Tag - sports massage

Proprioception and Massage

  Your body has its own genius navigation system that orients you in relation to the space around you. This awareness is known as proprioception and it is described as the ability you have that allows you to touch your nose with your index finger when your eyes are closed, balance on one foot and know where your arm is when you hold it up or put it down by your side without actually looking at it. Even if you [...]

Why Mobility Matters and How Massage Can Help

  “Mobility is the ability of a joint to move freely through a given range of motion (ROM) without restriction from surrounding tissues. Flexibility is defined as the ability of soft tissues (which include muscles, tendons and ligaments) to lengthen correctly, which allows a joint to move through its optimal ROM” ~ movebybjc.org You probably don’t think too much about the gift of mobility in your life. Most of us hop out of bed in the morning, drive our car to work, and freely [...]

How Massage Therapy Can Keep Your Cells Healthy Part 3 of 4

Increased Oxygenation     Oxygen circulates to the cells of the body through the bloodstream. When it reaches the cells, there is a release of toxins and waste as the oxygen molecules flow into the space that the toxins have left behind. When circulation is optimum, oxygen’s many supportive properties help assure the body is energized, properly respirated and that the many cellular functions occur as designed. A massage encourages and increases oxygenation throughout the body because it boosts blood circulation.   Why does [...]

Your Sports Massage and You

Sports massage not only supports joint mobility and helps heal musculoskeletal injuries, but performed regularly, it can also be a great prevention tool against future damage for athletes. Whether you are a runner, dancer, member of a sports team, or an athlete recovering from an injury that has you sidelined, sports massage is an integral protocol you can incorporate to maintain optimum performance capabilities, provide efficient recovery and assure future well-being. Sports massage can be done just prior to a [...]

How Therapeutic Massage Can Help Sciatica

The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body. It runs from the lumbar spine at the lower back, moves through the buttocks and branches out to extend down both legs to the feet.  It is responsible for sensations experienced in the lower back, hips, legs, outside of the knee, upper foot as well as the heels and soles of the feet.  When the sciatic nerve is inflamed or becomes irritated (sciatica), it can cause throbbing, burning pain, [...]

How Massage Can Improve the Pain of Shin Splints

If you are a runner or have drastically changed the intensity of your workouts recently, you might experience the painful condition known as Shin Splints.  Medically known as ‘medial tibial stress syndrome’, it is a condition that refers to pain experienced along the tibia or shinbone at the front of the lower leg.   Are you at risk?  Shin splints develop as a result of repeated stress on the bones, muscles and joints that run from the knee to the ankle. This [...]

How Massage Can Help Heal A Groin Pull


Massage and The Oxytocin Connection

Those feelings of bonding and connection you get when you make love, hug a friend, breathe deeply, walk in nature or pet your cat? They are generated because of the release of Oxytocin, often called the ‘love hormone’. Oxytocin originates in the brain’s hypothalamus and is secreted into the bloodstream by the pituitary. It is a neurotransmitter that affects numerous psychological and physiological responses in the body’s nervous system. Oxytocin also works with an opposing hormone, vasopressin (part of stimulation [...]

Can Massage Help Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

While stress is most notable as an emotional response to overwhelm, the body can become physically stressed from habitual movements repeated over extended periods of time. Stress in this context can cause: swelling, distortion and breakdown in the soft tissue that cushions the bones and tendons; tightness in muscles that leads to constricted circulation and the loss of the muscles’ ability to return to a natural resting state. The resulting disorder called Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) can impair body movement and cause [...]

Sports Massage for Soft Tissue Injuries

A detail image of a female leg being massaged. “Soft tissue” is the collective term commonly used to refer to the “softer” materials of the external parts of the body that exclude bones and joints. Your body is made up of 70% soft tissue such as muscles, tendons, fascia, ligaments, and nerves that connect, support, or surround other structures and organs. The body’s soft tissues are particularly susceptible to injury that can result in anything from minor to very serious depending on [...]