Myofascial Massage Therapy
Your Foundation for Feeling Pain Free
Just about everyone likes a good massage. After all, when your body is treated expertly, you feel like a million bucks. But with an NK Body Philosophy massage, it’s like a million bucks you can invest. Because our myofascial release massage contains elements of a spa massage with the benefits of a medical treatment, your personalized massage will improve how you feel and function, physically and mentally.
With skillful and targeted motions, Nicole will release stress and pressure from your muscles and tendons, improving your circulation. This in turn helps reduce pain and swelling while improving flexibility.
Your Structure & Function Improved
Soft tissue techniques help stimulate circulation and your lymphatic system. This assists your body in eliminating toxins and other impurities, enhancing your natural immunity.
A session’s benefits go beyond the body; massage is marvelous for your mind. By releasing endorphins, a massage can help you rise above stress, anxiety, and fatigue. It can even give you a “high” that’s completely natural! And all of these benefits can work to improve the quality of your sleep.
What is Myofascial Release?
Myofascial release is a type of massage therapy that focuses on the fascia — the thin connective tissue holding your muscles, organs, and everything else in place. Massaging and releasing pressure in the fascia can relieve pain and increase flexibility naturally.
Myofascial Release is a type of soft tissue therapy used to treat chronic pain, trigger points, scar tissue, improve postural imbalances, neuropathy, muscular and joint injuries, and many other disorders. It is accomplished by using direct pressure, stretching of the tissue, and gradual strokes that align with the movement of the fascia. It has been utilized in clinical environments to structurally integrate soft tissue in the muscle, fascia, and limited range of motion in joints.
Myofascial Release Therapy is used to work directly on manipulating the fascia, which is the Connective Tissue (CT) of the body. It is known in the medical world as the “saran wrap” that surrounds and protects all structures, organs, and systems in the body. This “saran wrap” can stick to itself or other structures surrounding it such as muscles, organs, bones, and even blood vessels and nerves. Fascia is one network and is all one connected system. The soft tissue can become restricted due to psychogenic disease, overuse, trauma, infectious agents, or inactivity, often resulting in pain, muscle tension, and corresponding diminished blood flow. Because of its dynamic nature and abundance in the body, it plays a very important role in postural alignment and the state of well-being of your body. It can stick or snag in nature to one location and cause pain or dysfunction in another area thru the kinetic chain of fascia in the body.
The goal and treatment that myofascial release performs are to use a blend of stretching to the tissue, trigger point work, targeted work, and direct pressure to target pain in the fascial matrix and train to alleviate pain and dysfunction. The direct myofascial release method engages the myofascial tissue “restrictive barrier” (tension). The tissue is loaded with a constant force until a release occurs. The practitioner uses palms, knuckles, elbows, or other tools to slowly stretch the restricted
fascia by stretching or elongating the fascia. It is done without oil, and the pace is very slow to reach the deep layer of musculature tissue
Myofascial Massage (MFR)
This is not a one-size-fits all approach, we use an integrative approach to health and wellness and believe that it is the most effective for an individual. We offer a unique and clinical approach to massage treatment and a passion to help you in achieving your health goals.
First is a detailed intake of medical history, then an in-depth observation of the patient’s posture, movement, and breathing patterns are all recorded to determine the best treatment to achieve your health goals and zero in on the dysfunction. This session may include (based on need) trigger point therapy, passive stretching, cupping therapy, or hydrotherapy. For post-treatment, the therapist deepens her involvement in your goals by providing you with suggested skills, stretches, ergonomics, self-care, and proper postural alignment to integrate in everyday life to optimize your body’s health and alignment.
TMJ Myofascial Massage
TMJ stands for temporomandibular joints on each side of the face which connects your jaw to the side of your skull. Presently, millions of people suffer from TMJ and the symptoms it can create. In order to allow forward, backward, and side-to-side movements of the lower jaw, and opening and closing of the mouth, these joints work in alignment with the facial bones and five pairs of muscles.
TMJ dysfunctions are caused by the disturbance of this facial symphony and involve the joints and muscles not working together acceptably, giving rise to muscle spasm, ultimately resulting in pain, muscle tenderness, tissue damage, and stiffness in the jaw, face, and neck.
Our approach with TMJ massage will include tissue release in the surrounding areas, gentle massage on the joint (external or intra-oral), and self-care tools to keep the symptoms at bay.
Cupping Therapy
Cupping is a type of alternative therapy that involves placing cups on the skin to create suction. It is an ancient form of alternative medicine that has been practiced for thousands of years. Typically, the practitioner applies the cup and uses suction to create a negative pressure that draws the skin into the cup. This suction is thought to improve the flow of energy in the body and facilitate healing.
Cupping has been known to increase blood circulation in targeted areas where the cups are placed, relieving muscle tension and promoting cell repair. Cupping has been used for a wide array of medical conditions and it is an effective therapy to add into the myofascial massage if necessary. This technique is on an as needed basis with consent from the client being treated.
Trigger Point Therapy
This massage treatment is very specific to relieve trigger point pressure and pain. A myofascial trigger point is a hyperirritable “locus” which is a sensitive nodule within a taut band of muscle. This has the characteristic to be sensitive upon pressure and compression but upon its release it will filter thru the blood stream and minimize pain.
A trigger point is that nagging pain that can prevent you from full mobility and function, sometimes even breathing. This work can be very relaxing and beneficial for people with everyday pain from work or activity, such as sitting at a computer for many hours. This technique is added to any of the myofascial treatments on an as needed basis.