Wow, 2017 is moving fast with real momentum! Already a few months into the year, now is a perfect time to take a moment to reflect on goals that were set for the year – are you moving in the right direction?
What were your goals for 2017 — work, exercise, relaxation?
Do you want to feel better than you thought you could?
Sports Massage, and Neuromuscular Therapy are excellent tools to help you achieve more in 2017.
5 things to consider:
1. Every body can benefit
A common misconception is that you have to be a high end athlete or training for a specific event to get treatment. We use our bodies daily in unique ways that create stress or areas of tightness in the body. This means that we can all benefit from a session even if you are not a professional athlete.
2. Prevention versus cure
Injuries can occur from overload, such as when training for a marathon, or sustained postures. If you are training for an event scheduling in regular soft tissue therapy sessions may help reduce overload on the body. Equally important, regular massage can help the body deal with sustained postures, such as sitting at a desk for several hours a day.
3. Calm the mind
A soft tissue therapy session can be time out from a busy schedule to give the mind time to refocus. It gives the body a chance to shift from the “highly alert” sympathetic nervous system to the repairing and rejuvenating parasympathic nervous system. This can trigger widespread benefits in the body ranging from assisting in more restful sleep to enhanced recovery from training sessions.
4. “If we’re not assessing, we’re guessing.”
A typical session should involve an assessment to help guide the treatment. The therapist will listen to the patient’s goals for the session to collect subjective information. They will then gain objective information potentially by assessing range of motion of joints, doing a posture analysis or assessing functional movements such as squatting, lifting or carrying movement patterns. The aim is to create an effective, specific session for each individual being treated.
5. “No pain, no gain” is a myth
Sessions do not need to be painful to create change in the muscles. If a patient is experiencing too much pressure from the treatment, they will tense up to react against the pressure. This goes against the aim of a soft tissue therapy session which is to try to decrease muscle tension to allow for more fluid movement.
Now it the perfect time to schedule a Soft Tissue Therapy, Sports Massage, or Neuromuscular Therapy session to keep your body and mind in check and focused on achieving your goals for 2017.