Stress Relief & Sports Massage
Articles by: Veronique Manchec
Craniosacral Therapy to Release Stress
Craniosacral therapy is a light touch therapy. It is used to evaluate and improve the flow of the cerebrospinal fluid. Craniosacral therapy eliminates the negative effects of stress and will strengthen your body’s ability to take better care of you. Craniosacral therapy will release the tensions, pain and dysfunction and will allow your body to relax and auto-correct itself. By freeing the central nervous system, Craniosacral therapy will improve the whole-body health and performance and naturally eliminate pain and stress.
Dr. Sutherland developed cranial osteopathy in the 1930s. He believed that the cranium (the part of the skull around the brain) does not fuse completely in early childhood and retain some flexibility.
Dr. Upledger in 1970s developed the approach of Craniosacral therapy. He discovered that the cerebral spinal fluid that nourishes and protects the membranes encasing the brain, spinal cord and sacrum, pulses. He differentiates Craniosacral therapy from Osteopathy in being “soft tissue-oriented”, “ fluid-oriented” as well as “membrane-oriented” (encasing the brain and spinal cord) rather than ”bone-oriented”.
During a Craniosacral therapy evaluation, the therapist senses the rhythm and looks for any restrictions impending the free motion of the Craniosacral system. The Craniosacral system is evaluated for amplitude, quality, rate and symmetry. These responses, or lack of them, are significant factors in discovering dysfunction in the various parts of the body.
Craniosacral therapy is performed on clients fully and comfortably dressed, lying on a massage table in a quiet environment. Every day at any level you face stresses and strains and your body absorbs them. Stress can be internal (emotions/anger/fear/guilt…) as well as external stress (environmental).
Your ability to handle stress will decrease with time and the tissues will start to tighten and eventually affect the brain, spinal cord and the performance of any system of your body.
Let go of your stress, tension, migraines, pain. Enjoy your life more. Call today for an appointment
Benefits of Massage in Sports and Fitness
The massage used with athletes that are healthy by definition will bring them the opportunity of better performance during their career.
If an athlete is in a period of training and is preparing for future competition, it is indicated to do a general massage before and mostly after the effort so the athlete can multiply his training without the risk of injury.
There are three aspects for events:
• Before the effort to prepare for specific competition
• Between two closed efforts
• After the effort or recovery phase
Before an effort the massage will stimulate the muscles to be used in the upcoming event. The massage will be relatively short but energetic to prepare the athlete for performance. It will also help him psychologically. If the athlete is anxious we will use a slow and long move to calm them. If the athlete is relaxed we will do an energetic, short and tonic type of massage. The massage is also done to postpone the apparition of fatigue. Another factor to take in consideration is the atmospheric condition. When it’s cold, a longer and more intense massage is used than when its warm.
Between events the first phase will be to relax, the massage will be oriented on the circulation, slow rhythm, deep and long. When the fatigue disappears the second phase will be to bring a new neuromuscular stimulation.
After the effort the goal is to reduce the fatigue of the muscles and reestablish the calm. The massage should be slow, lighter and will concentrate on the muscles that were mostly used in that specific competition. We will use a variety of strokes as well as stretching and mobilizations of the articulations. Also its time to take care of the divers injuries if any. The massage is a great technique to facilitate the muscular rest and repair of small injuries.
The massage is very appreciated by the sportifs. It helps them to stay healthier and to achieve better performances. Of course the massage should be part of different approaches such as a good diet, enough sleep, and hard training.
If you are an athlete or a fitness individual you should schedule your massage to promote your well-being and achievement.