How to Take the Benefits of Medical Massage Home with You

 

David Weintraub, LMT and owner of Bodyworks DW, writes

David Weintraub

about 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 and our bodies need time to heal. Here are some of our best at home and at work practices for taking 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.

Restorative 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, our muscles get locked up in a sitting position. Which helps us 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 really huge results in about 2-3 weeks. Decreased low back pain or tension, better sleep, easier mood. Check out this video to see what it looks like and give it a try!

Contrast Hydrotherapy

Contrast hydrotherapy is a great way to take the benefits of medical massage home with you. It involves alternating applications of heat and cold to an area (or your whole body). The heat opens up blood vessels and tissues and relaxes the nervous system. The cold constricts the blood vessels and tissues and excites the nervous system. Alternating back and forth between them creates a pumping system for the area. This draws out damages such as bruising and brings in new blood with nutrients. The contrast creates a greater therapeutic result than either heat or cold alone.

Local contrast hydrotherapy for acute conditions anywhere on the body

1. Apply a heat pack to the area for 5 minutes
2. Apply an ice pack or rub an ice cube into the area for 1 minute
3. Repeat this 3 times, ending on ice

Local contrast hydrotherapy for carpal tunnel syndrome or ankle sprains

1. Get two washbasins large enough to be able to place your whole forearm or feet into
2. Fill one with hot water (as hot as you can stand)
3. Fill the other with cold water (as cold as you can stand)
4. Dunk you whole forearms into the hot basin so that the water is above the elbow (or your whole foot so that the water is above the ankle)
5. Hold for 5 minutes
6. Dunk area into the cold basin for 1 minute
7. Repeat 3 times, ending on cold

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Do You Have Low Back Pain? Here Are 4 Ways Massage Can Help!

Lower back pain is very difficult to deal with and it plagues many people across the nation. Finding the right way to get rid of the pain or relieve it can be hard to do. Most people do not want to have to rely on prescription medications to get relief from their pain. Lower back pain can cause you to miss out on work or life in general if it gets too bad.

Whether it is due to an injury, overwork, or just an issue you’ve dealt with for your lifetime, a back pain massage in New York may be the solution you’re looking for. Take a look at four different ways that a massage can help you relieve your lower back pain.

 

Increase The Blood Flow

If you have injured yourself when you were working out or if you were picking up items that were very heavy, back pain massage Midtown can help you out. By receiving a massage, it will increase the blood flow to the muscles around the injury which brings the nutrients to the area to help restore and heal. This is a great way to assist with healing any type of soft tissue injury you may have in your lower back region. Increasing the circulation and blood flow to the area will help to relieve the soreness as well.

 

Increase Your Endorphin Levels

Endorphin is the “feel good” hormone in your body. It helps you to feel relaxed and generally happy overall. When you’re dealing with back pain, it is hard to feel good as every move can be excruciating depending on the type of injury and severity. When you’re dealing with chronic pain in your lower back or neck area, you can face emotional struggles as well. Depression and anxiety can set in and the more endorphin you have going through your body, the better you will feel. By utilizing a back pain massage near you, your body can release endorphins to help you feel better and heal faster.

Top 5 Reasons to get a Medical Massage in Midtown

Evana Class

Evana Class, Senior LMT at Bodyworks DW, writes about why you should receive a medical massage in Midtown with Bodyworks DW! 

Bodyworks DW has always focused on the effectiveness medical massage for pain relief. We look for the root causes of your pain, taking care to learn why the pain/discomfort is there. This helps both us and you work together to your continuing a healthy lifestyle. Medical massage in Midtown and Fidi is not just for those of you who are injured or reviving form surgery. It can be a great tool for preventing pain and for preparing for a big event. That 100 meter race, marathon, or that redeye 10 hour flight!

Reason #1: We have the same fantastic qualified massage therapists in Midtown as in Fidi

Each massage therapist in midtown also works in our Financial District Location. Every massage therapist takes part in regular advanced trainings with owner David Weintraub. And combined these trainings with their own talents and skills to create unforgettable medical massage experiences. 

Each therapist is dedicated to improving their knowledge to meet the needs of many different kinds of clients. Our large team gives you the flexibility to find the therapist that feels like the best fit for you. 

There is also great communication among the team. If you have to change therapists due to a schedule conflict, you’ll be well taken care of by anyone on our team. Our massage therapists share notes with each other, do regular research, and ask advice when they feel like they have hit a roadblock. The entire team is dedicated to finding what treatments will work best for your pain. We work collaboratively to be the most helpful to you. 

This has lead to a substantial growth, since our happy clients send us their friends and family to work with. Our FiDi location is often fully booked on any given day. Especially during the popular post-work and weekend times. Which is the main reason we chose to create Bodyworks DW Midtown, so we can help more of you

Reason #2: Our Midtown Studio is Super Accessible!

Whether you live or work nearby or take public transportation, Midtown is very convenient. Grand Central Station is a mere 2 short blocks away. There are many subway lines through this major hub. The 4, 5, 6 green line trains running along the East side of Manhattan stops here. The 7 trains from Time Square to Queens stops here. And the S shuttle to Times Square stops here.

Coming from Westchester or Connecticut? You can leave the car and take Metro North, also at Grand Central station. Lots of our clients make a stop here after work before heading back North. It’s great place to take a break from the office or after work before the long commute home!

For those of you working or living in midtown or anywhere North of 14th street, Bodyworks DW Midtown is available for your best medical massage in New York!

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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!

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How Sports Massage Can Help Reduce Pain, Recover from Injuries and Improve Performance

Sports massage is a popular treatment option among athletes because it provides a way to stay injury-free as well as complete activity at optimal performance. The term sports massage is used to describe a range of techniques of massage therapy targeted at enhancing athletic performance as well as fitness training. A Sports massage therapist in NYC can provide techniques that will help with joint range of motion, provide passive stretching, compression, and other rehabilitative therapies. If you play sports or take part in a regular fitness activity, learning more about sports massage midtown can help your performance.

Categories of Sports Massage

There are three categories involved in sports massage midtown therapies: pre-event, post-event and maintenance. With pre-event, a massage will be provided the night before or on the day of the event. Treatment can be set up on location if needed. The goal is to provide an increase in circulation for the muscles as well as to stimulate the nervous system. This helps to increase the mobility of your joints and provide relaxation. Depending on the sport you take part in, range of motion as well as targeting active and passive stretching may be provided.

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Medical Massage in New York at Bodyworks DW

Medical massage therapy is massage offered for the purpose of a therapeutic benefit

All professional massage therapies have some therapeutic value. Medical massage is different because its ultimate goal is providing a therapeutic treatment, not just relaxation. This treatment takes different forms. Goals can vary considerably between different clients. Having a massage therapist with strong training in medical massage in New York is something you can count on. It's part of every licensed massage therapists' 1000+ hours of training during school.

Medical massage is often recommended by another health professional. And is performed as part of a larger treatment plan. For example, your physical therapist may refer you for massage therapy. Medical massage can loosen your muscles, improve muscle tone, increase flexibility, and increase range of motion.

Qualified and licensed professionals are required for the best treatment

Licensed massage therapists use their extensive knowledge of physiology and anatomy to design sessions to be effective. Most professionally licensed massage therapists will tailor the sessions to the needs of each patient.

First you and your massage therapist will first sit down for a brief intake interview. During the interview you will get to discuss your affected areas and symptoms. In addition they will ask about your medical history. Then they will perform a general postural assessment. The first session will be structured to meet your needs and be part of a plan for future sessions. The goal is to find the fastest and least resource (time and money) consuming way to relieve your symptoms.

If you are looking for medical massage in New York, our massage therapists have more training than most other states. The average massage therapist in the United States has about 600 hours of training. In New York, massage therapists are required to have 1,000+ hours of training in order to be licensed. This includes many hours of medical massage training. Medical massage in New York can be done well by any practitioner with a New York State license.

In other states, you’ll want to research whether your massage therapist has post school training in medical massage to be sure they are qualified to work on your specific condition.

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Neck Pain Massage Therapy: Designing Effective Lasting Treatments

Why effective neck pain massage therapy shouldn't focus exclusively on your neck

Neck pain is a very common issue. Our phones and devices are constantly pulling our attention. Our head follows our eyes putting us in a "head forward" position. This pulls the muscles in the back of your neck into a constant stretch. And makes them work extra hard to fight the weight of your head. Muscles hate being stretched and working hard. So they yell at you with achy pain. Thankfully, neck pain massage in New York and can be an effective and lasting treatment...when done properly.

Does this sound like you?

a) Sitting at a desk staring at your screen for 40+ hours a week

b) Looking down at your phone multiple times a day

c) Reading your tablet in bed while propping your head up on a pillow

All of these habits tighten your anterior neck muscles (the ones in front). While simultaneously pulling on the posterior neck muscles (the ones in back).

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How to Find the Massage Therapist for You

Massage Therapy is gaining in popularity and recognition as a legitimate and powerful tool. It heal injuries, relieves stress, and improves overall health. However, to the uninitiated looking for high-quality care, the search can be confusing. There's a dizzying array of different treatment styles all under the umbrella of massage. Here is our guide to finding a great massage therapist in New York and everywhere else!

1. Find a State Licensed Massage Therapist.

If you’re not sure, ask if they’re licensed and registered with your state.

To us in the industry, this is obvious. But there are many people out there offering massage who are not state licensed, and not state registered. Licensing is important because it means there's a baseline of safety protocols that the therapist follows. These include proper privacy draping, extensive knowledge of anatomy and physiology, and required knowledge of scope of practice.

Massage Therapy licensure in New York State requires a minimum of 1000 hours of schooling and clinical practice. There's also a comprehensive written exam that must be passed.

Many unlicensed establishments offering massage are fronts for unseemly practices. Therefore, if you want a legitimate, professional massage therapist, make sure you’re booking appointments with state licensed practitioners. An LMT has specific training in communicating effectively with you about your needs. They'll make your safety and comfort while receiving massage therapy a priority.

This includes proper draping practices to make sure private areas on your body are always covered. Also, the ability to talk you through the therapeutic reasons for working close to these areas. And the professionalism of always allowing you, the client, to make your own choices on what work you are willing to receive.

For New York State, you can verify a therapist’s license, at the NYS Office of Professions verification service.

2. Do research about which modalities of massage are right for you.

Not everyone will need the same approach. Not all therapists use the same techniques.

There are seemingly a million and one types of massage therapy and bodywork out there. Such as, swedish, shiatsu, sports massage, deep-tissue, Rolfing, Feldenkrais, tui-na, thai massage, craniosacral, orthobionomy, reiki, zero balancing, ashiatsu, polarity therapy. As a result, if you’re not sure what something is, do some research beforehand! Clarity is important.

Make sure you’re getting information from reputable sources, such as the American Massage Therapy Association website.

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Lower Back Pain Treatment with Massage Therapy in New York

Why medication or surgery is only masking the root cause of your pain

Lower back pain from bulging or herniated discs often seems to come out of nowhere. In reality there are usually other root causes. An older ankle or knee injury can create an imbalance in the body leading to lower back pain. Compensation patterns from older injuries put asymmetrical pressure on the lumbar spine. The lumbar spine is the part of your spine located in your lower back. Eventually this pressure can cause one or more lumbar discs to bulge. If the bulge presses on nerve pathways, light to extreme pain can result.

How Traditional Approaches can Fail

The most common surgical approach is called a laminectomy. This surgery tries to correct pressure on the nerves by shaving down part of the bulging discs. However, the root cause older injury is still affecting your body. The pressure is still there on the lumbar spine. A laminectomy can eliminate the pain symptoms for a short period. However, in many cases a new bulge pops out in another disc later. This usually makes the problem even worse later on.

Medications such as pain relievers and anti-inflammatories mask symptoms. This feels good and sometimes can help you move through the issue by allowing you to stretch into the stuck area again.

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Chiropractic Treatment of Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain is a problem that many people suffer from. Some patients suffer from shoulder pain due to a sports injury, while others are diagnosed with tendinitis of the shoulder and neck. Whatever your cause for shoulder pain, the physical feelings you are experiencing can lead to difficulty in the performance of everyday activities. Your work, school or even everyday living may suffer. Thankfully, there is a solution.

With chiropractic care and shoulder pain massage New York services combined, you can find relief. Two of the most effective treatment options for shoulder pain are chiropractic care and massage therapy. Both treatments are non-invasive and provide substantial relief from pain in the shoulder area.

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Shoulder Pain: What’s Causing Yours and How Massage Therapy can Help

Shoulder pain is one of the most common issues people face today. The shoulder is a very complex set of muscles and bones designed for a large variety of movements. In order to gain that freedom of movement, evolution had to sacrifice some stability. This makes shoulders especially vulnerable to injury. Both impact injuries such as a torn rotator cuff, and overuse injuries such as a pinched nerve. Thankfully, shoulder pain massage can work wonders on many types of shoulder pain.

How Your Shoulders Work - Two Joints, Not Just One!

The shoulder actually consists of two distinct joints, the shoulder joint and the shoulder girdle.

The Shoulder Joint

The arm bone (humerus) connected to socket of the shoulder blade makes up the shoulder joint. The shoulder joint allows for movement of the arm in many directions. All while keeping the shoulder blade locked in place. Your shoulder joint can move your arm forwards, backwards, sideways. As well as rotating your arm in the socket.

There are many different muscles that attached to the humerus and allow for these movements. The pectoral major, latissimus, and deltoid create forwards, backwards, and sideways movements of the arm. The rotator cuff set of muscles creates rotational movements. Contrary to popular belief there is no “rotator cuff muscle.” The rotator cuff actually refers to a set of 4 different muscles: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres major, and subscapularis.

The Shoulder Girdle

The shoulder girdle is made up of the shoulder blade and clavicle (collarbone) and their relation to the ribcage. The shoulder girdle allow for movement of the shoulder around the ribcage without having to move the arm. When you roll your shoulders without lifting your arms you are moving your shoulder girdle joints.

There are a lot of different muscles that move the shoulder girdle. These include trapezius, rhomboids, levator scapula, serratus anterior, and pectoralis minor. Interestingly, the shoulder girdle bones are basically free floating on top of the rib cage. The clavicle is attached to the sternum by ligaments in the way we think of most joints working. With the bones close together and separated by cartilage. There is a ligament that attaches the shoulder blade to the ribs. However, it is long and allows for a lot of movement. Making it unlike other ligaments in the body. This ligament's basic function is to keep the shoulder girdle from shifting too far in any direction.

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Back Pain – What Is It and How can Massage Therapy in New York Help?

Back pain is one of the most common issues we experience. The human body as a whole is complex, especially the structures around the spine. Our backs have a veritable maze of muscles, ligaments, tendons, disks, and bones. How those structures move (or don’t move…) is a huge piece of the back pain puzzle. A healthy balanced back supports the body and enables us to move. A stiff and immobile back makes everything else have to work much harder to move us. Thankfully, most types of back pain respond very well to back pain massage.

Back pain can range from dull aches or throbbing to sharp and shooting. Or even involve neurological symptoms such as numbness and tingling. If you have severe symptoms that do not go away with a few days rest plus light movement, consult your doctor.

There are various potential causes for back pain and here are several of the most common…

Muscle Strain/Sprain

A strain refers to the tearing of a muscle or tendon. And a sprain refers to the tearing of a ligament. Activities such as lifting something improperly, or lifting something too heavy can lead to strains or sprains. Also impact injuries (think getting tackled or slipping on the ice) may lead to a strain or sprain. Inflammation follows as your body tries to heal the tear. Often there will be muscle spasms as well.

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