Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does massage have to hurt to be beneficial? “No pain, no gain, right?”

The common assumption that people make is that muscles relax with more pressure. We understand that some people especially athletes, often like a lot of pressure in their treatment as they find it soothing. This is totally fine and we are happy to meet the customer’s expectations taking care never to hurt anyone. Certain massage techniques, like Trigger Point Therapy for instance, do require putting some level of pressure to get rid of knots in muscles. The fact is, however, what is needed, whether we are working lightly or deeply, is more intelligence, more sensitivity, more anatomical clarity, and therefore generally less force. Substituting force for intelligence—whether it be in warfare or health care—is generally a bad idea. Indeed, the relaxation of muscles is largely not a result of massage pressure; it is the result of the nervous system turning off the message for the muscle to be tight. Muscle tightness is often a safeguard mechanism and the causes are varied going from poor posture, over-exertion to inflammation, muscular trauma, and infection. The brain is telling the muscle to tighten up to protect the body against something. In other words, muscle tightness might only be a symptom of an underlying issue. At Advanced Remedial Massage, we always try to address the root cause of the problem and ask the question as to why muscles are tight. We have a number of techniques in our toolbox which enable us to achieve beneficial results in terms of lasting pain relief and increased functionality but with minimal discomfort - Muscle Energy Techniques (MET), Positional Release (PR), Mobilization techniques, Stretch protocols, Neuro-muscular techniques (NMT), Microcurrent Therapy, etc. We adopt a holistic approach to massage, treating the whole person, body, and mind. The safety, comfort, and well-being of our patients are our priorities. People who suffer from Fibromyalgia and Chronic pain as well as those who have a very low pain-threshold will greatly benefit from our massage treatments.

Source www.massagemag.com/deep-tissue-massage-pressure-91071/

2. What is Microcurrent Therapy?

Microcurrent therapy is a safe and non-invasive therapy that use tiny electrical currents to reduce pain. It is in fact a form of TENS therapy (Transcutaneous Electrical Nervous Stimulation) which makes use of lower levels of electrical stimulation. Adhesive electrode pads are placed at specific locations on the body and tiny amounts of electrical current are passed through the soft tissues. If required, Microcurrent therapy is combined with our manual treatments to significantly decrease pain. Lower levels of pressure are thus required during the manual treatments and this leads to a comfortable, soothing and yet therapeutic massage experience. Our patients’ comfort during the treatment is our number one priority at Advanced Remedial Massage. We are therefore able to provide lasting pain relief even for patients who have a very low pain tolerance.

Safe + Painless + Effective treatments = lasting pain relief and significant increases in functionality.

“No pain ALL gain” is our goal: Painless treatments for pain-free outcomes.

3. Is relaxation massage a superficial form of massage?

Relaxation massage is a smooth, gentle, flowing style that promotes general relaxation, relieves muscular tension, and improves circulation and range of movement. It engages the superficial layer of muscles but it is certainly not a “superficial” massage. The amount of pressure is substantially less than in deep tissue massage and remedial massage but the therapeutic effects can be at least as effective as these two types of massages when performed the right way. Combining a light flowing massage with enough depth for you to feel its soothing effects, this massage creates a most relaxing and healing experience. Relaxation massage relaxes the body, reaches the mind and helps you learn to let go from the inside out.  It is better suited for people interested in relaxation and tension relief and who subscribe to a more holistic approach to massage and health- treating the whole person, body and mind.

4. Is massage a good option for treating Fibromyalgia.

We have regularly treated people suffering from Fibromyalgia and several studies have indicated that massage is a fantastic option for relieving pain and tenderness, reducing anxiety, improving mobility, sleep quality and the quality of life as a whole.