Massage Therapy in East Burke, VT
Bodywork
The essential difference from my method of bodywork from what is generally found in the marketplace, is that I focus on evidence-based and results-oriented therapy. My clinical bodywork is solely focused on creating healthy tissue and function using effective techniques such as connective tissue massage (CTM - which is very similar to Rolfing/Structural Integration/Myofascial Release), effleurage, cross-fiber frictioning, active release, counterstrain, stretching and trigger point manipulation . This is not to mention the educational component and therapeutic exercises and stretches that I may suggest for you. Our relaxing massage may use some similar techniques but is aimed at inducing relaxation through intent, compassion, and creativity.
Muscles
While there is fascia throughout and around a muscle and CTM will address certain adhesiveness and chronic tension the muscle itself may need to relax.
Most individuals, unless they are genetically gifted or highly trained elite athletes, will have muscles that don't fully relax. As we age, we lose the broad range of ability to contract and relax. As a result, our muscles settle into a middle ground of chronic tension that does not enable full relaxation nor full contraction. This means that the muscle is always working. This state results in pain, ischemia, and disfunction. Sometimes it is a result of poor posture or can be the cause of it. Trigger point manipulation is used to 'reset' the muscle by stimulating receptors that sense pressure. When the receptors are stimulated at the proper threshold they send a signal to the tissue around them to relax. This is the same principle that chiropractic capitalizes on except that chiropractic stimulates the stretch receptors in the joint capsule that indirectly cause the physiologic relaxation response in the muscle. A combination of CTM, trigger point, cross-fiber frictioning, stretching and effleurage is the optimal way to address most chronic muscle tension and connective tissue restrictions. I don't like to settle on one technique as the 'end all and be all' of therapy or health care for that matter. |
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Fascia
To understand my style of bodywork it is important to gain an understanding of fascia. All of the structures in the body are surrounded, protected and supported by connective tissue a.k.a. fascia. This matrix connects, or binds together, the body's organs and systems, and at the same time provides compartmentalization between them. (Imagine the thin, tough white membrane found when cutting apart a chicken.) The fascia is a continuous elastic sheath that provides structural support for the skeleton and soft tissues (i.e., muscles, tendons and organs). As it surrounds the muscles, it is referred to as the fascial envelope, which is where I focus my intent.
Dr. Rolf's original research on the characteristics of fascia identified its different biochemical states. Subsequent research has added to our understanding of it. The fibers are made of collagen and elastin. Collagen is more static, elastin more elastic. They serve distinct purposes in restricting and damping movement. In a healthy body, the ratio of collagen to elastin is lower. That is to say that there is more elastin in healthy tissue. My bodywork capitalizes on a physiologic response as a reaction to said bodywork to incorporate more elastin in its structure. Moderate exercise and stretching create a similar stimulus in a different way. My work, however, destroys scar tissue and overall it frees the body to move and carry correct posture.
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