What's Deep Tissue Massage?

Deep tissue massage vs. sports massage

Both deep tissue massage and sports massage increase blood flow, flush toxins out of the muscles, and cause a relaxation effect. So, which is right for you?

A deep tissue massage is good for those who have general or chronic pain, tightness, or fatigue. In this massage, deep and slow movements are used to get through all the layers of the tissue. There may be some uncomfortable areas or trigger points, but it won’t last long.

A sports massage is used for those who experience sports-related tightness or pain. Many various techniques are used to relax and realign muscle fibers. There may be more of a focus on knots or adhesions in the tissues. This massage is more suited for an individual with a specific pain or injury.

If you fit somewhere in between these two, you can also get a mixture of both, just talk to your massage therapist!

What's Remedial Massage?

What’s Remedial Massage?

Remedial massage therapy is a specialised form of massage that focuses on targeting specific areas of the body to alleviate pain, tension, and discomfort. Using a combination of hands-on techniques, manipulation, and deep tissue work, remedial massage therapists aim to identify the root cause of muscular imbalances and dysfunctions.

By treating the underlying issues, remedial massage therapy promotes the body's natural healing process and restores optimal functioning. Whether it's relieving chronic pain, rehabilitating injuries, or enhancing overall well-being, this therapeutic approach offers a holistic and personalised approach to address individual needs.

With its ability to alleviate physical discomfort and improve mobility, remedial massage therapy plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality of life for numerous individuals.

Get the Relief You Deserve with Remedial Massage!

Are you tired of living with chronic pain, muscle tension, or stress-related discomfort? It's time to take control of your wellbeing and experience the transformative benefits of remedial massage. At Remedial Massage Queenstown, we are here to help you embark on a pain-free journey towards a healthier and happier you!

1. Targeted Pain Relief: Our skilled and experienced remedial massage therapists specialise in identifying the root causes of your pain and providing targeted relief. Whether you suffer from backaches, headaches, sports injuries, or muscular tension, our tailored massage techniques are designed to alleviate pain and promote lasting healing.

2. Enhanced Mobility and Flexibility: Tight muscles and restricted movement can hinder your daily activities and limit your quality of life. Through deep tissue manipulation and stretching, our remedial massage techniques can effectively improve your range of motion, allowing you to move freely and perform at your best, whether it's in your sports activities or everyday tasks.

3. Stress Reduction and Relaxation: The demands of modern life can leave you feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Our remedial massages incorporate relaxation techniques to promote deep relaxation, decrease anxiety, and enhance your overall mental well-being. By reducing your stress levels, you'll find yourself better equipped to face life's challenges with a refreshed mind and renewed energy.

4. Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation: Whether you're an athlete, a busy professional, or someone recovering from an accident, remedial massage is an invaluable tool for injury prevention and rehabilitation. By improving circulation, reducing scar tissue, and promoting faster recovery, our massages can accelerate your healing process, preventing future injuries, and helping you regain optimal physical function.

5. Holistic Approach to Wellness: At Remedial Massage Queenstown, we understand that your well-being is more than just the absence of pain. That's why we take a holistic approach in our treatments, addressing your physical, mental, and emotional needs. Our therapists provide personalised care, offering advice on posture, exercise, and lifestyle modifications to help you maintain your newfound vitality long after your massage session.

Invest in Yourself Today!

Don't let chronic pain or stress hold you back from living your best life. Choose to invest in yourself and experience the rejuvenating power of remedial massage at Remedial Massage Queenstown. Contact us now to book your session and take the first step towards a pain-free, healthier, and more vibrant you!

Should I get A Massage After Skiing & Snowboarding?

Photo By Rowan Simpson At Cadrona Ski Fields New Zealand

Experience Ultimate Relief with a Deep Tissue Massage after Skiing & Snowboarding

After pushing your body to its limits on the slopes, your muscles can become tight, sore, and fatigued. Our skilled massage therapists specialize in deep tissue techniques that go beyond just surface-level relaxation. We target the deeper layers of muscle tissue to release tension, alleviate pain, and promote a quicker recovery post-skiing.

Here's why our deep tissue massage is the ultimate choice for skiers & snowboards like you:

1. Targeted Muscle Relief: Our therapists are trained in the art of deep tissue massage, ensuring they can access those hard-to-reach areas that accumulate the most tension post-skiing & snowboarding. By focusing on specific muscle groups, we can effectively release knots and adhesions, providing you with instant relief and improved flexibility.

2. Enhanced Recovery: Skiing & snowboarding can put a considerable strain on your body, leading to muscle inflammation and potential injuries. Our deep tissue massage helps to reduce inflammation, increase blood flow, and break up scar tissue, allowing your muscles to recover more efficiently. This means you can hit the slopes feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, day after day!

3. Improved Performance: Regular deep tissue massages can actually enhance your overall performance on the slopes. By maintaining loose and supple muscles, you can improve your range of motion and prevent muscle imbalances. This means better balance, stability, and control as you conquer the mountainside.

4. Stress Relief: Skiing & snowboarding are an incredibly exciting and adrenaline-pumping activity, but it can also take a toll on your mental wellbeing. Our deep tissue massage not only targets your muscles but also provides a peaceful and serene environment for you to unwind and relax. Allow your mind and body to find harmony as our therapists melt away your stress and tension.

5. Personalized Approach: At Remedial Massage Queenstown, we understand every body is different. Before your massage, our therapists will assess your individual concerns and tailor the treatment to address your specific aches and pains. Rest assured, you're in expert hands!

Are you tired of finishing your day on the slopes with sore and achy muscles? Look no further! At Remedial Massage Queenstown, we have the perfect solution to help you unwind and recover from an exhilarating day of skiing - our revitalizing deep tissue massage! Head to the book now page & we can sort you out!

Vegetarian Nutrition

Photo by Farhad Ibrahimzade on Unsplash

Vegetarian diets are GREAT for health! They lower body fat percentage, decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, reduced inflammation in the body, and can even enhance recovery after physical activity. There are many driving forces behind why people choose a vegetarian diet, may it be due to religious, environmental, ethical, or health-based reasons. One thing in common though, is that folks following a vegetarian diet might be lacking important nutrients if they have not had exposure to a registered dietician or nutrition coach. Lacking in certain nutrients, specifically nutrients that come from animal products, can make one feel sluggish, weak, and tired.

So, what are the key nutrients that may be missing? Below are some of the most common nutrients that are lacking in vegetarian diets, but remember: It is always best to check with your primary care provider or another medical doctor as they can run blood tests to determine with accuracy which nutrients you may be deficient in.

Vitamin D

found in salmon and dairy milk. Vitamin D is responsible for directing all cells with a nucleus what to do (all cells other than fat cells). Deficiency can cause deficits in strength and fatty degeneration of type II muscle fibers. Vitamin D found in plants is less efficient at being absorbed and used in our body than Vitamin D found in animal products, so you may need more vitamin D from plants. You can find plant-based sources of vitamin D in tofu, soybeans, oranges, spinach, and lentils.

Iron

found in red meat. Some plants have compounds that inhibit the intake of iron, so people on a vegetarian diet may need more than non-vegetarians. Low iron can result in us needing to use iron in our blood, which can cause fatigue and anemia. Cooking in a black iron skillet can give us traces of iron, however, iron supplements are likely to be the best option to get the iron we need.

Omega-3’s

found in cold water fish, and somewhat in chia and flax seeds and walnuts. Lacking in Omega-3’s can cause brain fogginess and inflammation in our bodies. There are multiple kinds of Omega-3’s that our body needs. The Omega-3’s that our brain needs are best supplied from cold water fish instead of nuts and seeds. Therefore, supplementation is the best way to efficiently get Omega-3’s for our body.

 

Calcium

found in dairy products. We need calcium for our bone growth and strength as well as for our muscles to function efficiently. We may feel weak if we don’t have enough calcium. Plant-based sources of calcium include kale, broccoli, tofu, and fortified plant milks.

Vitamin B-12

found in animal protein. Without B vitamins, specifically B-12, we may feel very fatigued throughout the day. Because vitamin B-12 is only found in animal protein, the best way to get this nutrient will come from supplements or fortified plant milk.

Remember, these are just the most common nutrient deficiencies and not all are listed here. If you are on a vegetarian diet, it may be worth going to a registered dietician to ensure you are eating well-rounded and are getting essential nutrients for your body!

Blog post written by Kat Cantlebary for Remedial Massage Queenstown

Why We Tell You to Hydrate!

Photo by Anderson Rian on Unsplash

Why is hydration so important? We all know we need to drink water, but what are some of the exact physical benefits? And why does my massage therapist always tell me I need to drink water? Well, there are two answers to that question. One, is fascia, and the other is our circulatory system.

1.     Fascia is a special connective tissue in our bodies. At the basic level, it holds our muscles, organs, and skin in place (for more information, see our other blog post on fascia). More importantly, however, fascia gives us the ability to move as it is made up of 70% water, thus assists in creating flexibility and more pliability our bodies.  

Because of the high water content in fascia, you can think of it like a sponge. When a sponge is dried up, it becomes rough and unpliable. When we are dehydrated, our fascia can become stuck or ”glued” to itself and to the muscles it surrounds. This manifests in our body as decreased mobility, general soreness, chronic pain, and trigger points – hyperirritable spots in our fascia.

When a sponge is hydrated, it becomes flexible and soft. By hydrating our bodies, we keep our fascia flexible and pain free. We also allow the fascia to absorb or “sponge up” the nutrients it needs to stay flexible and healthy.

2.     Our muscles store toxins like lactic acid when we are emotionally or physically stressed. Massage helps to increase the circulation to our muscles and in turn, helps to flush out those toxins. However, if we are dehydrated, we have less blood volume available to flow to these muscles to flush out these toxins.

As a generally rule, we are made up of about 70% water so for the optimal functioning of all our bodies systems, it’s a good idea to keep hydrated so these systems are “well oiled.” Your body is your vehicle to experience the world - if you didn’t put oil or fuel in your car it wouldn’t run smoothy or is likely to break down. The same goes with your body, your water intake and the quality of food you consume.

Blog post written by Kat Cantlebary for Remedial Massage Queenstown

Top Tips to Keep your Fascial System Healthy

You may have heard your massage therapist or even your yoga instructor mention fascia, whilst enthusiastically explaining to you why it is so important in treating body aches, pain and dysfunction. In fact, with fascia becoming more widely talked about and understood, myofascial or fascia-release treatments are becoming more and more common in massage therapy, chiropractic and physiotherapy clinics.

Myofascial release treatment

Myofascial release treatment can be beneficial to clients wishing to create more space and balance within their body and for practitioners seeking to help restore structural integrity. Fascia is often the missing element in the movement/stability equation. 

Aside seeking treatment for pain associated to postural dysfunction from a fascial-work practitioner, it is possible to help keep your fascia as healthy as possible to prevent it from becoming problematic. See our three tips below from Dr. Jess Reynolds [massagebook.com] along with explanation, on how to keep your fascial system in tip-top condition:

1. Stay Hydrated

The fascial system is comprised of fibres, cells, and the extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM makes up the vast majority of fascial tissue and is composed almost entirely of water. While there are many physiological reasons why we should stay hydrated, keeping the fascial system in tip-top shape is near the top of the list. When we are dehydrated, the ECM (which should be a mucus-like substance) becomes thick, sticky, and viscous. This thick stickiness in the ECM leads to fascial adhesions (layers of fascia stuck together). Maintaining proper hydration helps prevent myofascial adhesions.

2. Move Your Body

While it is essential to stay hydrated, drinking enough fluids is only part of the equation. The other part is to make sure that fluid can get to all of the tissues. The best way to do that is to move your body. As you move your body through various novel positions, such as those performed in a yoga class, fluid begins to move through the myofascial system.

Imagine squeezing some dirty water out of a used sponge. Once the pressure is released from the sponge, it can absorb fresh, clean fluid. Our bodies work in a similar way. Stretching works the same way as squeezing the sponge does. Releasing the stretch is like releasing the sponge; it allows new fluid to enter.

One other very effective way to maintain a healthy fascia is through doing “mobility” work. Mobility work involves deeper and more focused work on problem areas, often with the assistance of a tool, ball, or roller to apply pressure directly to the fascia in order to affect positive change.

3. Eat an Anti-inflammatory Diet

Diet and nutrition are loaded subjects these days, but one thing that pretty much everybody agrees on is that the “Standard American Diet” is pro-inflammatory. There are many ill effects of systemic inflammation caused by a highly inflammatory diet. When inflammation affects the fascial system, the body produces a pathological or excessive amount of collagen, a glue-like substance that binds tissues together. Excess amounts of collagen bring excess stickiness, increasing the likelihood of fascial adhesions. Similar to how dehydration can cause adhesions, system inflammation caused by a pro-inflammatory diet can also cause adhesions.

Keeping these three things in mind will significantly reduce the likelihood of developing myofascial adhesions and keep your facial system healthy.

Fascial-release treatments such as orthopaedic cupping can be added onto your massage session.

Book here to schedule your session with us. 

. . . . .

Blog post written by Sarah Pryke for Remedial Massage Queenstown. Reference and resources published by Dr.Jess Reynolds from www.massagebook.com and Fascial Release for Structural Balance by James Earls & Thomas Myers