Actions for Anti-Racism in Wellness Studios: How Bodyworks DW is Stepping Up

 

We’re committed to anti-racism in wellness. Below are some steps we’re taking to make that clear.

Here’s What We’ve Done So Far on Anti-Racism in Wellness

Fair hiring practices

Bodyworks DW has always used fair hiring practices. What this means is, we review applicants based on their qualifications and experiences. We find that it’s best to put the focus on the ability to do the job. You end up with a diverse staff of people from all walks of life.

Anti-Racism in Wellness: Our Statement of intent

Back in June, our C.E.O and owner David Weintraub made a statement on racial injustice, inequality, and anti-racism in wellness. He outlined how the company hopes to be more vocal on these types of social issues. In it, he states “Black lives matter. Period, end stop.” and highlights our plans for change. You can read the entire post here.

New anti-racism bullet in our mission statement

We’ve added an important note about being anti-racist and anti-sexist to our mission statement. Generally speaking, if you’re a human and are in pain, our goal has always been to help you by providing massage therapy with long term solutions. In order to ensure we deliver the best possible care as healthcare providers, it’s important that we set biases to the side. We strive to both promote anti-racism in wellness and diversity in our workplace and create a known safe space with intentional anti-racist and anti-sexist policies. Read our full mission statement here.

Anti-racism in Wellness Pledge page

Speaking of our anti-racist and anti-harassment policies, we’ve added a page to our website that describes this in detail. We want to make sure staff and clients alike know Bodyworks DW is a space completely intolerant of ignorance. Click here to read the entire pledge.

Actions For Social Change

If you look on our website and click on our page titled Actions For Progressive Social Change, you can see the list of organizations such as the ACLU that we support and proudly donate to regularly.

Read  More....

Post Massage Self Care: How to Take the Benefits of Medical Massage Home with You

David Weintraub, LMT and owner of Bodyworks DW, writes about post massage self care and how you can take the benefits of your medical massage home with you. Stay ahead of your pain!

Medical massage in New York with a NYC licensed massage therapist should be a regular and valuable part of your self care routine. Let’s face it...New Yorkers are not known for doing things gently. We work long hours, slam weights at the gym, and then maybe hit back to back yoga classes. And while this additive approach to health does have it’s benefits, it’s not restorative. Our bodies need time to heal. To help with that, here are some of our best post massage self care practices to take the benefits your medical massage home with you! 

A great medical massage helps to relax both your muscles and your nervous system. It gives your brain time to switch out of your sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight!). And engages your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) in a way that has benefits for long after the massage. 

In a perfect world we would all get massages every other day and feel fantastic 🙂 Given the reality of time and money this is simply not going to happen. However, there are plenty of practices you can take on to extend the great results of your massage between sessions. These will assist you in feeling great, allow you to go longer between massages, and help keep you from getting injured. 

Post Massage Self Care: Practices to take the benefits of medical massage home with you

Lying Down with Your Feet up on a Chair

This is the number 1 homework assignment we give to all of our stressed out massage clients! It’s super easy, and it’s a great excuse to chill out a bit every day. We spend so much time sitting that our muscles get locked up tight in a sitting position. Which helps us to sit, but is terrible for just about everything else we try to do. 

Lying down with you lower legs on a chair puts us in the same position as sitting but without needing to hold ourselves up in gravity. It passively shortens our psoas muscle (main hip flexor), quads, hamstrings, and calves. When you shorten a muscle but don’t make it do any work it gets to completely relax. It usually takes 4-5 minutes for your nervous system to chill enough to truly let go of your muscles. We recommend doing this for 5-8 minutes every night before bed to help you get a really good night's sleep.

All of our clients who have taken this practice on notice huge results in about 2-3 weeks. Decreased low back pain or tension, better sleep, easier mood.

 

Read   More...

How to Avoid a Stiff Neck and Back Pain During Your Flight: A Guest Post by Chiropractor Brent Wells

1.      Use self-massage

If you’re experiencing neck or back pain during your flight, you can also try giving yourself a massage. An easy way to do this is to pack a tennis ball in your carry-on and use it to massage your shoulders and between your lower back and the seat. A tennis ball is all you need to really loosen up your muscles. Many airports offer massages, and it can be tempting to get one before a flight. However, this will only help a bit at the beginning of the flight and disappear by the end of it. Instead, try getting a professional massage the evening that you land. You’ll wake up refreshed and ready!

2.     Try to sleep in a natural position

It can be difficult to stay comfortable during your flight. Try not to twist or contort your body as you’re looking for a good position to rest. As much as you can, sit with your seat reclined and your body aligned. Here’s where a neck pillow can really help to keep your spine straight and forward as much as possible.

3.      Order your favorite beverage and snack

Stay relaxed by ordering your favorite beverage and snack, so that you can enjoy the flight. Stress can be a major factor when it comes to back pain, so do whatever stress-free activities you like. Stay relaxed, watched a movie, enjoy a snack – whatever makes you feel comfortable.

4.      Upgrade to first class

If you’re really struggling with pain on a flight, you can also try to get upgraded to first class, where the seats are wider and more comfortable. You can do this by using your airline points, paying more or bringing a doctor’s note that explains your back condition. Find a way to get a more comfortable seat. Sometimes the investment of first class can make a huge difference to your pain.

5.      Stay hydrated throughout your flight

It’s easy to get dehydrated on a flight. Be sure to ask for water, or bring an empty water bottle through security to later fill with water. For a long flight, it’s important to continue to drink fluids. This will prevent your muscles from getting stiff or tense during those long hours.

For your next flight, follow these nine tips to keep your neck and back pain away. If you struggle with neck and back pain on a regular basis, you should also consider seeing a chiropractor. A chiropractic clinic can give you professional medical advice about whether you need an adjustment, as well as creating a care plan that involves massage, diet, exercise, and supplements. Don’t just cross your fingers that your pain will go away, make an appointment before your upcoming trip. 

If your trip takes you to New York City, book a professional deep tissue massage in Midtown or the Financial District with a highly trained massage therapist at Bodyworks DW Advanced Massage Therapy.

Read  More....

 

 

Advanced Massage for Stress & PTSD Part 2: How to Identify if you have Chronic Stress or possible PTSD?

 

I’ve had a lot to think about in my experiences both working with PTSD clients and also living and working through the last year of covid-19 crisis. The following is theory based on anecdotal data and a lot of scientific reading. Yes I’ve seen it play out with hundreds of clients but I don’t have the time or resources for a true scientific study. So I want to make that clear. But I think it’s a useful paradigm to try out and see what insights it may give us about ourselves and our stress.

We really like to convince ourselves that we are very evolved, and in a lot of ways that is true. We build fantastic machines that perform relative miracles to anything we could conceive of in primitive times. Intellectually, most of us understand that we need thoughtful solutions to modern problems. Including working together as a team on projects that improve our safety and daily lives.

However, a lot of the older nervous system programming shows up under stress and can cause a reversion to our less evolved selves.

10,000 years ago, most problems required a physical solution. Think about pre-tool making. You either gather fruit and other edible plants, or physically catch, wrestle, and kill your food. Or both. In order to hunt (or avoid being hunted), you needed three basic skills: hiding, running, and fighting.

These three skills show up in all animals as instincts and we are no exception. While most of us have learned to largely tame them, they still show up in small and medium ways.

Read More....

How Bodyworks DW uses all of these deep tissue massage techniques in back pain massage in Midtown and Fidi

 

Great massage therapy in NYC needs to have a solid arsenal of techniques. And tools to be able to create an effective and thorough treatment plan. At Bodyworks DW, we have regular advanced trainings for all of our massage therapists. These trainings are designed to improve each therapist’s skills in assessing the primary sources/reasons for your pain. Our therapists come prepared with a toolbox full of the best deep tissue massage techniques. 

Back pain is a prevalent issue addressed by massage therapists for many of you. Each of your massage needs and cases are unique. Therefore, each of our treatments are uniquely customized to you. Your Bodyworks DW massage therapist will carefully consider your symptoms, history, routine and movement patterns. Then they determine how to provide the most effective treatment. We are dedicated to finding what will work best for you. So that you can get back to moving more freely and without pain or discomfort. We offer back pain massage in Midtown and the Financial District in New York City. Would you like to schedule a professional massage with one of our highly trained massage therapists? Contact Bodyworks DW today or click on the button to book online at our back pain massage Midtown or back pain massage Fidi studios!

Read More ..

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. 

For More Information: Deep tissue Massage in New York

How to get a great massage in New York that exceeds your expectations

 

Satisfaction in life has mostly to do with things turning out about how we expect, or better. When things happen below our expectations, we tend to be dissatisfied. I train my industry leading massage therapists at Bodyworks DW on intake and outtake with new clients. A lot of that training goes into how to help clients have realistic goals and expectations for a medical massage in New York. In general, that means helping some clients realize that massage has a lot more to offer than simply relaxation and stress relief. And also helping other clients realize that for most pain issues it takes more than one session to completely relieve their issue. 

Massage in New York can help relieve pain for the long term

If your experience of massage is limited to the occasional hotel spa massage while on vacation… You likely view it as a form of relaxation and stress relief. And no more. If you are in real pain, you’ll go to a chiropractor, physical therapist, or straight to the hospital. And for most massage therapists working at a hotel spa, you are not wrong to think of massage in this limited way. The training requirements for massage therapists vary greatly from state to state. Not to mention country to country. 

For example, here are the training requirements for 4 popular vacation states, and the New York requirements:

• Florida – 500 hours and NCETMB or MBLEx
• California – 500 hours and MBLEx or NCBTMB
• Virginia – 500 hours and MBLEx
• Texas – 500 hours and MBLEx or NCETMB
• New York – 1000 hours and state exam

MBLEx is the “massage and bodywork licensing exam” and is used by many states in the US. NCETMB is the “National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork” test. Both are multiple-choice question tests of a massage therapist’s knowledge. This includes anatomy, technique, and professional ethics. 

For More Information:  Deep tissue massage in midtown 

Deep Tissue Massage for Back Pain: What are the Best Therapeutic Techniques?

 

Back pain massage is one of the most common requests of our massage therapy clients. Deep tissue massage for back pain can be a life saver! Our spine protects and houses a large part of our central nervous system. When trauma or dysfunction happens to your body, it is going to want to protect this region first. One way that your body does this is by sending pain signals to the area. The pain is a signal to rest and heal. Unfortunately, with our busy lives, we tend to ignore this signal. 

“Splinting” (ie contracting) the spinal muscles is another way that your body protects itself. This can help with an immediate injury. But it can exacerbate chronic back pain and tightness. Back pain massage is a holistic approach to rectify this dysfunction. Therapists communicate through touch to your nervous and muscular systems. The massage helps your brain understand that the original injury has healed. When your brain processes that it realizes that it doesn’t need to protect anymore. So it lets your back muscles go. The splinting is no longer necessary.  

Great massage therapists employ many different deep tissue massage techniques

Back pain can be the result of a wide variety of neuromuscular issues. And responses to various kinds of trauma. Therefore, our approach for each client case is unique. Crafting an effective massage requires an understanding of how each technique is going to affect your specific body. Each technique has a specific intention. And also produces a different sensation and result. Massage therapists frequently combine techniques to achieve an overall result. This includes reduction in pain, tightness, and restriction!

Deep tissue massage techniques are most effective for long term back pain relief

Deep tissue massage does involve a higher intensity group of techniques. However, deep tissue massage techniques should not simply to beat up your body. Or cause you unbearable pain! There is a point past which more pressure has no therapeutic benefit. And only causes more pain.

The name deep tissue massage indicates that the techniques are going to produce more intense feelings. This is due to the higher applied pressure and greater specificity of this pressure. However, the sensations should always be bearable to be effective. You should be able to breathe through the intensity. And not flinch or tighten other muscles. The techniques discussed below all fall under the larger umbrella of deep tissue massage.

For More Information: Back pain massage in Midtown 

Deep Tissue Massage for Back Pain: What are the Best Therapeutic Techniques?

 

Back pain massage is one of the most common requests of our massage therapy clients. Deep tissue massage for back pain can be a life saver! Our spine protects and houses a large part of our central nervous system. When trauma or dysfunction happens to your body, it is going to want to protect this region first. One way that your body does this is by sending pain signals to the area. The pain is a signal to rest and heal. Unfortunately, with our busy lives, we tend to ignore this signal. 

“Splinting” (ie contracting) the spinal muscles is another way that your body protects itself. This can help with an immediate injury. But it can exacerbate chronic back pain and tightness. Back pain massage is a holistic approach to rectify this dysfunction. Therapists communicate through touch to your nervous and muscular systems. The massage helps your brain understand that the original injury has healed. When your brain processes that it realizes that it doesn’t need to protect anymore. So it lets your back muscles go. The splinting is no longer necessary.  

Great massage therapists employ many different deep tissue massage techniques

Back pain can be the result of a wide variety of neuromuscular issues. And responses to various kinds of trauma. Therefore, our approach for each client case is unique. Crafting an effective massage requires an understanding of how each technique is going to affect your specific body. Each technique has a specific intention. And also produces a different sensation and result. Massage therapists frequently combine techniques to achieve an overall result. This includes reduction in pain, tightness, and restriction!

For More Information: Deep tissue massage for back pain

Which is the Best Massage Therapist Center in New York?

When choosing a massage therapist in New York, it can be a difficult decision to make, especially when you consider the sheer number of available options. However, Bodyworks DW is here to let you know that we’ve got your back. When you come in for a massage you can rest assured that we will not only help relieve any tension or pain you may be experiencing but also help you identify where it stems from. Our services vary to suit your needs, which oftentimes, make it easier for you to decide what’s best for you.

Sports Massage for Sports and Fitness Injuries

There isn’t a massage therapist in New York that comes close to the detail we apply to our Sports Massage area at Bodyworks DW. When you hear the term “sports”, you may be thinking that this only helps folks who actually are athletes, or maybe those who do lots of swimming, biking, or long-distance running. And, yes, this part of our program does apply to them. However, it is also set up for ordinary working people who, say, have been trying to fit a workout into their workday. The thing is, when you jam spontaneous exercise into the middle of the day like that, you don’t get a chance to warm up and cool down the way you need to, which can lead to injury. If you are feeling like your body is beginning to wear down, even though you’ve been consistently working out, then this service is just what you need.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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. 

Continue Reading

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!

Continue reading

Best Therapeutic Deep Tissue Massage Techniques for Back Pain in New York

One of the most common requests of massage therapy clients is back pain massage. Deep tissue massage techniques can be life savers! Our spine protects and houses a large part of our central nervous system. When trauma or dysfunction happens to your body, it is going to want to protect this region first. One way that your body does this is by sending pain signals to the area. The pain is meant as a signal to rest and heal. Unfortunately, with our busy lives, we tend to ignore this signal. 

The other way that your body protects itself is by “splinting” (contracting) the muscles surrounding your spine. While this can help with an immediate injury, it can exacerbate chronic back pain and tightness.  Back pain massage is a holistic approach to rectify this dysfunction. Therapists communicate to the nervous and muscular systems that the original injury has healed. When the brain processes that it doesn't need to protect anymore it lets your back muscles go. The splinting is no longer necessary.

Great massage therapists employ many different deep tissue massage techniques. Back pain can be the result of a wide variety of neuromuscular issues and responses to trauma. Therefore, the approach for each client case is unique. Crafting an effective massage requires an understanding of how each technique is going to affect your specific body. Each technique has a specific intention and also produces a different sensation and result. Massage therapists frequently combine techniques to achieve an overall result that includes reduction in pain, tightness, and restriction!

Content Source