The StressBreak's Weblog

Making the Most of Your Massage

thestressbreak — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:14:39 +0000

Clients always ask me, “What can I do on my own to keep feeling this good after my massage?” I respond saying, “Just like when you exercise on a consistent schedule you become stronger. Massage has cumulative benefits when you receive on a frequent and consistent basis.” “The more consistent you are with exercising, the stronger you become. The more frequent you receive massage, the more time your body will maintain the benefits, help to prevent injuries and allow you to maintain a healthy regime to perform your daily activities with less stress.” Besides keeping up a consistent schedule of massage therapy you can enhance the benefits of each session by drinking water, stretching each day, keeping up with your exercise (but not after your massage on the same day you receive the massage). Being mindful of your body after your session is key. In an ideal world it would be best to allow a couple of hours after your session to “go with what your body tells you do.” Taking a nap or going for a walk are two examples. However, when your time is limited, the best protocol I always do for myself and recommend to my clients, is drinking plenty of water in the first hour after the massage and plenty of deep breathing. The key is just slowing down enough to listen to your body. Deep breathing is key.

How often to receive your massage therapy?

Once a month…if you are in good health and minimal muscular discomfort on a daily basis

Twice a month…if you experience nagging pain that just doesn’t seem to go away with whatever you try to do to resolve it.

Once a week…if you experience consistent and chronic muscular stiffness and pain. Once you begin to feel the pain has shifted to just nagging and you have more movement, then switch to twice a month. Once the nagging phases into minimal discomfort and you can go back to 95% of your daily activities, once a month. Maintenance = Once a month

Healthy Info for a Healthy Start to 2012

thestressbreak — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:59:18 +0000

Understanding the Healing Process of the Body…”very informative”

The Benefits of Moderate Pressure Massage…”profound”

Simple ways to Beat Seasonal Stress…”common sense”

Thinking your way to Health…”fun and positive”

Click the link below.

Enjoy!

www.abmp.com/bodysense/winter-2011

Common Rotator Cuff “Shoulder” Injury

thestressbreak — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:02:27 +0000

If you are under the age of 40 and play a sport that requires one sided activity, such as tennis and throwing a ball you have a good chance of injury to one of the rotator cuff muscles called the subscapularis. It’s the most common shoulder injury for active people under the age of 40.
The subscapularis muscle helps you open a jar, hug someone, lift things, clap your hands and complete the forehand and serving actions in tennis. It’s the most common rotator cuff to be injured, however it is the strongest of all 4 rotator cuffs muscles.

How do you know if you have a subscapularis injury or rotator cuff injury?
Pain is often felt at the back of the arm and not in front of the shoulder due to the referred pain pattern for the subscapularis.
Also, when you laterally rotate your arm with your elbow bent at 90 degrees, i.e. the motion of a forehand swing in tennis. This motion will be painful to execute.

What to do for treatment?
1. REST!
2. Seek a massage therapist who can accurately determine you have a subscapularis injury. Most therapist who are trained in sports massage, orthopedic massage and/or Neuro-muscular therapy can do this assessment test for you. He or she will take you through the range of motion test, palpate and help you gently stretch the subscapularis to specifically locate the injury.
3. Be prepared to block your schedule for several treatment sessions for a 6 week period of treatments. The number of sessions will depend on the severity of the injury. Two per week is optimum.

4. Slowing getting back into your active routine after completion of all treatment sessions and when pain is gone and range of motion is restored.
Why? Subscapularis is the strongest muscle of the rotator cuff group and is also “submerged” against the underside of the scapula (shoulder blade). Home care between sessions is the key to a quick recovery.

Nagging Low Back Soreness?

thestressbreak — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:27:25 +0000

After a busy week of massaging clients, I usually will experience lower back soreness or discomfort. A big part of “taking care of my back health” is opening/stretching my hips. I actually experience instant relief just doing 10 minutes or so of basic yoga postures while incorporating deep breathing. Opening up the hip area is key in loosening up the lower back and the spine in general. The yoga postures that work for opening the hips for me are downward dog (stretches the entire back of the leg), swan or pigeon (stretches the buttocks/gluteal region into the hip rotators) and lying spinal twists (stretches the lower back). Taking about 10 to 15 minutes of doing these simple and easy to learn poses and performing them on a consistent basis has been key to maintaining my back health as well as the chiropractic and massage care I receive regularly. I routinely reference two yoga books, here are the titles:
“Yoga The Poetry of The Body” by Rodney Yee
“Yoga The Iyengar Way” by Silva, Mira & Shyam Mehta

I hope this information is helpful to you. Please feel welcome to contact me with any of your questions or interests by clicking here.

Thank you,
Giselle Toran, LMT

Healthy News for You

thestressbreak — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 02:22:44 +0000

It's Free, Informative & for You!

Click the pic to find out.

CNN FYI Massage Research on Immune Function

thestressbreak — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 22:59:18 +0000

Recently, researchers measured immune function in healthy adults who got either a 45-minute Swedish massage or 45 minutes of lighter touch. The massaged group had substantially more white blood cells — including natural killer cells, which help the body fight viruses and other pathogens — and fewer types of inflammatory cytokines associated with autoimmune diseases.

It’s too soon to know whether regular massages will, say, keep you from catching a cold, but “it’s not an unreasonable speculation,” notes lead study author Mark Rapaport, MD, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

Massage Benefits Are More Than Skin Deep

thestressbreak — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 01:39:41 +0000

(This posting is a direct copy of an article in a recent New York Times about a research study on the biological effects of massage)

Does a good massage do more than just relax your muscles? To find our, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recruited 53 healthy adults and randomly assigned 29 of them to a 45-minute session of deep-tissue Swedish massage and the other 24 to a session of light massage.

All of the subjects were fitted with intravenous catheters so blood samples could be taken immediately before the massage and up to an hour afterward.

To their surprise, the researchers, sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, found that a single session of massage caused biological changes.

Volunteers who received Swedish massage experienced significant decreased in levels of the stress hormone cortisol in blood and saliva, and in arginine vasopressin, a hormone that can lead to increases in cortisol. They also had increases in the number of lymphocytes, white blood cells that are part of the immune system.

Volunteers who had the light massage experienced greater increases in oxytocin, a hormone associated with contentment, than the Swedish massage group, and bigger decreases in adrenal corticotropin hormone, which stimulates the adrenal glands to release cortisol.

The study was published online in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. The lead author, Dr. Mark Hyman Rapaport, chairman of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai, said the findings were “very, very intriguing and very very exciting-and I am a skeptic.”

Online Scheduling For Your Massages has arrived!

thestressbreak — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:12:29 +0000

For all of my existing clients, you now have the option to schedule your massage sessions online. To find out how to get started, send me an email or let’s chat on the phone for your instructions. For new clients, you need to schedule your first session via the phone with me. After that, you have the option to schedule online. I look forward to serving you. G. Toran, LMT

Massage Before or After your Workout?

thestressbreak — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:51:54 +0000

After is best, unless you are receiving a pre-event sports massage to prepare your body for a competition the same day. Two words why receiving massage after your personal training or workout session is best: Restoration and Recovery. Most massage styles are meant to activate your para-sympathetic nervous system, it is this part of your nervous system that assist you in relaxing and slowing down your heart and breath rate.
Deep breathing can also activate your para-sympathetic nervous system. It is through this para-sympathetic phase that restoration and recovery takes place in the body. Massage is an effective and safe way to “switch on” the restoration and recovery mode of your muscular system with an added benefit of quickening the opportunity for positive tissue repair from the workout, resulting in significant decrease of muscular soreness. When is it best to go back to your trainer or workout after your massage? An adequate rule of thumb is 24 hours particularly if your workout sessions engage your body in strenuous physical activity such as running, heavy weight lifting, high impact aerobics and power yoga. Whenever in doubt, the best measure is to stop for a moment, breathe deeply and listen to your body. You will know the answer.

Giselle Toran, LMT

St. Patty’s week Special

thestressbreak — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:39:52 +0000

Hello Massage Friends,
Myself and E. 48th Street Italian Deli in Dunwoody are offering you a special this St. Patrick’s day. For one day only, Wednesday March 17th, E. 48th Street Italian Deli will be selling Hot Corn Beef and Swiss Sandwiches on an 8 inch Italian Sub. Purchase one of these delicious specialty sandwiches on 3/17 and save your receipt. Your receipt is the ticket to $10 off your next massage with me for this week only starting on St. Patty’s day until Saturday March 20th. The deli is located in the Williamsburg Shopping Center on the corner of Jett Ferry Rd and Mt. Vernon Rd. Their number is 770-392-1499. My office is located just across the street from the deli. To schedule your massage email me: relax@thestressbreak.com Keep your 3/17 E. 48th St. Deli receipt with “Specialty Sandwich” on it and save $10 on your next massage. (this week only) Enjoy some good Italian eating along with a great massage. Thank you, Giselle Toran, LMT (only one receipt per person, please)