular spasm, strains, sprains, RSI, postural problems and injuries, consistent & chronic pain (including arthritic, fibromyalgic and rheumatoid pain), limited mobility and massage for athletes.
If you can’t wait a couple of months to read such interesting information then from March 1st, try logging onto our new website at www.holistitic-care.com The old site will be up until this date, and then we are hoping to migrate to the new one. Watch this space !!!
Author: Georgina Fisher, Practice Manager of The Complementary Health Care Clinic, Clinical Aromatherapist & Deep Tissue Massage Therapist. Georgina has been practicing massage and aromatherapy since 2001. She holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Complementary Therapies specialising in both Aromatherapy and Stress Management together with Diplomas in Massage, Aromatherapy and Indian Head Massage. She is also attuned to Reiki level 1 and is a member of the MTI (Massage Training Institute). She is currently in the 2nd year of studying for an MSc in McTimoney Chiropractic, and in the 3rd year of the Licentuate in Homeopathy offered by The Homeopathic College of East Anglia.
As a standard part of her consultation, Georgina offers basic supplement, herbal and nutritional advice. She specialises in both Stress Management and its related disorders together with deep tissue massage for long standing muscular problems, injuries and of course general aches and pains! She also offers a gentle and relaxing holistic massage and both clinical and holistic aromatherapy. Although it is recommended that you book in advance when possible we aim to get you booked in within 24 hours for an emergency.
Contact Georgina at The Complementary Health Care Clinic, 34 Exchange Street, Norwich, NR2 1AX, Tel 01603 665173, email georgina@holistic-care.com
