A variety of manual therapy techniques are used to relax muscles, break up adhesions, deactivate trigger points, improve daily function, and improve athletic performance.

Wellness massage is a full body massage tailored to your specific needs to promote overall health and wellbeing.

Trigger points are localized spasms or knots in the muscle that not only cause pain locally but also refer pain to other areas of the body.

Trigger points can be found in muscles that are overused, injured or have been weakened by a lack of use. They can be caused by repetitive movements or sustained postures that place stress on individual muscle fibers and lead to micro-tears in the surrounding tissue.

For example, people who spend hours sitting at a computer may experience pain in their neck and shoulders because they are unable to move their upper body while working. The muscles in these areas become stiff, sore, and tender when trigger points form.

Benefits of deactivating trigger points include

• Reduction of

o Acute and chronic pain symptoms including headaches

• Increase in

o blood flow

o removal of metabolic waste

o range of motion

o overall energy

• Improves

o activities of daily living

o sleep quality

o athletic performance

Neuromuscular therapy addresses the underlying causes of pain and helps to restore the balance between the muscular and the nervous system. It is a comprehensive treatment to effect long-term systemic changes in the human body. Therapy is focused on resetting the neurofeedback loop, trigger points, ischemia, nerve entrapment and compression, biomechanics, and postural distortion.

The neurofeedback loop is the continuous communication between the nervous system and the muscles. It defines muscle tone and is crucial for maintaining proper movement patterns, balance, and posture.

Biomechanics refers to the mechanics of the musculoskeletal system and movement patterns. Proper biomechanics helps with pain reduction, activities of daily living, enhances athletic performance, and injury prevention.

Postural distortion is the abnormal alignment or positioning of the body’s musculoskeletal structures, typically the result of fascial restrictions and dysfunction in muscles, joints, and posture. There are various causes, including repetitive movements, prolonged sitting or standing, and imbalances in muscle tone and strength.

Ischemia is the restriction or reduction in the blood supply to a specific tissue, muscle, or organ in the body. This reduction in the blood supply reduces the oxygen available to the body and decreases the removal of metabolic wastes from the cells.

MFR remodels the fascia that encapsulates every structure in the body including our muscles and bones. When fascia becomes restricted or adhered, it restricts the free movement of muscle and can cause postural distortions. The fascia has a tensile strength of up to 2000 lbs per square inch, making it a key player in many pain syndromes.

Physical therapy is offered in our office with our sister clinic, Caldera Physical Therapy.

Tui Na is a form of traditional Chinese medical massage. It uses manual techniques including acupressure to restore the body’s natural energy flows.

Cupping is an ancient therapy technique first documented in a 1550 b.c. Egyptian medical text and is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. A cup is used to create a vacuum which pulls blood and Qi from deep under the skins surface.

Cupping also activates the parasympathetic nervous system which jumpstarts the healing process. In our practice, static cups are typically placed over trigger points, areas of soft tissue restriction, and acupressure points. We use dynamic or moving cupping over larger areas to reduce fascial restrictions and to bring Qi to the surface.

IASTM is an evidenced-based modality that is similar to Gau Sha and Graston therapies. Specialized tools are used to manipulate soft tissues, including muscles and tendons.

On a neurological level, stimulation of the nerve endings effects changes in the neuromuscular feedback loop, like those described above using NMT. The result is a reduction in resting muscle tone and the calming of hyperactive pain receptors.

On a cellular level there is an increase in fibroblast production and a remodeling of the collagen matrix. The result is a breakdown of scar tissue, adhesions, and fascial restrictions.

On a vascular level, there is an increase in blood flow, which brings more nutrients and oxygen while removing more metabolic waste.