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About Massage

Massage is more than just relaxation.  Massage affects the soft tissues of the body and increases blood flow.  It opens up lymphatic passages and stimulates the immune system.  Massage helps the body recover from injury and exercise and keeps the body healthy between visits. 

No two massages are the same.  I listen to the client and the body and develop a plan based on input from both.  I integrate many types of massage into my session.  In most sessions I use a combination of Swedish massage, acupressure, fascial work, stretching, neuromuscular therapy, muscle release therapy, orthopedic massage and lymphatic drainage.  I have techniques that relax the body and techniques that stimulate the tissue.   

What can massage help?
My clients have reported relief from the following problems:

• Chronic tension/stress
• Lower back, mid-back, shoulder and neck pain
• Arthritis
• Tight muscles and knots in the soft tissue
• Headaches and migraines
• Allergies, sinus congestion, sinus infection
• Edema and swelling from injuries
• Reduced range of motion
  
• Plantar fascitis and other foot pain
• Sprained ankle
• Rotator cuff/shoulder pain/range of motion restrictions
  
• Illiotibial Band Syndrome
• Sciatic/piriformis syndrome
• Stiffness/lack of flexibility
• Digestive problems
• Insomnia
• High Blood Pressure
  

Types of Massage in my Sessions
In my sessions with clients I have many types of massage I integrate into the massage according to what the client needs and what the client's goals are for massage.  Here is a short list of some of the types of massage I integrate into sessions:

• Swedish Massage: Swedish massage is what we currently think of when we hear the word "massage."  It induces relaxation and consists of gliding, kneading or tapping strokes on lubricated skin.  Swedish massage is used for anything from general relaxation, healing muscular injuries to improving joint mobility and range of motion. This form of massage arose in the late 1800s and has formed the basis of many modalities of massage created in the past 100 years.
• Acupressure: Based on the meridian energy theory of traditional Chinese medicine, acupressure sees illness and disease and physical manifestations of blocked or disrupted energy flow.  Within humans, the energy flow follows certain patterns (meridians) and specific points can be stimulated to regulate the flow of energy.  In acupressure, we work on the meridians applying finger pressure to specific points and areas.  Acupressure can relieve almost any kind of physical symptom in the body, from headaches, nausea, cramping, digestion problems, coughs and aches,  to emotional distress such as depression, anxiety, nervousness. I call this "still work" because I find a point and hold it for 30s to 2 min.
• Myofascial Work: Beneath the skin and surrounding all the muscles and organs, the fascial tissue acts like saran wrap that holds all the pieces of us together and in place.  Restrictions in this tissue can cause problems locally or refer dysfunction to other areas of the body.  Fascial work consists of slow, unlubricated work to warm and soften the fascial tissue and repair restrictions or holds in the tissue.  It often uses streches and traction to release fascial adhesions.  It's one of my favorite massage modalities.
  
• Lymphatic Drainage: Lymphatic drainage massage uses gentle, repetitive strokes to facilitate the lymphatic system.  Lymphatic fluids drain in specific flows throughout the body; symptoms such as congestion and edema can be eased through this technique, where those fluids are moved into the normal patterns for drainage into the lymph system.  LDM works well on sinus issues, allergies and other forms of congestion around the head and neck.
  
• Stretching: While this is not recognized as a separate modality, passive stretching is a pleasurable and useful technique as part of a session.  Passive stretching can be done to any part of the body, and can be done in conjunction with general relaxation or injury recovery sessions.  Stretches to the arms, legs, hips, back and neck (without adjustments) facilitate the loosening and relaxation of muscles.
  
• Deep Tissue:  This type of massage concentrates on the deeper layers of muscle, tissue and fascia with a goal toward increasing function and range of motion through manipulation of these deeper structures.  While it sometimes uses deeper pressure, it is really a means to work through more superficial muscles with kneading, deep forearm or finger work or static pressure holds in order to affect the tissue beneath.  It can be intense and I generally only use it for part of a session.
  
• Neuromuscular Therapy: Trigger Point Theory asserts that small spots in muscles can refer pain out to other areas when pressed – and these referral areas form patterns which allows the therapist to locate and work the trigger points.  Relief of the trigger points can take place through compression, stretching, deep friction and vibration.  Because this therapy usually entails some discomfort and pain on the part of the patient, NMT is often used within a longer session, and is only used specifically for 15 minutes or less in the session.
  
• Muscle Release Therapy: This technique places tight muscles in a stretch and works them with kneading, knuckling or stripping through a short duration stretch.  As the muscle is stretched for 2-3 seconds, it is working with moderate to deep pressure to release the knots, tension and adhesions within.  It is especially helpful for repetitive use injuries.
  
• Foot Reflexology: Reflexology is based on the theory that places on the feet and hands correspond to places all over the body.  Working the corresponding parts of the feet or hands affects balance and change to that referral area.  Reflexology energy theory maintains that there are 10 zones in the hands and feet, and work on those zones can positively affect the energy flow to other areas of the body facilitating healing and balance throughout the entire body. I generally incorporate this as needed into a longer session.
  
• Craniosacral Therapy: CST is a light, still modality that uses gentle pressure on the skull, spine and pelvis to affect change to the cranialsacral system.  This system consists of the brain, the spinal cord, and the protective layers surrounding them.  It can produce deep relaxation of the body and help issues ranging from headaches to digestion to dizziness.
  

Studies on the Efficacy of Massage
While massage has been around for centuries, the West has only recently begun scientific study the benefits of massage.  The main findings of recent studies indicate that massage has the following benefits:

• Facilitates growth
  
• Increases attentiveness and learning, which has positive implications for those with attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity or learning disabilities
• Reduces stereotypical and off-task behavior in autistic individuals while normalizing social behaviors
• Alleviates pain
• Improves immune function (massage increases the number of natural killer cells, which has implications for those with AIDS, cancer and viral diseases)
• Reduces stress
• Promotes healing of psychiatric problems (Child and adolescent psychiatric patients showed more open verbal communication, improved sleep, less depression and lower anxiety levels.  Clinical progress increased.  Similar results were achieved with depressed adolescent mothers and patients with eating disorders.)
• Assists in overcoming addictions such as cigarette smoking
• Supports effective digestion and breathing through stimulation of the vagus nerve
• Diminishes premenstrual symptoms
• Encourages dietary compliance in diabetics, leading to more normal glucose levels
• Lowers blood pressure, anxiety and hostility levels in individuals with hypertension
• Increases job performance (After a 15-minute chair massage, computation time with figures was cut in half and accuracy almost doubled.)
• Reduces the number of headache days in migraine headaches
• Reduces pain and increases range of motion in individuals with low back pain
• Improves all clinical measures in pediatric eczema
• Improves grip strength, functional activities, positive mood, self-esteem and body images in multiple sclerosis
• Improves caregiver-child relationships for abused and neglected children

- From Mosby’s Fundamentals of Therapeutic Massage, by Sandy Fritz

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Connect with Heather

(615) 294-6672 & (502) 265-6710
heather@massagebyheather.com

Follow @heatherwmassage

Session Rates

90 min session - $100
60 min session (general/Swedish) - $75
60 min session Deep Tissue, Muscle Release Technique, Advanced Therapies - $80
45 min session - $65
**Accepting checks and cash only.  Sorry, credit cards only available through Pay In Advance online, please.**

Massage Office Hours

Tues - Fri: 10 AM to 7 PM
Saturday: 9 AM to 3 PM

Louisville Massage Office

The Louisville massage therapy office is located in St. Matthews at 120 Sears Ave Suite 204 (Same building as Equus and Jack's Lounge).