What is Massage Therapy?
Massage therapy involves using different pressures, movements and techniques to manipulate muscles and other soft tissues in the body, including stroking, kneading, rolling and pressing. There are many different styles, each with different origins and aims, but the premise of the treatment is the same – to relax and rebalance the body and make you feel good.
Benefits of massage include:
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Decreases pain and muscle tension
- Improves sleep and circulation
- Reduction of stress hormones
- Increased joint mobility and flexibility
- Stimulation of the lymphatic system
- Improved recovery of soft tissue injuries
Types of Massage:
Sports massage uses specialised techniques to reduce muscle tightness. It helps to improve your circulation and range of movement, as well as treating and preventing muscle and joint pain. As well as helping you heal physically, it ca support you in preparing mentally for the rest of your training or event.
Deep tissue massage is a deep pressured treatment used to break down tension that accumulates through daily routines. The strong pressure will aid the realignment of tissue and release aches and pains.
Relaxation massage focuses on providing general relaxation, relieving muscle tension and improving blood circulation. It’s perfect for people who want help escaping the demands of everyday life, and helping you take quality time to recover from life’s stresses and strains.
Trigger point massage can be used for a knot in your neck or tight spot on your back. A trigger point is a tiny muscle spasm or tight spot in the tissue. In a trigger point massage it uses focused and direct pressure to target those spots. This increases blood flow to areas, helping them release.
What type of massage should you get?
There are number of different types of massage therapy, and it can often feel like navigating a minefield when trying to choose the right one for you. The best thing to do is to start thinking about what it is primarily you are looking to get from the experience. It’s important to get an idea of the main reason you have started looking into having a massage. This should narrow down your choice and get an idea of which is going to give you the best result.
What to wear?
It is best to wear comfortable, loose fitted clothing that can easily be taken off and on. It’s best not to wear anything tight fitted as when you put your clothing back on, there may still be some residual massage oil on your skin which could transfer onto your clothing and make you uncomfortable after your treatment. Another way to prepare is to tie your hair up or put it into a bun out of the way. This will stop your hair from getting oily and won’t get in the therapists way.
If you’re a female and you’re not comfortable with being topless, then that’s okay. Wearing a normal bra that is easily unclipped will allow the therapist to access your back without fully having to undress. If you forget then that’s okay because we have gowns in all our treatment rooms, which you can use.