Neck Pain Relief: How we assess the root causes and get you the best results

Neck pain is a super common concern. Physicians estimate that 7 out of 10 of us will suffer from it at some point during our lifetimes. As a licensed massage therapist, neck pain relief is the number one request clients make to me during intake. It’s often coupled with its close relative, shoulder pain — more on that below. Pain medications can help lessen the severity of the symptoms. However, they generally won’t be able to target the root of the problem. 

A licensed massage therapist experienced in assessing the causes of neck dysfunction can help you get to the bottom of your pain. In order to address it most effectively during your visit. They can also help you understand some of the reasons why your neck pain started in the first place. And suggest simple lifestyle changes you might need to make in order to prevent it from coming back as a chronic issue. 

Intake 101: Helpful basic information for neck pain relief

Like a detective trying to solve a crime, a medical massage therapist will want to know certain details about your symptoms. The more clear and precise you can be, the easier you can make it for your therapist to help. Some of you already know exactly what caused or causes the pain. To others, it’s a mystery. To help unmask the root culprits, we’ll ask a series of questions usually from totally open-ended to narrowing down specifics.  

Basic Questions with New Clients

For instance, we might start with open ended questions such as: 

How would you describe the pain?

Neck pain can range from dull ache that doesn’t let up to a sharp, stabbing sensation that comes on only during certain positions or movements.

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Deep Tissue Massage For Injury? When It’s Great and When to Wait!

New Yorkers & our “no pain, no gain” mentalities…which often get us into trouble

A deep tissue massage for your injury will most likely do wonders. However, before getting a deep tissue massage, we need to analyze what kind of injury you’re dealing with. And what stage of injury would allow for it. Better safe than sorry!

Deep Tissue Massage for Injury 101

First let’s make it clear what deep tissue work is. In a nutshell, its a type of massage for injury that is specific and intentional. The strokes are slower and applied with more pressure. This is to target deeper layers of muscles and connective tissue. It’s a massage modality used more often to ease muscle tension and/or improve range of motion… And generally used to alleviate injuries in a chronic stage vs the acute stage.

What is a chronic injury vs. an acute injury? Glad you asked!

What’s chronic pain?

Chronic injuries develop gradually and have existed for months or even years. The pain can go through periods of remission. And come back in unpleasant episodes. Chronic pains exist for long periods of time if the root cause is not properly addressed or treated.

For example, chronic neck pain and shoulder pain is super common. And usually occurs when your job has you sitting in front of your computer 5x a week for 8 hours at a time. There are times where you’re so used to being in low level pain, you don’t even acknowledge it. Sound familiar?

We don’t expect you to be able to quit your job to address your chronic pain. However, allowing this type of discomfort to stagnate will only get worse with time. And even have a ripple effect on the body’s soft tissues. This can cause postural deviations and/or referral pain elsewhere in your body. For chronic pain, we recommend a series of deep tissue massages to discover and deal with the root causes. Such as an older injury that never healed properly.

Once your chronic pain goes away we recommend regularly scheduled deep tissue massage sessions about every 6-8 weeks to keep pain from coming back.

What’s Acute Pain?

Acute conditions are anything but cute! The pain usually is the direct result of an explicit and memorable incident. For example, pain from “rolling” your ankle trying to catch the subway. Or sharp lower back pain after that one extra deadlift rep. The acute stage of an injury is generally the first 48-72 hours after the injury. Even the slightest movement after the injury can be very painful. Also, acute injuries associated with joints, muscles, tendons or ligaments can have swelling, redness and very limited range of motion.

Probably not ideal to get a deep tissue massage in the acute injury phase but, rule out massage altogether? Not so fast…

Deep tissue techniques on the injured area may actually cause further injury! However, a massage that facilitates muscle or joint healing is great for getting you on the right track towards recovery. A knowledgeable massage therapist will mix in lighter swedish style strokes to the injury area. These promote muscle relaxation, and promote faster healing by increasing blood flow to the injury. And in turn removing excess fluid and waste from the injury site.

It won’t magically make the injury go away, but should increase the ability to move through it, put more weight on it, and heal faster. When you can move easier, you’ll increase you own body’s ability to heal itself.

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What is the Purpose of a Deep-Tissue Massage?

A deep tissue massage, a form of massage therapy, consists of applying slow strokes and firm pressure to reach deeper layers of fascia and muscle. It is utilized for chronic aches and pain in areas such as upper and low back pain, stiff neck, sore shoulders, and leg muscle tightness. 

Potential Benefits of Deep-Tissue Massage

The deep tissue massage in New York generally focuses on a specific issue, such as injury rehabilitation, chronic muscle pain, as well as the following conditions:

• Limited mobility
• Low back pain
• Postural problems
• Tennis elbow
• Upper back or neck pain
• Repetitive strain injury
• Muscle tension in the glutes, IT band, legs, hamstring, quadriceps, upper back, or rhomboids
• Sciatica
• Fibromyalgia
• Osteoarthritis pain
• Recovery from injuries (e.g. whiplash, falls)
• Piriformis syndrome

What to Expect 

Even though some of the strokes of deep tissue massage feel like those utilized in Swedish massage therapy, it is not a stronger form of a Swedish massage. 

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Are you noticing pain in your body? Pain often starts with breathing restrictions!

What is the most common issue you see with your clients?

There are many common areas of pain that I see with my clients. Clients will often experience tension in their neck and shoulders. They may also experience low back pain that runs down the side of the leg. But after assessing clients both on and off the table, there seems to be an even bigger commonality. One that affects the whole body. Most of us are experiencing some level of breathing restrictions.

Often this means our core is weak. This can lead to spine destabilization. Although, while the diaphragm is the primary breathing muscle, it’s not always the problem muscle. So, it’s very important to do a thorough intake to get a full scope of an issue.

How do you work to correct issues with breathing restrictions?

There isn’t one right way to treat a client. Everybody is different and can change on the daily. Recently, I’ve been asking my clients do a standing flexion & extension test. The subsequent steps will depend on what has a bigger dysfunction (flexion or extension). Since the body will sacrifice mobility for stability, I check there first. Stability comes from the core. The core includes: the Transverse Abdominals, Internal Abdominal Oblique, Pelvic Floor, Erector Spine group, Diaphragm, Multifidus.

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What to look for in a sports massage therapist

New York City can be an intense and high-energy place. It attracts similar sorts of people.

Everyday you see thousands of runners and cyclists making their way up and down the West Side highway training for races. There are thousands of professional dancers performing in the various musical theatre venues in the city each day as well. Physically active types are a big part of the NYC population. Even the folks you see putting in long hours at their desks during working hours often leave to go workout right after work. They swing kettlebells at their Crossfit gym or do handstands at their yoga studio. With all the athletes in the city, it’s no surprise that working with a top notch sports massage therapist is what many of our clients are searching for.

But what should you look for in a sports massage therapist?

What is sports massage and how can it benefit you?

Before looking for specific qualities in a sports massage therapist, it’s helpful to understand what to expect from a session. Sports massage can comprise any of the manual techniques that a licensed massage therapist is trained in. These techniques are performed with the intention of addressing your specific concerns around your active and/or physically demanding lifestyle.

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Tag Team for Your Shoulder Pain: Massage Therapy and Physical Therapy

The newest medical information is now easy to find online and shows that the surgical boom of the 90’s didn’t actually produce better results for patients with shoulder pain. As a result, more patients are turning to alternative, more conservative treatments (ie non-surgical) for dealing with this. These alternative treatments often include massage therapy and physical therapy.

Surgery frequently relies on images (i.e. MRI, X-Ray) to determine a course of action. However, studies have shown that surgically fixing the anomalies found in these images doesn’t always solve the pain. In fact, for many common pains including low back, neck, and shoulder pain, surgery had similar results to simply doing physical therapy.

Pain medication is used to treat your symptoms, but usually won’t address the root cause. Massage and physical therapy look at the whole picture of your history, body alignment, posture, and movements. Both approach the problem from an integrative and comprehensive perspective. They seek to identify the underlying cause of your shoulder pain and give you the tools to move better without pain.

More About Shoulder Pain and Common Pathologies

Shoulder pain is a common complaint. In primary care scenarios, the reported annual incidence of shoulder pain is 14.7 per every 1000 patients per year. For those with previous shoulder pain, the recurrence rate is about 25%. Additionally, nearly 40-50% of those experiencing previous shoulder pain will still report some pain after 12 months.

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The Rise of Medical Massage in New York City

How massage is grew out of its luxury spa roots into a respected alternative medicine for pain management

David Weintraub LMT & Owner at Bodyworks DW writes about how massage therapy has shifted during his career and how he and his colleagues are pushing the envelopes of what’s possible with massage!

A lot has changed in the 12 years since I graduated massage therapy school. And started practicing medical massage in New York City. When I attended the Finger Lakes School of Massage (FLSM) in 2007, I was part of a very small minority of potential therapists interested in learning medical massage. Our school was one of few programs that taught myofascial release as a major part of it’s program. Larger schools such as Swedish Institute focused almost exclusively on Swedish massage and shiatsu (aka acupressure).

FLSM offered direct training in medical massage and myofascial release techniques. This was one of the main reasons I left NYC and moved to Ithaca for 6 months to attend. FLSM’s program was intensive. 6 months straight working 9-5 monday through friday. Plus many additional hours each day of study and hands on clinic work. Here’s a fun fact to give you an idea of how intensive the program was.

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Deep Tissue Massage & Swedish Massage: What you should know about their differences

Germain Phanord, LMT at Bodyworks DW, writes about the differences you need to know between Deep Tissue Massage and Swedish Massage. Read below!

Swedish massage and deep tissue massage sound like two completely different forms of massage. Surprisingly, they have a fair amount of overlapping techniques. They also have their differences. Knowing these will help you choose the one that works best for you!

The primary goal of Swedish massage is to relax the entire body. Swedish massage uses long gliding strokes, and light to medium pressure. The best way to think of it is like a general tune up.

Deep tissue massage is best for giving attention to painful trouble spots in your body. Generally, it uses slower, more deliberate strokes with medium to deep pressure. Deep tissue massage is used most often for chronic aches & pains such as a stiff neck and upper back, lower back pain, and leg muscle tightness.

Swedish massage techniques for general relaxation

Swedish massage is usually a full-body massage treatment. Some exceptions apply such as in areas that are medically contraindicated. Or if the client asks the therapist to steer clear of an area. Depending on the client’s preferences, a Swedish massage session may involve several or all of the following basic techniques.

Effleurage

Effleurage is the most common stroke in Swedish Massage. It’s a free flowing and gliding movement towards the heart. Often times, effleurage is used to begin a Swedish massage. Since this stroke is used to warm up the muscles and relax the body, it’ll calm the nerves, improve blood circulation, & improve lymphatic drainage.

Petrissage

This technique resembles kneading dough. It involves lifting and rolling the tissue under or between the fingers. Similarly to effleurage, petrissage is designed to release muscle tension, improve blood flow, & increase lymphatic drainage.

Friction

Friction strokes are great for removing scar tissue. The massage therapist will apply pressure by placing either the pads of thumbs, knuckles, fingers, or forearms on the affected area. The movement will be a continuous back & forth motion or an alternating circular motion.

Vibration

Vibration is performed by gently shaking the body with the palm or fingertips. It will release muscle tension in small areas, such as along the spine. It’s also super relaxing!

Tapotement

Tapotement, or tapping and percussion, is a quick choppy rhythmic movement that has a stimulating or toning effect. You see this often in massage done on TV or in a movie as it looks very dynamic. The effects are similar to vibrational techniques but it’s a bit more vigorous.

Deep Tissue Massage Techniques for Specific Issues 

Although Deep tissue and Swedish massage use many of the same techniques, they have different intentions. The amount of pressure used in these two kinds of massage vary greatly. In addition, deep tissue massage includes more specialized techniques for treating specific issues. The most common two are below: 

Myofascial Release

What’s fascia, you ask? Well, fascia is the connective tissue that glues your muscle fibers together. It many ways, it holds you together, but it can also get stiff and tight, causing you pain. Myofascial Release is a technique involving slow, sustained pressure into muscle tissue. This slow pressure stretches and releases your fascia. In addition, this technique can effectively break up knots and release trigger points. It helps improve movement, flexibility, exercise related soreness, and muscle function. Over a series of sessions, myofascial release will also realign and improve posture!

Trigger Point Therapy

A trigger point is a tight area within muscle tissue that causes pain in other parts of the body. These points are frequently formed as a result of trauma to the muscle fibers. Trigger Point Therapy consists of pressing and holding these points for 5-20 seconds. At first, this can feel intense, but it will then release into major relief. This type of therapy can help clients that are experiencing headaches, low back pain, sciatica, sports injuries and more. You can experience a significant decrease in pain after just one treatment!

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Shoulder Pain Treatment and Relief

Sometimes we feel like we are carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders due to stress or anxiety from work or other areas of our life. Many times stress as well as injury can make the shoulders physically feel like the weight of the world is pressing down on the body. When it comes to shoulder pain, it is essential to find some sort of treatment and relief. Shoulder pain can easily get out of hand, leading to headaches and other issues. By learning more about shoulder pain massage in the New York area, you can find ways to treat your symptoms.

 

Interfering With Life

Shoulder pain can be exhausting and easily interfere with your daily life. You may have trouble completing tasks at work due to the immense pain you are feeling or fall behind with your chores at home. You may be unable to play with your kids or help with bath time or even pick up your child due to the pain you are feeling. You may be asking yourself, how to do I find shoulder pain massage near me? What can services provide? By accessing this quality treatment option, you can find relief for your all your shoulder pain symptoms.

Shoulder Pain Causes

Shoulder pain is common among adults, due to a variety of reasons. The shoulders tend to be susceptible to injury due to the unstable design of this area of the body. The ball and socket joint system can easily be affected by dislocation or injury. We use our shoulders for lifting, pushing, reaching and throwing, among other movements, so any odd twists or turns can cause an injury.

Once injured, you will need treatment in order to heal the area. Massage is a great way to provide physical therapy to the body and help the muscles get back to normal.

Common Shoulder Conditions

Shoulder pain massage in the New York area can be used to treat a number of conditions. Of course, if your shoulder is injured and pain is intense, you should consult a physician first. They will then help you find a source of treatment which can include massage.

One example of a common shoulder injury involves the rotator cuff. Most injuries of the rotator cuff are a result of repetitive stress on the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the shoulder and/ or the scapula. When you have a repetitive motion in this area, the cuff is worn down and inflammation begins which causes pain and limited mobility.

With physical therapy and massage, you can begin to feel less pain and heal the injury. Massage balls are often used in this area to work out the tension as well as the pain felt due to the injury.

Another common issue involving this area of the body is known as Frozen Shoulder. Basically, the shoulder is immovable. The area is susceptible to sticky inflammation and this creates a reduction in the amount of mobility of the shoulder. The symptoms are similar to arthritis.

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Massage Therapy for your Office Injury: Why they occur and how to stop them!

Meghan Krupka

Meghan Krupka, LMT, talks about the demands of your job, the toll it can take on your body, and the office injury it may come with.




According to studies completed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, musculoskeletal disorders cost approximately $15 billion in workers’ compensation costs each year. Per data collected in 2013, musculoskeletal disorders also accounted for about 33% of all office injury and illness cases. The most common of these injuries are related to the neck, shoulders and back. In addition, sedentary time and time in front of screens has only increased over the years.

Today, the work hard, play hard and hustle mentalities are the foremost attitudes adopted by many New Yorkers. We spend a lot of time sitting in front of computers, on phones and handling stressful situations. The pile up is causing more and more office related injuries. What can you do to help alleviate your pain? Seek out a medical massage in New York City!

Our bodies are designed to move and be dynamic!

However, modern day work and office culture emphasizes sitting for long periods of time. Prolonged sitting wreaks havoc on our spines. This creates muscle imbalances and restricts our ability to move easily. Over time poor posture can lead to an office injury and inhibit our enjoyment of daily life.

Massage therapy, particularly medical massage, offers a holistic approach to combating office injuries and postures. It goes beyond addressing just the symptoms of your pain. Medical massage can also address emotional issues related to pain and stress such as depression, anxiety and poor sleep. These are also commonly tied to office stressors.

First things: what exactly do we mean by posture? And “good” posture?

Posture refers to how you hold yourself upright. It is how you carry yourself both in motion, stillness, and rest. Posture is dynamic, it is not static. Even when you are still, your muscles are working in concert to keep you upright.

Posture is also your body’s response to any resistance that tries to disrupt your balance. The most well-known resistive force is, of course, gravity 🙂 Our posture is also a collection of our physical and emotional habits in relation to others.

Having “good” posture then means your body is able to adapt to the physical and emotional stresses imposed on it. Without causing you pain. It needs to be able to do this dynamically. “Good” posture is being able to move and change your shape to minimize stress. The “best” posture for any given situation is the most efficient. The one that needs the least muscular force and uses the least amount of energy to sustain.

Therefore, “poor” posture would be highly habitual shapes that overuse muscles and energy to resist outside stressors. The result is an uncomfortable shape. Over time the discomfort will progress to pain or office injury. These “poor” postures frequently arise in an office environment. Let’s face it, our bodies were not designed to sit for long periods. If they were, we’d probably be shaped like a weeble wobble!

Upper Crossed Syndrome: hunched shoulders, rounded back and forward head posture

Upper crossed syndrome is your typical upper body desk posture after a long day of staring at the screen. You are leaning in close to your computer, shoulders rolled forward, head and neck craning towards your screen and upper back is rounding. In this position, your front (anterior) muscles are in a contracted or shortened position. Your back (posterior) muscles are being overstretched. This postural habit, when prolonged, frequently results in neck, shoulder and back pain. It can even end up restricting breathing.

Medical massage therapy in New York City is great for lengthening and encouraging the muscles that are shortened to release. Great medical massage therapists will also provide at-home corrective exercises to address the stretched muscles. These often need strengthening and activation exercises to fully address upper crossed syndrome.  These are great ways to combat your office injury.

In an office or desk setting, upper crossed syndrome can often go hand in hand with lower crossed syndrome.

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Prenatal Massage: A Guide to a Peaceful Pregnancy

Ruth Anselm, Senior LMT, explains what prenatal massage is & why it helps. Read below to find out how we can help you have a smooth pregnancy.

Pregnancy is accompanied by thousands of emotional and physical changes. Even the “easiest” and “best” ones come with an array of challenges. An effective prenatal massage therapist can help with these challenges, both throughout your three trimesters and after pregnancy. In decades past, most women were advised to avoid massage during the first trimester. Medical studies have since found that as long as you are healthy, massage during the first trimester is totally okay!

Whether you’re looking for a massage therapist in midtown or downtown New York, you’ll want to make sure you are seeing a massage therapist who has experience with pre and postnatal massage. One who can help set some of your concerns at ease. There are a tremendous number of things that newly pregnant women are told they “should” and “must” do or not do. These messages can be overwhelming 🙂 A great prenatal massage therapist makes sure that you feel listened to, comfortable, and that lines of communication are open.

From Finding Out to a New Family: What happens along the way?

The following is a loose guideline on what to expect and when you’ll likely experience it. As well as how to find massage therapy in midtown, downtown, and the greater New York area to help.

1st Trimester/Prenatal Massage: “It’s positive!” to “This is really happening!”

This is the first 12 to14 weeks where women tend to feel exhaustion, mild to severe nausea, hormonal fluctuations, headaches and constipation. During this time prenatal massage is helpful for treating headaches and for managing stress levels. However, if you have a high risk pregnancy, massage is not recommended during the first trimester. If nausea is severe you likely won’t be interested in massage or able to travel to it.

If you’re feeling well, though, this is a great time to start getting into a regular routine of self care. This includes prenatal massage therapy! Keeping yourself as relaxed as possible is very important throughout the entire pregnancy to create a happy home environment for the baby that they will want to stay and grow in.

2nd Trimester: Mama’s got a whole new body.

Somewhere between 13 and 27 weeks you will start to notice your belly growing. Physically, things start changing very quickly during this time. Many suggest this is the time you will feel your best. It is also when prenatal massage starts becoming more essential for maintaining maximum comfort.

You may have already started experiencing Round Ligament Pain. This is normal (it’s a sharper pain around the groin and front of the hip area). Unfortunately not much can be done for this except making minor adjustments on your own when standing up. It is, however, a foreshadowing of what many women begin to experience around weeks 20-30.

Your hips start to widen relatively fast to support your growing belly. A typical complaint may be a deep ache in the outer hips and/or low back and often feels constant! The muscles supporting this area tend to go into spasm in response to the expansion. They benefit greatly from detailed and specific massage to release them.

Leg cramps are another common issue. They can wake you up in the night suddenly or just be an ongoing tight area. There are some specific points around the ankles and feet that should be avoided. A trained prenatal massage therapist will know about them. Work in the hips and upper legs can help with blood flow to the lower leg. More gentle work can be done in the lower legs to help relieve cramping.

3rd Trimester: Please give up your seat to the elderly, disabled, and PREGNANT LADY!

This is 28 weeks up to the time you give birth. At this point your body is likely dying for a prenatal massage! Although you’re getting so close, the last 10-12 weeks can feel longer than the rest of the pregnancy combined. You have trouble with shoes and stairs… and SLEEP.

Sleep is vital and the most important thing you can give yourself is rest. Getting comfortable is what it is all about now. Having a date with yourself and your massage therapist may only bring temporary relief, but often leads to the best sleep you get all week later that evening! The strain on your body tends to be pretty substantial. Some women notice it just in their legs and hips. Others in their neck and jaw, any and all parts of the back, and many times the feet. You name it, we’ve heard and seen it in our prenatal massage clients.

You never know how your body will respond to pregnancy and it’s always unique to the individual. Working to create as much ease in the areas of discomfort can make more room for the baby to find a comfortable position. Anytime more room is made, that little child is going to find it and take it. If muscles are relatively relaxed it helps with efficiency in the body when moving with that extra weight. Later it helps with the labor!

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Working Below the Knee May Help Your Neck Pain

Rachel Simhon

Rachel Simhon, LMT and featured therapist of the month tells us why working below the knee can relieve neck pain. Don’t believe it? Take a look yourself!

Why did you get into massage therapy?

My background as a yoga and Pilates instructor specializing in pain management and injury rehabilitation inspired me to pursue a career in massage therapy. I’ve always been a very hands-on movement instructor. Manual therapy felt like a natural extension of the sort of work I was already doing. I also very much experience the world around me through touch! It made sense to take a step further, seeking formal training in a modality where I could focus on that. Keep reading to learn about the connection between your neck pain and everything below the knee!

Most common pain your clients experience?

The most common pain issue clients report to me is neck pain & shoulder pain. However when clients are on the table, everywhere below the knee frequently seems to be the most aggravated. This isn’t a coincidence. I often find a relationship between forward head carriage and tension in the calf muscles. I always do a thorough movement assessment at the beginning of an appointment. This helps me to see how the client is and isn’t able to move.

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What does a Massage Therapist do?

Meghan Krupka

Meghan Krupka, LMT at Bodyworks DW, writes about what your friendly neighborhood massage therapist is working on to improve their work when they aren’t working on you:) Read below!

Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of your massage therapist is like? Certainly, a majority of our time is spent interacting with and treating you, our clients. In addition, a good massage therapist will also be spending time improving their craft. Staying up to date on current research, and working on your treatment plans!

Holistic healthcare practices have gained significant traction over the last decade. The role of the massage therapist in healthcare is now accepted and integrated into the mainstream. Studies have shown that massage therapy improves a person’s well-being, whether that be physical, mental, or both. Given its growing presence, we believe it is important for you to know a bit more about it. And about how the person who shows up when you search for “a good massage therapist near me” spends their time 🙂

The main event: massage therapy session

The primary job of a massage therapist is to work with and treat you in a session. We use touch and manual manipulation, also commonly called manual therapy. This affects muscles and their surrounding tissues. Clients may come to a massage therapist for a wide range of reasons. Relaxation, pain relief, injury management, stress relief, general wellness. The therapist aims to relieve pain, assist in healing injuries, provide additional bodily circulation, relieve stress and increase relaxation.

Let’s say you have made an appointment with a massage therapist in New York and have arrived at the studio. Your therapist will greet you, and take some time to review your medical history, daily routines & activities. As well as any recent or “out-of-the-norm” events such as injuries. You can also expect an experienced massage therapist to check out your posture and how you move. All of this information allows your therapist to carefully create a plan to best address your pain and chief complaints. Even if you are simply coming in for a maintenance massage, general well-being, or relaxation, you can still expect all the above so we can provide you with an optimal session.

Additional Evaluation Techniques Your Massage Therapist May Use

Depending on the reason for your appointment, your massage therapist may use additional testing techniques to evaluate your condition. These may involve modalities such as kinesiology which tests your relative muscle strength and function. Or looking at specific joints’ range of motion and tissue quality. These all help us to further determine which techniques to use. And which rehabilitative exercises or homework we may want to send you home with so you can continue to reap benefits.

After talking and evaluating, your massage therapist will lay out your treatment plan for you for today’s session and likely for follow up sessions. More often than not, multiple sessions will be needed to fully address your concerns. And for your body to accept and integrate changes. While we are the experts with anatomical knowledge and training, we always want to make sure you agree with and will be comfortable with our proposed approach before we start the massage.

Once the session is complete, your massage therapist will discuss with you how you feel and ask if you notice any improvements. They will also take another look at your posture or re-evaluate muscle and joint conditions to see what’s changed. And they will go over 1-3 at home exercises they think might be beneficial for you in between sessions.

Developing your treatment plan and course of action

Many times during a session, your therapist will find areas on you needing attention that weren’t initially included in the original plan for the massage. This is normal. As current aches and pains lessen, the older underlying roots of it may come to the surface. These can be addressed in future sessions.

Consider making a commitment to stick with it and work through these seemingly unrelated areas of the body. It will make a huge difference in whether or not your present pains stay away for the long term or come back later.

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5 Self Massage Moves for Back and Neck Pain

Whether it be to work out sore muscles, help relax your tense body, or simply because it can clear your mind, a massage works wonders. While getting weekly, biweekly, or even monthly massages from a licensed massage therapist in New York City, or any city, might seem like the only option, in fact, you can actually practice self-massage therapy. It helps you along with a licensed massage therapist. Doing these self-massage techniques can help to complement the therapy you’re doing with a licensed therapist. Whether you are experiencing chronic neck pain or excruciating back pain, save yourself the time and money and learn different self-massage moves.

• Back of the Neck Pain

Neck pain can be one of the most irritating things to deal with because of the delicate area that it sits, between the back and head. Self massage can do wonders for this area to supplement a neck pain massage in New York. To help soothe this pain, take two to three scarves or towels and maneuver them into a braid-like shape. From this point you will place them behind your neck and move it up and down, helping to release tension.

• Upper Back Pain

Upper back pain can be caused by many different things, including

• Stress
• Lack of sleep
• Shoulder problems
• And many more issues.

To correct this yourself, stand against a wall and place a tennis ball between your justify shoulder blade and spine. Once this is set up, press your body against the ball and move up and down and side to side, keeping it relatively in the same area. After this is done, repeat it on the right side and your upper back pain should begin to lessen.

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How To Find a Chiropractor or Acupuncturist During The Holidays

David Weintraub, LMT & Owner at Bodyworks DW, writes about how to find effective pain management when you are traveling away from NYC. Read below!

What do you do when your back goes out and you are away from home?!

If you are reading this, odds are you are in New York City. And quite possibly already a happy massage therapy client at our studio. We think our blogs are relevant and important info. But we’d be fooling ourselves if we thought that Google would show them much outside of our home turf, NYC. For many of you, you already know what to do when you back (or other area) goes out of whack. Book a massage with our team of talented therapists for back pain massage in the New York area! When you are out of NYC, we recommend working with a chiropractor or acupuncturist instead. And we’ll show you how to find a good chiropractor or acupuncturist! Travel is tough on our bodies. And holidays with family can often add even more stress into the picture. It’s not at all uncommon for injuries to crop up while away from home. There are a lot of possible causes: 

• Different mattresses and pillows than you are used to
• Long plane flights crammed into uncomfortable seats
• Eating foods outside your normal diet
• Being thrown into other people’s schedule
• Your uncle/aunt/mother/grandfather asking you repeatedly why you haven’t gotten married/had kids/gotten a promotion/found a partner/insert existential dread here…..

Counterintuitively, we don’t recommend getting a massage if you are away from NYC and in real pain. Before we show you how to find a chiropractor or acupuncturist instead, we need to tell you why!

Why we recommend chiropractic care or acupuncture instead of massage while out of New York

If you are just feeling sore and tired from a long flight, by all means go ahead and book a massage at a spa nearby. Most massage therapists around the country, and frankly the world, have enough training to provide a decent relaxing full body massage. However, if you are in real pain, you need to make sure you find someone who has the training and experience to help you. New York State massage therapists have much higher education requirements that most other states. New York requires a minimum of 1000 hours of training to complete school and get a license. Most other states only require between 500-700 hours. That extra 300-500 hours of training makes a real difference. Between being able to provide medical massage vs a spa massage. Of course, it’s totally possible that you will end up with someone great and experienced, but it can be a gamble.

Massage Therapy does not have national standards. So don’t count on other states having therapists at the level you are used to in New York!

There is no national standard for massage therapy (yet). There are minimum national requirements for chiropractors and acupuncturists. Both disciplines routinely deal with pain management. If you find someone with a decent number of 5 star reviews on Google, you’ll likely walk away with less pain. While there is still no way to guarantee you’ll get what you need the odds are higher. And if you follow our guide on how to find a chiropractor or acupuncturist, you’ll have an even greater chance of walking out pain free. In states with lower requirements for massage therapy, you’ll have to rely solely on recommendations and reviews. And on their having taking advanced training courses. These courses often use language that is hard to decipher. If you aren’t up on the latest terms (pediatric oncology massage, traditional kinesiology, etc….anyone?) it will be hard to tell what you are getting.

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