Clinical / Medical Massage Therapy in Scottsdale
Clinical / Medical Massage
A comprehensive therapy system that employs a diverse array of therapeutic techniques and methods focused on the treatment and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal pain, injury and athletic performance issues. Clinical Massage looks beyond the massage session to the origin of the pain and restrictions that cause your daily activities to become uncomfortable, unbearable or unproductive. Common musculoskeletal conditions can stem from a variety of issues such as trauma, sports injuries, over-training, poor work ergonomics, muscular imbalances or adhesive tissue from repetitive use or inactivity. During your initial session, a certified clinical massage therapist will take a detailed history and thoroughly evaluate your condition. Using specific active, passive, functional movement and range of motion assessments, the therapist will identify soft tissue/movement dysfunction to determine the likely cause of your pain. Based on these findings, the therapist will design a safe and effective treatment tailored specifically for you utilizing the best combination of therapeutic approaches. Clinical Massage works with you as an active participant in your recovery. A home program of corrective exercise and/or stretching is typically recommended to further advance and maintain your progress. This combination of clinical reasoning, focused treatment and active care provides for the most effective treatment and outcomes.
"When you understand a technique, you know a technique. When you understand the concepts and principles of treatment, you know a thousand techniques and how to best utilize them."
TREATMENT METHODS/TECHNIQUES
Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA)
The SFMA is a system to assess and classify movement patterns in order to appropriately direct manual therapy and exercise treatments. The system is designed to get to the root of what may be causing faulty movement patterns and, therefore, your pain. It begins by thoroughly observing and assessing movement patterns throughout the entire body, including movements of the neck, arms/shoulders, forward bend, backward bend, trunk rotation, single leg balance, and a deep squat. Each of these movements is classified as either functional or dysfunctional and painful or non-painful and then broken down further into simpler movements to identify what may be the cause of movement deficiency. This can range from motor control or stability problems to joint restriction or soft tissue tightness. Once the assessment is complete, your therapist can then quickly and efficiently design a treatment plan to address the identified dysfunctions.
Neuromuscular/Trigger Point Therapy
The hallmark of deep tissue massage, this technique is designed to balance and stabilize the relationship between the nervous system and the muscular system. Trigger Points are areas of taut, hyper-sensitive bands of muscle. These areas of restriction starve the muscle of blood (ischemia), oxygen and nutrition while building up with cellular waste and inflammatory bi-products. Trigger points have predictable referred pain patterns which can mimic the symptoms attributable to other conditions. These referred pain patterns are often located far away from the actual site of the trigger point and can lead to the misdiagnosis of a more serious condition or even unnecessary medical procedures or surgery. Locating a trigger point can be a bit of detective work as the therapist examines the texture of your muscles. After locating a trigger point, a firm and static pressure is applied for a distinct period of time to affect a release. Once resolved, the tissue can return to its normal, healthy state and pain is typically eliminated.
Active Muscle Release Therapy
It is normal for fibrous scar tissue to form when soft tissues are injured, overused or kept under tension for prolonged periods. It is the "glue" that mends and repairs microscopic trauma to muscles, tendons & ligaments. Unfortunately, scar tissue typically forms in a dense and haphazard matrix of fibers that shortens muscle length, renders them inflexible and binds them to adjacent tissues. This creates constant tension and restricted motion throughout the tissue and at the attachment sites. After a period of time, the muscle memory becomes ingrained with this tension and forgets how to return to a relaxed and elongated state. Normal function & movement is compromised and a cycle of chronic re-injury is then experienced. Inflammation, nerve impingement and muscle compensations are commonly associated with this scenario, resulting in PAIN! Active Muscle Release Therapy is a neuromuscular re-training technique that involves precise muscle compression and stretch in a particular plane of movement. This coordinated action appeals to the nervous system in such a way that evokes a reorganization of adhesions, a reset of contracted tissue to its normal resting length, restoration of blood/oxygen flow and elimination of pain.
Fascial Stretch Therapy™
A revolutionary, pain-free method of assisted stretching widely used by elite and professional athletes to enhance performance, prevent injury and improve recovery. FST™ creates lasting change in your body and dramatically improves your health, quality of life and performance in your sport or activities. Don't make the mistake of thinking that getting stretched is something reserved only for athletes! Lack of flexibility and general "tightness" is the cause of most people's day-to-day aches and pains and is a significant component in the aging process, joint deterioration and the tendency for injury. Athlete or not, children and adults of all ages can reach their optimal level of pain-free function and performance with FST™. Once you've experienced a Fascial Stretch Therapy™ session, you'll forget everything you ever knew about "old-school" stretching!
Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM)
Recognized by many as the "scraping method", IASTM integrates ancient Eastern technique with modern orthopedic and sports rehabilitation in a cutting edge approach that effectively treats stubborn, nagging conditions that result from scarring or adhesions. Chronic pain within tendons, ligaments and muscles is often degenerative in nature rather than inflammatory. This is why anti-inflammatory medication or injections may temporarily reduce pain but not resolve the problem completely. The damaged and degraded tissue needs to be located and remodeled. Treatment is applied using specially designed stainless steel instruments that glide along the patient's skin. When the instrument comes into contact with fibrotic tissue both the patient and the therapist are able to feel the "gravel-like" texture which resonates through the instruments. The instruments are then utilized to smooth out the adhesive fibers (like combing thru knotted hair), restore circulation and create a controlled inflammatory response in the tissue. This inflammation signals the body to jump start the healing process and send reparative cells the area. The damaged tissue begins to be reabsorbed by the body and new, healthy tissue is generated. A program of exercises and stretching teaches the body how to remodel the injured tissue and quickly allow a return to pain-free activity.
NeuroMobilization/Neurodynamics
Neuromobilization, also referred to as “nerve mobilization” is a therapeutic technique used to treat nerves that may be inflamed, irritated, compressed or adhered to adjacent tissues. Clients that have been unresponsive to other therapy techniques or have a chronic history of referred symptoms like pain, numbness, or tingling into the arms or legs may respond to neuro-mobilization. Through a series of controlled traction and sensitizing maneuvers specific to the neural tissue, your therapist can assess to what extent your nerves may be contributing to your symptoms. We can then perform neuro-mobilization techniques to gently stretch and slide the nerve along its pathway. This has the effect of enhancing circulation within the nerve, reduced swelling and restoring proper mobility of the nerve. These mobilizations can be demonstrated for the client to use at home to continue the process of restoring proper balance and function to the neural tissues.
Cupping Therapy
Cupping is a therapy technique that involves placing silicone or plastic cups on the skin to create suction. The cups can remain static in their placement or actively moved along the skin to enhance their therapeutic effect. Cupping has been shown to increase blood circulation to the area where the cups are placed (we've all seen those marks!), reduce pain and inflammation, stimulate lymphatic flow and immune response. This can relieve muscle tension, improve overall blood flow and promote cell repair. It may also help form new connective tissues and create new blood vessels in the tissue. Cupping is considered a "de-compressive" treatment as it lifts the tissue upward, unlike massage which is compressive in nature. This has the effect of separating layers of tissue that may be adhered to one another, thereby allowing them to move freely and independently. We regularly use cupping to treat surgical and trauma scars with dramatic improvement in texture and appearance.
Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS)
During the first critical years of life, our nervous system establishes the operating system that controls human posture, movement and gait. Those milestones of movement that babies achieve are part of an elaborate program of functional stability and motor control that, unfortunately, we tend to lose or corrupt as we go through life. When this happens, other muscles will overcompensate to make regular movements possible. These inefficient patterns of movement eventually overload the superficial muscle groups and causes a myriad of compensations, dysfunction and pain. DNS looks to take us back to those original positions and movements and utilize them as exercises to literally re-boot our neuromuscular system and re-establish our natural stability and movement patterns. Most people are shocked at how challenging some of these seemingly simple exercises can be and come to the realization that babies work really hard during those first years of life.
Low-Level Laser Therapy
Low-level laser (red light) therapy is a well researched and proven technology that is widely used to enhance healing at the cellular level. Using medical grade and FDA approved light therapy panels, LLLT emits specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light which are readily absorbed by our cells and tissues. LLLT works by stimulating and strengthening the mitochondria in our cells. The mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell and where the cell’s energy is created in the form of a molecule known as ATP (adenosine triphosphate). By revitalizing the function of the mitochondria a cell can make more ATP which helps our cells to operate more efficiently, rapidly repair damage and reverse mitochondrial dysfunction. LLLT can help injuries & wounds heal faster, reduce muscle/joint pain & inflammation, improve exercise recovery & performance, diminish neuropathic pain, increase blood flow, reduce oxidative tissue stress, boost immunity, optimize sleep, improve mood & focus and enhance skin health. LLLT is safe, relaxing, non-invasive and can be applied during your therapy session or scheduled as a stand-alone treatment.
Myoskeletal Alignment Technique
The epidemic levels of neck/back pain in our society can be directly correlated to the abundance of flexion-based postures. Rounded shoulders, forward heads and swaybacks are created by hours of prolonged sitting in front of a computer, daily car commutes or other sedentary activities. These flexed positions promote the development of compensatory muscle and joint restriction patterns that effect how our skeletal system moves and functions within the force of gravity. MAT is a therapeutic system rooted in the principles of structural integration and osteopathy. The work is very detailed and involves active participation by the client during sessions. It identifies common muscular and joint imbalances and incorporates specific deep tissue massage, joint mobilization, muscle energy and stretching to correct dysfunctional strain patterns before they become chronic pain patterns.
Clinical / Medical Massage & Stretch Therapy is an effective treatment for many conditions such as:
- Back/Neck Pain
- Sprains/Strains
- Sports Injuries
- Repetitive Use Injuries
- Scar Tissue/Adhesions
- Lumbar Disk Herniation
- Post-Surgical Recovery
- Arthritis/Joint Pain
- Tennis/Golfer's Elbow
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Frozen Shoulder
- Rotator Cuff Tendonitis
- Piriformis Syndrome
- Sciatica
- Hip Pain/Bursitis
- Iliotibial Band Syndrome
- Patellar Tendonitis/Knee
- Stress, Tension & Fatigue
- Headaches/Migraines
- Trigger Finger
- Sacroiliac Pain
- Plantar Fasciitis/Foot Pain
- Achilles Tendonitis
- TMJ Dysfunction
- Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
- Extremity Numbness/Pain
- Restricted Range of Motion