Now.  Think about your toes.  Yes, your toes.  Since you are reading this newsletter, I am going to assume that you are sitting.  Therefore, your toes are not presently necessary for balance, or propulsion.  So then, are they relaxed?  Give them a wiggle and then try to totally relax them.  Ahhhhh.  Next, move to your feet and so on, all the way to your head.

The contraction or tone of a muscle can have many different variables.  Stress, injury, personality, hydration, nutrition and neurological conditions are among the many factors when considering muscle tone. Most of these factors are beyond your mental control.  One that can be affected by thought, however, can play a big role in your overall muscle tone and when left unchecked can contribute to hyper-tonicity and muscle dysfunction.  Unnecessary muscle contraction is the act of engaging a muscle that is not required for the action at hand.

Now, think about your toes…  As you check your body for unnecessary muscle contraction, you may be surprised at how many muscles you are “holding”.  Getting them to relax and STAY relaxed can be quite a challenge. How long to you think this has been going on?  It has probably been going on longer that you would expect. So, be patient with yourself as you re-train these muscles to relax.  Check yourself periodically and you will be surprised at how those muscles will begin contracting again without you being aware of it.  Continue to practice relaxing.

When a muscle “behaves” a certain way over extended periods of time, this behavior becomes normal for that muscle.  When this happens it can create pain in the muscle from over-use and fatigue.  The result from pain can be a spasm in the muscle.  Unlike unnecessary muscle contraction, a muscle spasm is an involuntary muscle contraction.  This often creates a pain-spasm-pain cycle, which usually requires some sort of intervention, such as massage, to break. Computer work is an action that can be a good example of unnecessary muscle contraction.  When doing so, you only need to be primarily moving your fingers and wrists.  Most often, however, we find ourselves involving our neck and shoulders whether it is due to improper ergonomics, intensity or stress.  This is unnecessary “busy work” for your muscles, which often results in muscle spasms in the neck upper back and shoulders and the pain that accompanies it.

So, think about your toes.  Are they considering going on strike?  What about the rest of you???  Keep checking yourself and practicing relaxation…

Technorati Tags: anxiety, massage therapy, shoulder pain, Stress, tight muscles, woodstock ga

What to expect…

Chair Massage is a brief massage where the client sits in a special, portable massage chair. The client remains fully clothed and no oils or lotions are used. Chair Massage focuses on tension and stress in the clients shoulders, neck, back, arms and hands. Chair Massage requires very little space, therefore, On-Site Chair Massage is popular at many offices as an employee benefit and at conferences, workshops and social events.

At the office…

Employee Benefits

• Increase alertness
• Decrease muscle tension, which left untreated can lead to chronic pain and overuse injuries
• Reduce stress
• Improve circulation
• Calm the nervous system
• Provides an opportunity to relax during a short break and return to work recharged and rejuvenated

Employer Benefits

• Increased productivity by boosting alertness
• Increased employee retention with improved morale and loyalty
• Valuable incentive to use with a rewards program
• Improve work relations by reducing stress in the workplace
• Decrease absenteeism/Improve employee wellness (up to half of all illnesses begin as the result of stress)
• Cost-effective (programs can be paid by employer, employee, or % by both)

At Your Event…

Bridal Showers

• Treat your bridal party to a day of pampering
• Reduce the stress of your special day

Conferences

• Offer your attendees the opportunity to de-stress from travel
• Recover from hours of sitting through presentations and speakers

Grand Openings

• Chair massage offers a draw that will attract people to your event
• Shows you customers you care about their wellness and happiness

Any Successful Event

• Attract attendees to your booth or display
• Leave a great lasting impression

Contact us for details and pricing at awilson@woodstocktherapeuticmassage.com or call us at 770-500-8079.

Feeling tense or overwhelmed with stress? Did you know the answer to your problems could be in your feet? What many people don’t realize is that your feet are like a roadmap to the rest of your body. The science of reflexology dates back thousands of years-some speculate that it began in Ancient Egypt while other believe the origins lie in the east, traced from India, China, and then to Japan. But the questions remains, what is reflexology?

There are many misconceptions about what reflexology actually is. When some people think of reflexology, they think glorified foot rub. Although I’m never one to knock a foot rub, reflexology is a bit more complex. Both foot massage and reflexology tremendously benefit the local anatomical systems, however reflexology also deals with pressure points on the feet that correlate to various specific parts of the body. The reflex areas are connected to all parts of the body via energy pathways, or channels. By stimulating these reflex areas through a type of compression massage, the therapist is able to clear the energy channels and allow the body’s own healing energy to flow uninterrupted.

So why is reflexology necessary? We have approximately 7,200 nerve endings in our feet alone. The ultimate goal of a reflexology session is to help the body return to its natural balance. Reflexology also assists the body with detoxification, improved circulation, as well as stress reduction and tension relief. Some common types of ailments that have been known to benefit from reflexology are: back pain, thyroid dysfunction, chronic headache/migraine, digestive problems (i.e. constipation, irregularity and chronic indigestion), and it also aids in the stimulation of the Central Nervous System and overall health of the body.

Experience reflexology today!  During the month of October, I am offering reflexology for $40 for your first 45-minute session scheduled with me. (That’s $10 off the regular price of $50) Call today to schedule an appointment. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Mallory Merkle
LMT, LMNT, NCTMB

Technorati Tags: massage therapy, Reflexology

Do you contribute to a Healthcare Savings Account (HSA) to help pay for your annual medical needs?  Does your employer offer you access to a Healthcare Reimbursement Account (HRA) to pay you back for your co-pays and other medical expenses?  These new programs are available through many employers as an added benefit or can be managed through those with individual insurance programs.  The idea is that the money that you anticipate needing to use for medical expenses is put aside before it is taxed. At the moment, about 50% of businesses offer these types of plans to their employees, but the popularity of these programs is growing every year.

So why is there an article about HSA’s and HRA’s in your massage therapy newsletter, you ask?  Well, in many cases, the companies that manage these accounts consider Clinical Massage Therapy a valid expense.   Most plans require the session be related to a medical condition or that a medical doctor recommend the therapy.  However, many of the clients that I see who currently use their HSA to pay or their HRA to reimburse them for their massage sessions have not come via doctor’s recommendation.  How tightly managed or restricted an HSA or HRA is depends on the company handling the program.

There are a few ways to determine if your HSA or HRA will pay for your sessions at Woodstock Therapeutic Massage.

• I would suggest starting off by calling the customer service number for your program and asking for details about “Therapeutic Massage” with your plan.  If a doctor’s referral is required, follow the necessary steps to obtain that referral.
• Very often with HSA’s in particular, the company issues the participants a debit card to use for their medical expenses.  If your company has issued you such a card, we can try to use this to process you payment for your session.  If the charges are declined as a non-medical charge, then we will know that massage is not an immediately covered charge.  If the charge is accepted, then in most cases the fund will pay for the expense.  However, they may always come back and ask for documentation to validate the expense.  We can provide office notes (or SOAP notes) to document, but a referral from your doctor may be required.
• Ask your fund manager is reimbursement is possible.  Healthcare Reimbursement Accounts (HRA’s) do just that.  They reimburse you for your medical expenses.  The good news about this is that even though it often requires more work on your part (submitting the necessary paperwork) very often the funds are provided by your employer and are not your pre-taxed income.  That’s right.  I’m talking about FREE MASSAGE here folks!!!

So, check with your Benefits Coordinator at your office to see if these options are available to you.  Depending on when your business has their open enrollment for insurance, you may want to consider implementing one of these plans with your exhisting insurance program if it is available.

These types of plans have been around for a little while, but they are gaining great popularity.  It is very appealing when you think of it as paying 25-40% less or getting your care for free… especially your massage therapy.

Yours In Health,

Ashley Wilson
NMT, LMT
~Inspire Someone!

Technorati Tags: HRA massage benefits, HSA massage benefits

During this month, our focus falls on matters of the heart.  In fact, February is American Heart Month.  If you Google “heart health”, aside from all the drug ads, you will likely retrieve responses about healthy diet, exercise and reducing stress.  What you may not find, however, is how massage therapy affects your heart, by affecting your cardio-vascular system, Autonomic Nervous Systems (which controls heart rate, digestion, respiration rate, etc.) and even the endocrine system (glandular/hormones).   Massage can create tremendous change in your body and it is important and helpful to know how that change affects you.

Massage therapy creates changes in your blood pressure.  When your massage therapist performs the most basic methods of treatment known as effleurage, such as long superficial strokes, kneading and tapotement (chopping and beating types of movement), it stimulates receptors that send messages of relaxation to the central nervous system.  These reflexes cause vasodilation, which is the widening of the blood vessels that results in decreased blood pressure and heart rate.

When your massage therapist uses more specific methods of treatment, typically aimed at breaking up scar tissue and freeing areas of immobilized muscle fibers called adhesions, one side effect can be an increase in blood pressure.  These more specific treatments work by allowing the cardio-vascular system to move stagnant blood out of a tightened area and flood it with new, fresh blood that aids in healing the damaged tissue.  This increased blood circulation can increase intra-vascular pressure.  For most of us, this is a VERY good thing as it provides our muscles with the oxygen they need to be healthy. Due to the changes in blood pressure that can occur during and after a session of massage therapy, however, those with uncontrolled high or low blood pressure should avoid massage therapy unless they have received permission from their physician. In fact, there are studies that show the lighter forms of massage can aid in reducing hypertension in many cases.

In addition to the immediate effects on blood pressure, massage can help reduce the effects of stress on the body.  Our autonomic nervous system has two “states of being”, fight-or-flight (sympathetic nervous system) and rest-and-digest (parasympathetic nervous system).  The sympathetic nervous system helps mobilize the body for action when we are faced with a stressful situation.  Very often, the daily stresses of our lives, and sometimes our diet (especially excessive amounts of caffeine) cause us to stay in this fight-or-flight state, which has a negative effect on our bodies including increased heart rate, increased blood pressure and increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.  Massage therapy can help the Autonomic Nervous System shift into the rest-and-digest state.  Many studies have shown not only decreased heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels, but also decreases in depression, hostility and anxiety.

By taking steps to reduce the effects of stress on your body, you can do your heart a world of good.  Remember the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and be proactive about your health.  Eat right, move your body, do everything you can to keep stress at bay and have a happy American Heart Month.

Yours In Health,

Ashley Wilson
NMT, LMT
~Inspire Someone!
January ‘09

Technorati Tags: Heart Health, massage for heart health, massage health