The following are types of massages we offer at GayMassageOrlando
Deep Tissue Massage
Deep tissue massage is also called deep
With deep tissue massage, the muscle and fascia are first relaxed, followed by specific deeper pressure and manipulation of the structures beneath the more superficial tissue. Deep tissue massage isolates and treats specific muscles and fascia contributing to myofascial pain. Effective deep tissue massage should never be painful.
Myofascial Release Massage
Myofascial release is a type of massage that focuses on treating the fascia and the muscle it permeates and envelopes. Fascia is a web of connective tissue that forms a lattice work providing structural integrity for the entire body. In simple terms, you can think of fascia as support wires to the bones in the body. If the support wires on one side of a tower are too tight, the other side will be bent or distorted. Myofascial release helps treat restrictions in the fascia that can cause these distortions resulting in pain in the body. Also restricted fascia can inhibit normal fluid flow through the tissues that can lead to thickening and scar tissue. Myfascial release can very effective in helping open these restricted tissues and normalizing normal fluid flow.
Neuromuscular Massage Therapy
Neuromuscular therapy is very effective for treating chronic pain. Neuromuscular therapy treats Pain from trigger points, ischemia, neural interference and postural distortions. Trigger points are thought to be nodules near the center portion of a muscle fiber that when pressed will cause pain and a referral to another area over 73% of the time. I good example would be when you grasp your upper trapezius and you feel pain in your forehead or temple area. The theory is that these nodules are formed when a local energy crisis causes the center portion of the muscle to stay in a contracted state. The nodule is formed when the the two ends of the muscle come closer together forming a bulge. Ischemia is when tissue is painful to touch because the blood flow to the area is restricted. The theory is reduced blow flow causes a build up of cellular waste causing the pain receptors in the affected tissue to become more sensitive. Neural interference is when soft tissue compresses on a nerve passing through or between muscles or fascia causing pain. Postural distortions can be caused by muscular imbalances that put uneven wear or stress on joints or opposing muscles. The treatment using Neuromuscular therapy if done properly is not painful and very effective in treating the above conditions resulting in long lasting relief.
Sports Massage
Sports massage facilitates athletic performance and recovery. It keeps muscles and fascia open/unrestricted for enhanced performance and prevents secondary injury due to imbalance or chronically tight tissue. Sports massage identifies muscles that need more stretching and improves performance and strength after treatment.
Swedish Massage
Swedish massage is the most common type of massage therapy offered in the United States. Swedish massage is normally a very flowing, soothing massage with a lighter pressure. There are five basic strokes used in Swedish massage. The one type of stroke easily recognized by most people is effleurage. Effleurage is just a nice long gliding stroke when incorporated in Swedish massage. Petrissage is a stroke that consists of grasping and kneading the tissue. A good example would be when a friend grasps and kneads your shoulders. Friction is a focused pressure going with or against the direction of the muscle fibers. Tapotement is a rhythmic percussion on the tissue. The percussion can be similar to karate chops using the sides of the hands, cupped hands and even just using the finger tips. And finally there is vibration. Vibration has many variations. It can be a gentle rocking of the torso that sends a wave of vibration throughout the body or gentle shaking of a limb to send a soothing wave of movement into the tissue.
Therapeutic Stretching Massage
Therapeutic stretching is a very useful and effective technique I often incorporate into my treatments. Active isolated stretching (AIS) is one type of therapeutic stretching. AIS uses the bodies own reflexes to help your muscles lengthen and stretch. Each stretch is held for no more than two seconds while simultaneously contracting the opposing muscles to induce reciprocal inhibition/relaxation in the muscle being stretched. This restricts the muscle spindle/stretch reflex and helps the muscle to lengthen more easily. Another form of therapeutic stretching is post-isometric relaxation . With post-isometric relaxation the muscle to be stretched is lightly contracted against resistance for about 7 seconds. Then the client relaxes while the massage therapist takes up the "slack" in muscle until a new resistance point is reached. Therapeutic stretching can be used as the primary treatment for those clients that aren't able to tolerate more specific massage.
Trigger Point Therapy
Trigger points can be caused by muscles that become dysfunctional and stay in a constant contraction without a signal from the nervous system, resulting in muscle weakness and pain referral. Over 73% of the time, pain referral is not located where it originates. Through trigger point analysis and palpation, the pain source is located and treated by static compression. Trigger points aren't exclusively located in muscles: they are also found in skin and ligaments.
