This is not your typical spa massage. We use bodywork as tool for pain relief, injury prevention, to increase mobility and improve physical performance. Manual therapy relieves tense and tight muscles, soothes aching tendons and restores mobility to stiff joints.

Here is what we do:

Sports massage

The term "sports massage" is often used to entice athletes who are looking for more than the typical "feel good" massage. Athletes are pushing the limits of their body's capabilities - therefore producing extensive toxic by-products and strain to their muscles and joints. As a manual therapist it is important to understand the demands of individual sports - the primary muscle groups, the repeated movement patterns, the endurance demands, and the effects of high intensity training on the body.

Deep TIssue Massage

Deep tissue massage is usually sought out by people looking for more than the "fluffy" stuff. All manual therapy is applied at the the deep tissue level, however, specificity and individuality is again important.

Myofascial Release

"Myo" refers to muscle and "fascial" refers to all the tissue that connects the muscles Myofascial release therefore is all encompassing. Muscle can become tight and sore, losing its elasticity and developing "hot spots" (trigger points) and "knots". Likewise, fascia can become bound and inflamed contributing to rather extensive and sever pain. Myofascial release is a manual therapy technique that softens and releases the muscles and fascia by lifting, bending, and elongating the tissues. Add movement to these techniques and it now becomes Active Release.   

Trigger Point Therapy

Trigger points are essentially "hot spots" in the muscle. When a muscle is tense and tight for a prolonged period of time (exercise, posture etc), the elastic fiber become inflamed producing lactic acid. The lactic acid sits in the muscle, becomes sticky, and eventually leads to a mass of scar tissue that binds the fibers - squeezing out blood and causing pain. These are are also the "knots" that we so often feel in our necks and backs - tense tight muscle somewhere on the spectrum of forming a trigger point. The soft, elastic muscle tissue has become a fibrous mass that needs to be released. 

joint mobilization

Joint health is maintained by free movement in all directions and the lubricating effect of synovial fluid on the cartilage surfaces. Tight muscle, compacted fascia, and/or a stiff joint capsule can result in unnecessary joint compression. Imagine running with a weighted backpack - the spine, the hips, the knees and and the ankles are all being compressed! Utilizing myofascial release in combination with joint mobilization allows for everything to "open" and creates more space in the joints.