Massage Benefits

Prevention is far better than rehabilitation.

A simple definition of massage:

Freeing the body to help it move without pain or restrictions.

Not only is massage relaxing, it can help your body to heal quicker and better.

Book Now

Massage Can Help:

Relieve pain
Speed recovery from surgeries
Improve posture
Improve blood and lymph circulation
Strengthen immune system
Lower blood pressure
Loosen scar tissue
Speed elimination of toxins
Increase flexibility & range of motion
Reduce stress
Improve sleep

I Have Helped Relieve Pain From:

Back Pain
Breast Reconstruction
Carpal Tunnel
Chemotherapy & Radiation
Headaches
Piriformis Syndrome (Sciatica)
Scar Tissue Adhesion (post-surgery)
Sore muscles
Stiff neck
Swelling
Trigeminal Neuralgia

Benefits of Manual Lymph Drainage

Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) is one of the most powerful massages I know to affect change in the body. It is a very safe and effective technique that helps stimulate the lymphatic system to function more efficiently and is useful for many conditions where lymph flow may be compromised.

Known Benefits:

Reduce swelling by moving the interstitial (between cells) fluid into the lymphatic system. Sometimes I have observed immediate reduction in swelling as I have worked on a client.
Clear toxins from the body by facilitating waste removal at the cellular level and assists with bringing nutrients and oxygen to the cells.
Reduce bruising by clearing out the cellular waste.
Calming effect on the autonomic nervous system. Many people have reported to me that they sleep better after a MLD.
Analgesic effect based on the Gate Theory. A simplified explanation is that the touch receptors are stimulated by the light, repetitive touch of MLD, and these signals overtake or crowd out those sent by the pain receptors.
Boost the immune system. Increased lymph flow carries more antigens to the lymph nodes, increasing antibody/antigen contact. When receiving MLD regularly, many people report that they don't pick up as many colds.
Surgery. Pre-surgery MLD prepares the tissue for the intervention, drains the tissue, and clears the lymph passages to help prevent post-surgery edema. Post-surgery MLD helps clear the tissue of waste which causes swelling. It also helps to decrease scar tissue adhesion.
Help alleviate other ailments such as: migraines, acne, sinus congestion, tendonitis, repetitive strain syndrome, and brain fog, among others complaints.

Explanation of How Manual Lymph Drainage Works

MLD uses light, rhythmical, very precise hand movements, pressures and sequences. The massage works at skin level to influence the direction and speed of lymphatic flow. The lymphatic system does not have its own pump (unlike the circulatory system which has the heart) and circulates as a result of muscular contraction. MLD helps speed up and improve the normal lymph circulation. MLD is a safe, effective, yet gentle way of cleansing the body's tissues. It is NOT the same as some of the 'Lymph Drainage Massage' offered by some sports or Swedish-massage therapists which can be a very deep technique.

Personal Experiences with Manual Lymph Drainage

My daughter had a swollen lip after rough-housing with some cousins. As I did MLD on her neck and face, she commented that the swelling felt like it was decreasing inside of her mouth. My sister and other daughter were sitting nearby and confirmed that they could visibly see the swelling in her lip reduce! After 15 minutes her lip was hardly swollen.
After dental anesthesia I have done MLD on myself and other family members. In less than half an hour, the effects of the anesthesia have worn off and we don't have numb mouths.
A client had compartment syndrome in his arm. After the first MLD session there was no notable change. The second MLD session was a few hours later and the tissue began to soften. When he came for the third MLD session the following morning, he reported that he had slept well and the swelling was nearly gone and he could move his arm with ease.
A client came weekly the night before her chemotherapy. This was her third time receiving chemo and she reported that she slept better and felt that her immune system was bolstered.

The Massage You Really Want

I've had many clients with pain between their shoulder blades. They tell me that I can spend the entire hour massaging their upper back. I often don't. Don't get me wrong, I try to give each person the massage they want; I just don't give them the massage they tell me to do, rather the one they really want. They want relief from their pain.

Clients regularly ask me, "Do you feel that huge knot?" Uh, no. . . I used to think that I was horrible at palpation because I couldn't feel the "obvious" knots. In the last many years of massaging, I have learned a few things.

Tight Versus Taut

I know that the pain is between the shoulder blades, but usually those are not tight, contracted muscles (the rhomboids). Instead, those muscles hurt because they are stretched. Let me explain: Take some fabric between your hands, pull your hands apart, and the fabric is stretched and taut. The muscles are similarly stretched or taut, not contracted or tight.

With massage, we help muscles to relax when they are contracted. When muscles are stretched, they don't need a deep massage that stretches them even more. They just need a little loving touch.

So what is pulling and stretching the muscles in the upper back, making it sore? Think of your posture. Are you hunched forward working on your computer or cellphone? If you are, then your chest muscles (the pectoralis major and minor in particular) are contracted, causing your upper back muscles to be stretched.

Consider that in order to relieve the pain in your upper back you also need have your upper chest and anterior neck massaged!

Massage Therapy Can Play An Important Role in Your Health Regimen

From the AMTA Website, 21 February 2014

Control stress

The long term effects of stress can take emotional and physical tolls. Massage therapy may relieve stress and conditions associated with it, such as tension headaches.

Increase immunity

Medical research indicates that massage therapy can help boost the immune system by increasing the activity level of the body’s natural "killer T cells,” which fight off viruses.

Mental health and wellness

Research suggests that symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression (all associated with mental health) may be directly affected with massage therapy.

Pain management

Pain can negatively affect a person’s quality of life and impede recovery from illness or injury. Recent findings highlight the role of massage in pain management.

Improve physical fitness

Elite and recreational athletes alike can benefit from massage therapy--massage can reduce muscle tension, improve exercise performance and prevent injuries.