Types of Massage:

There are a variety of different styles, types and techniques of massage utilized by massage therapists. We've provided a description of some of the more popular and well known types of massage being used today.

Deep Tissue Massage
Shiatsu

Prenatal Massage
Sports Massage

Swedish Massage

Trigger Point Therapy

Face Rejuvenating Massage

Chakra Healing

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Deep Tissue Massage

Deep Tissue massage is designed to relieve severe tension in the muscle and the connective tissue or fascia. This type of massage focuses on the muscles located below the surface of the top muscles. Deep tissue massage is often recommended for individuals who experience consistent pain, are involved in heavy physical activity, such as athletes, and patients who have sustained physical injury. It is also not uncommon for receivers of Deep Tissue Massage to have their pain replaced with a new muscle ache for a day or two. Deep tissue work varies greatly. What one calls deep tissue another will call light. When receiving deep tissue work it is important to communicate what you are feeling.

Facial Massage

It's not simply a beauty treatment that you receive from a spa treatment. The face has numerous nerves and blood vessels that can benefit from the right kind of facial massage. As a result, a good facial massage can help treat many different conditions that affect the facial area. Face massage carries away toxins from the dermal tissues, and allows increased nutrition to flow into the skin, improving its condition. Regular face massage will change the appearance of the complexion, causing the skin to look younger, glow with increased health. However, if the skin is infected, or if there is acne that is red and inflamed, it is better to treat it and wait until the infection has cleared up before proceeding with any kind of massage to the face. A 45-minute facial massage reduced anxiety and alleviated negative mood in healthy adult women, according to recent research.

Prenatal Massage

is similar to massage during non-pregnancy in terms of the goals (relaxation, pain relief, increased circulation & mobility, etc.). However, due to the changes undergone during pregnancy, modification are made. To accommodate swollen tender breasts and a growing belly, special pillows, positioning and techniques are utilized to ensure comfort for both the expecting mother and baby. With increasing weight, a changing center of gravity and the many other changes associated with pregnancy, prenatal massage can help provide relief and a sense of well being that is much deserved.[1]

Shiatsu

(指圧) ("shi" meaning finger and "atsu" meaning pressure.) is an eastern (oriental) born therapy that uses pressure applied with thumbs, fingers and palms to the same energy meridians as acupressure and incorporates stretching. It also uses techniques such as rolling, brushing, vibrating, grasping and in one particular technique developed by Suzuki Yamamoto, pressure is applied with the feet on the persons back, legs and feet (special set up is required for the "foot" shiatsu).[2]

Sports Massage is the management, manipulation and rehabilitation of soft tissues of the body including muscles, tendons and ligaments. Sports massage is actually a blend of Swedish massage and Shiatsu specifically designed to treat professional athletes. At this kind of massage MTs have a definite common goal: utilizing massage techniques to not only treat athletic injuries and chronic pain, but also to aid in the prevention of future damage to the soft tissues. Most commonly, sports massage focuses on increasing blood and lymphatic fluid flow, reducing and eliminating pain as well as tender trigger points, increasing range of motion of the affected area, etc. Sports massages can be broken into 4 distinct types - the pre-event, the post-event, the restorative and the rehabilitative sports massage. As the names indicate, each type of sports massage has a different focus for the athlete as they are delivered at different times during their training and performance schedule. Athletes of all fitness levels should include sports massage into their training regimen and consider allowing the MT to be part of their overall wellness

Swedish Massage

is the most commonly used form of classical Western massage, generally performed in the direction of the heart, sometimes with active or passive movement of the joints. It is used especially for relaxation, relief of muscular tension, breaking up muscle "knots" or adhered tissues, called adhesions, reduction in pain and improvement of circulation and range of motion. Swedish massage involves the use of hands, forearms or elbows to manipulate the superficial layers of the muscles to improve mental and physical health.

Trigger Point Therapy

Trigger points or trigger sites are described as hyperirritable spots in skeletal muscle that are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers. Trigger point practitioners believe that palpable nodules are small contraction knots and a common cause of pain. Compression of a trigger point may elicit local tenderness, referred pain, or local twitch response. The local twitch response is not the same as a muscle spasm. This is because a muscle spasm refers to the entire muscle entirely contracting whereas the local twitch response also refers to the entire muscle but only involves a small twitch, no contraction. The trigger point model states that unexplained pain frequently radiates from these points of local tenderness to broader areas, sometimes distant from the trigger point itself.

Chakra Healing

Chakras are circular energy vortexes located throughout the body. They are your energy processing centers and connect you to the realm of pure consciousness. Their energetic operations are what makes every aspect of our bodily, emotional, mental and spiritual life possible. Because the chakra system is basically responsible for keeping every part of our lives in balance, a blockage of even a single chakra is enough to launch us into chaos. Often wreaking havoc with our physical or mental health,careers,marriages, and spiritual well-being. Practitioner may use Healing Crystals to balance your chakras.