One of the most common needs for massage therapy today comes from people who suffer from back pain. Whether due to chronic pain or issues caused by specific activities, commonly sports or other forms of exercise, back pain is common among many people, who are often looking for solutions.
At Body Balance Massage and Float, we're happy to provide a number of massage therapy techniques that are ideal for back pain, from trigger point therapy to deep tissue massage, Swedish massage and many others. In addition, we regularly assist clients with tips and actions that will help limit the initial causes of back pain -- many of which come from mistakes made during sports or exercise. Here are a few of these common errors, plus how to avoid them and steer clear of back pain.
Improper Warmup or Stretching Before Exercise
One of the most common mistakes involved in the onset of back pain is improper stretching or warmup before exercise. This often occurs because of a lack of knowledge on how to properly engage in these types of movements.
With workouts or exercises which are very specific, such as running, stretches can be done after a brief jog or run to prepare the lower body and buttock muscles. These will help loosen them up for the next steps.
For exercises which require bending over and arching your back, such as deadlifts (or similar movements), it's important to stretch your back beforehand to keep your back muscles loose during the exercise. Stretching beforehand will also help reduce any residual soreness after an exercise is completed.
Incorrect Technique During Exercise
Some exercises in particular require the use of your back muscles to complete. Examples of these types of activities include deadlifts, squats, and other movements that require an arching of the back.
To ensure that you're exercising safely, it's important to use proper technique during these movements. Make sure you're engaging your glutes, not just your hamstrings, when doing deadlifts, for example.
By using this type of movement and technique, you'll help avoid unnecessarily straining your back while still completing an exercise properly.
Pushing Your Body Too Hard
Pushing your body too hard may also often lead to back pain. Pushing yourself too hard during a workout or exercise can lead to muscle fatigue, causing issues such as strained back muscles.
It's important to allow your body time for recovery as well as prevent injury by completing workouts at a pace which is comfortable for you, and with movements that do not lead to unnecessary strain on your back muscles.
For more on avoiding common mistakes that tend to lead to back pain issues, or to learn about any of our massage therapy or float therapy services for any kind of pain or discomfort, speak to the staff at Body Balance Massage and Float today.
In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some basic themes and bodily areas to consider when it comes to workplace stretches. For those who struggle with aches and pains due to long hours spent at a desk job, stretching – often as a complement to massage therapy appointments – can be a great technique to reduce pain and other symptoms.
At Body Balance Massage and Float, we’re proud to offer a wide variety of massage therapy services for those suffering from work-related aches and pains, from Swedish massage to deep tissue massage, cupping therapy and numerous other techniques. In today’s part two, we’ll get a bit more detailed and dig into some specific stretches that tend to work well in the workplace, both for their effectiveness and their general simplicity and limited space required.
Simple Stretches
Here are a couple of the very simplest stretches, ones that don’t even require you to leave your desk area:
- Shoulder rolls: Roll the shoulders backward and forward several times consecutively, doing at least 10 repetitions each way and repeating a few times. You might be surprised how much relief this provides to your upper back and neck area.
- Head-to-toe: Stand up from your seat and reach your arms up over the head until you feel a moderate pull, then hold for 10 seconds. Then reach the hands down to the toes and hold for another 10 seconds before repeating the entire thing.
Our next few stretches do require some floor space, but can be done in a relatively compact area in most situations.
Hip Release
Those who are seated for many hours per day often have issues in their hips, particularly their hip flexors. One great stretch for these is the hip release, which involves kneeling on the floor and stepping one leg out in front of you at a right angle. The extended leg should have its foot placed flat on the floor.
From here, press your hips forward into the extended leg until you feel a stretch. If you want to extend the stretch, raise the opposite arm from the extended leg up over your head. Hold this for 10-15 seconds and then switch legs.
Trunk Rotation
A great stretch for both the legs and back is the trunk rotation, which involves lying on your back and bringing your knees up to your chest. Hold them temporarily with your hands, then let them both slowly fall to one side of your body while keeping the torso even and your arms on the floor. Hold on either side of your body for 10-15 seconds, then repeat on the other side.
Chest Opener
Finally, an ideal stretch for those who type at a computer for long hours is the chest opener, which can be done either kneeling (ideally) or while in your seat. Rest your chin onto your neck and reach your arms back behind you, linking your fingers. Lift your arms until you feel a stretch in the chest and front shoulders, then hold for 10 seconds.
For more on stretches to complement massage therapy and keep you comfortable in the workplace, or to learn about any of our massage therapy or float therapy techniques, speak to the staff at Body Balance Massage and Float today.
There are many groups of people who tend to benefit in specific ways from massage therapy services, and one large such group is those who work desk jobs that require long periods of sitting and inaction during the day. Such jobs may not be high-impact, but their sedentary nature brings other risks – muscle fatigue and wear-down, posture concerns and related issues caused by staring at a computer screen in one of a few standard positions for eight hours a day.
At Body Balance Massage and Float, we’re happy to offer a wide range of massage therapy services for any need you may have, including aches, pains or posture issues related to your desk job. We offer multiple massage therapy methods, from deep tissue massage to sports massage, trigger point therapy and many others.
One major area our massage therapists often discuss with such individuals based on its direct connection to posture and related themes: Stretching. Many who struggle with aches and pains based on a desk job find enormous relief through stretching in combination with regular massage therapy. This two-part blog will go over everything you need to know here, starting with some general themes and progressing into specific stretches we may recommend.
Attention Areas
There are many ways to stretch during your average work day in simple, low-stress ways that don’t disturb those around you in the office. Before we get into specific stretches, here are three specific bodily areas that tend to need the most attention for those who work desk jobs:
- Arm: Especially for those who spend lots of time typing, keeping the arms moving helps retain flexibility while giving your forearms, which help with typing, a bit of a break. There are several basic stretches you can do for your arms without leaving your seat.
- Legs: Legs can also be easily stretched at the desk. In addition, take regular walks or standing periods to let the blood flow.
- Neck tension: Work a few neck and shoulder stretches into your routine – something as simple as a neck roll can do a great deal for those with sore necks from staring at a screen continuously.
Breaks and Blood Flow
Even if you’re busy during your average day, it’s important to make time for some occasional breaks where you get your blood flowing. You should take a few minutes away from your desk at least once an hour, and it’s often great to spend this time walking around, stretching or performing some other low-strain activity to keep your muscles and joints active.
Planned Activity
Some go even further here, planning specific activities during their work day. Maybe you take a planned 15-minute walk as part of your lunch break each day, for instance, or plan an outdoor game of cornhole with co-workers.
For more on stretches to perform in the workplace that complement massage therapy, or to learn about any of our massage services or float therapy techniques, speak to the staff at Body Balance Massage and Float today.
In today’s business world, more and more business owners and managers are coming to understand the great value in prioritizing healthy and happy employees. A greater number of workplaces are going to far more significant efforts down these lines than you might have heard about even a couple decades ago, involving several potential areas to keep employees fresh, happy and generally well.
At Body Balance Massage and Float, we’re here to provide one service that’s blown up in recent years and decades in terms of popularity within workforces: Massage. We’ve offered numerous massage programs to companies and their employees in the past, from deep tissue massage to Swedish massage and several other offerings, often through programs sponsored by management groups to help improve employee health and morale. In this two-part blog series, we’ll go over the stresses brough on by the workplace, the positive impact massage often has on these stresses and their symptoms, and some of the direct benefits of considering massage as a program for your employees.
Impact of Workplace Stress and Strain
A major presence in many workplaces is stress, which impacts numerous employees and costs businesses billions of dollars each year in lost productivity, health expenses and other risks. The symptoms of stress can be found in both the mental and physical realm, from an impact on daily work rate and productivity to tight muscles, poor blood circulation and resulting impacts such as poor energy, higher injury risks and others.
Know that different employees respond to these stressors different. Some are better-prepared than others and may do fine, while others might suffer significantly from these stressors.
Massage’s Multiple Benefits
Luckily, massage therapy and its many sub-categories offer several direct benefits to combat the areas we just discussed. A certified massage therapist will evaluate the various symptoms an individual might be going through, whether minor or severe, then improve them through a variety of methods. Each of these tend to improve everything from blood flow and circulation to relaxation and general de-stressing capability, allowing for the body’s proper release of endorphins and hormones that combat stress. Even a 15-minute massage will help restore energy levels, limit injury risk and improve positivity.
So how do these benefits translate to your workplace? That’s what we’ll go over in our next several sections.
Improved Productivity
For one, you might be very surprised by just how much employee productivity improves when there’s a de-stressing outlet like massage therapy available on a regular basis. Employees who have better energy levels and aren’t dealing with aches, pains or other symptoms of stress simply get a lot more done, and perform their jobs in proactive ways that benefit both themselves and the company at large.
For more on the benefits of massage for companies and workplaces, or to learn about any of our massage therapy or float therapy services, speak to the staff at Body Balance Massage and Float today.
There are such a lot of superb and interesting elements to human anatomy! A minimum of, to these of us whose life revolves round working with our bodies. How they operate is unimaginable! It’s easy and sophisticated on the identical time. One part of the physique that's notably attention-grabbing to a therapeutic massage therapist, is fascia. You'll have heard of fascia earlier than. You'll have had a therapeutic massage therapist speak about an issue in your fascia throughout a session. You most likely questioned what precisely is fascia? Let’s speak about it!
https://www.slideshare.internet/ajaykumaar1234/answers-from-a-massage-therapist-part-4-what-is-fascia
“The time period fascia ( in Latin that means ‘band’) usually applies to the fibrous connective tissues masking, and connecting muscle groups, tendons, bones, organs and nerves. Teachers nonetheless debate exactly which tissues can justifiably be thought of fascia, however researchers usually agree that all the tissues beneath dialogue are composed of the identical primary components in various proportions and preparations, and that every one of those tissues interconnect. Fascial researcher Robert Schleip and his collaborators provide a generally accepted definition of fascia, saying that it's the “comfortable tissue elements of the connective tissue system that permeates the human physique”. This broad definition consists of not simply the enveloping membranes, but in addition the joint capsules, ligaments, and tendons.” -Superior Myofascial Methods
Persons are usually confused by fascia, mistaking it for muscle. A straightforward instance for most individuals to grasp is to consider a citrus fruit, like an orange. Muscle is enclosed throughout the fascia, because the pulp of an orange is in segments contained inside it’s separating mobile partitions. Fascia is a connective tissue that helps and organizes all the things within the physique. Fascia surrounds each muscle fiber, muscle fiber bundle, and muscle. There are lots of layers of fascia in every muscle and because the muscle fibers finish inside a muscle, the fascia continues to make the tendon. Fascia is steady all through the physique. There is no such thing as a starting and no ending to this connective tissue.
So what does this should do together with your physique and your therapeutic massage session? This tissue is a primary issue on your well-being. Points can come up from numerous causes. The injury of an accident or surgical procedure is usually vital since facial tissue tends to turn out to be denser and shorter because it heals. When tissue is shortened, it impacts way more than simply the rapid space. Consider a snag or rip in pantyhose and the way the injury to at least one small space on one finish can have an effect on a protracted line of fabric all the best way to the opposite finish. As a result of fascia is steady all through the physique and connects and surrounds all the things, injury or dysfunction in a single space may cause ache and disformation to quite a lot of different places of the physique.
To fight the ache that unhealthy fascia may cause, quite a lot of therapeutic therapeutic massage modalities have been developed resembling Rolfing, Structural Integration, and Myofascial Remedy. At Physique Stability Therapeutic massage and Float we specialise in ache administration and ache aid. Come and check out our therapeutic therapeutic massage American Fork! We imagine in customizing your therapeutic massage remedy to your wants and offering choices that can assist you heal and enhance in your well being and wellness journey. We’ll see you quickly!
Feeling tensed dues to an arduous week at work? Your ultimate relaxation is just a float away. Book BBMassage’s float spa Utah and see your body and mind rejuvenated to the sore. Call now to book your appointment.