Neuromuscular Therapy Archives | Precision Wellness

What is Neuromuscular Therapy Massage?

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Neuromuscular massage is a specific deep tissue massage that utilizes friction and pressure to work out muscle strains. These areas are referred to as “trigger points,” and cause pain for a lot of people. Neuromuscular massages should be given by trained professionals that have had experience in this work.

This type of massage has a lot of benefits – typically, neuromuscular therapy massage helps with compressed nerves, muscle spasms, and poor blood flow. For many people, this massage will be painful at first as the muscles are worked on, but no one should feel an overwhelming amount of pain. Clients should always feel comfortable with communicating to their massage therapist how the pressure feels on them in order to get the most out of their massage.

Using slow, pressured strokes, massage therapists can penetrate the deeper layers of tissue to find the actual issues – the soft tissues, the muscles and ligaments, and the nervous system. When telling your massage therapist about how a certain area of your body that you experience pain, don’t be surprised if they don’t work that area very much. Often, there are specific points on other parts of the body that are the root of the pain that they must work on in order to smooth out the muscles. For example, for people complaining about back pain, a massage therapist might work on the upper glutes to release tension tying into the back.

Many people will feel sore after this massage the next day because of the amount of lactic acid that is released during the massage. Your massage therapist will probably recommend that you try a different movement during the day to lessen the amount of muscle pain you experience (like sitting straighter in chairs to lessen the strain on back muscles, etc).

Here at Precision Wellness, we have multiple massage therapists trained on how to perform neuromuscular massages. We would love to see how we can lessen your muscle pain with this type of massage – book online today!

Massage & Working at a Desk

Desk workers are notorious for sharing some of the worst aches and pains because they are confined to a chair for 8 hours a day. Not only does the affect your body physically but can also take a toll on your mental health as well. Many office workers experience back pain, headaches, stiff joints, and more ailments. Massage can help realign your spine to fix your posture from bending over a computer all day and help to relieve the pains associated with desk work.

Massages can counteract the bad postures your body is put through during the day. That means our deep tissue massage will work past the first layer of muscle tissue to relieve chronic pain and increase joint mobility. Not to mention, our relaxation massage is great to engage the sympathetic nervous system and relax the mind and body. This is especially great for people that have very high-stress jobs or tend to get anxious during job projects. What better way to unwind than with a massage?

The strain of looking at a computer all day tends to give us headaches and migraines that just don’t seem to go away. Massages increase blood flow circulation and smooth out those tense muscles in order for them to heal. This gives your body a chance to relax and enjoy the break away from the desk.

It’s not just your back and shoulders that feel the pressure – You can develop knots in your forearms and stiffness in your wrists from typing. With a full-body massage, we’ll be able to work out the kinks so you can keep pounding that keyboard.

Massage is a great natural way to improve productivity, alleviate stress, and heal your body’s aches without the use of chemicals or drugs. While each situation is different, your body can greatly benefit from a professional massage tailored to your unique needs.

With many different massage techniques available, Precision Wellness is your go-to for any and all treatments. Let us know your specific ailments when you come to see us, and we’ll help you decide the perfect massage for you! We offer deep tissue, neuromuscular, relaxation, Thai, and herbal oil-infused massage at our location right here in Springfield, Missouri!

Benefits of TMJ Massage Therapy

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TMJ Disorder or Syndrome is a term used to describe temporomandibular disorders (TMD), which happen as a result of problems with the jaw, the joint, and the surrounding facial muscles that control moving the jaw and chewing. The temporomandibular joint is the hinge joint that connects the lower jaw to the temporal bone of the skull. This bone is located in front of the ear on each side of the head. When working correctly, the joints are flexible, which allows the jaw to move smoothly side to side and up and down, also enabling one to chew, talk and yawn. Muscles attached to and surround the jaw joint to control the position and movement of the jaw.

People with TMJ disorder experience severe discomfort and pain that can be temporary, or it may last for many years. More women than men experience TMJ and this disorder is seen most commonly in people between the ages of 20 and 40.

Massage therapy is a healing technique that has been around for thousands of years and is practiced all over the world. It has been proven to help alleviate a variety of medical conditions, including TMJ disorder.

What Causes TMJ Disorder?

Asymmetry of the muscles of mastication, which is also known as chewing, tightness of the back of the neck, forward head posture, and many myofascial trigger points can cause TMJ disorder problems. Injury to the jaw, the temporomandibular joint, or muscles of the head and neck can cause TMJ disorder. However, something as simple as grinding or clenching the teeth puts a lot of pressure on the TMJ and can cause TMJ disorder. Also, the jaw is a ball and socket joint, and dislocation of the cushion between the ball and socket can result in TMJ disorder. Finally, TMJ disorder can result from inflammation caused by another illness, stress, which can cause a person to tighten facial and jaw muscles or clench the teeth.

What Are the Symptoms of TMJ Disorder?

There are several symptoms that are indicators one is experiencing temporomandibular joint disorder, including:

Pain or tenderness in the face, jaw joint area, neck and shoulders, and in or around the ear when chewing, speaking, or opening the mouth wide
Difficulty chewing as if the upper and lower teeth are not fitting together properly
Jaws that get “locked” in the open- or closed-mouth position
Limited motion to open the mouth wide
Clicking, grating sounds or popping in the jaw joint when opening or closing the mouth

What Happens at a Precision Wellness Massage Therapy Session for TMJ Disorder?

While treating TMJ, our massage therapist will focus treatment on the reduction of tension in the masticatory (chewing) muscles, eliminating trigger points—the painful “knots” felt in the muscle that refer to pain elsewhere—and releasing tension in the fascia tissue around the jaw area. Fascia is the tough, dense connective tissue that surrounds every muscle, nerve, bone, blood vessel, and organ of the body. Some of the common massages that our massage therapist will use when treating TMJ include:

Swedish Massage – While this is the most common and well-known massage, it has a number of benefits; a primary one being that of relaxation. Our massage therapist are experts in providing relaxation through a full-body Swedish massage can have a huge impact in reducing jaw tension, as stress contributes greatly to TMJ disorders.
Neuromuscular Therapy – This technique involves our therapist applying pressure to trigger points in the jaw muscles to help relieve tension and return muscles to a relaxed state.

How Will Massage Help With TMJ Pain?

Massage is the manual or mechanical application to alleviate pain or induce relaxation in the muscles and other soft tissue of the body. The term massage therapy covers a group of techniques that we at Precision Wellness practice. In all of the techniques, our therapists press, rub, and otherwise manipulate the muscles and other soft tissues of the body, often varying in movement and pressure to satisfy each individual’s needs. Usually, the intent is to relax muscles, increase blood and oxygen to areas, and decrease pain.

Alleviate Chronic Pain With Massage

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Massage therapy can help clients manage a variety of health conditions, from arthritis to chronic pain.

Dealing with these conditions, however, requires you not only to understand the health condition and its symptoms but also what information you might need to tell your therapist to make the massage session more effective.

Massage and Chronic Pain

More and more research is confirming the benefits massage therapy offers people dealing with chronic pain, whether because of injury or as a symptom of another condition. Some people who are looking to use massage to help manage pain can only come in once they’ve been cleared for massage therapy by their physician. It’s best to openly communicate any chronic pain issues with your therapist including fibromyalgia, chronic myofascial pain syndrome, and arthritis, to name just a few.

Fibromyalgia and chronic myofascial pain syndrome (CMPS)

According to the National Fibromyalgia Research Association, more than six million Americans suffer from fibromyalgia—90 percent of whom are women. Fibromyalgia is often characterized by numbness in the upper and lower body, joint stiffness in several areas of the body, and widespread musculoskeletal pain. The condition is diagnosed when 11 out of 18 tender points are painful to the touch, and some clients might also experience other symptoms, including headaches, anxiety, depression, and sensitivity to environmental stimulation such as bright lights, loud noises, and strong odors. Massage can help. It reduces stress, helps relieve pain, decreases feelings of anxiety, and increases general overall well-being, all of which are great for people with fibromyalgia

CMPS (Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome) typically occurs when a muscle has been contracted repetitively, often due to repetitive motions (usually from a job or hobby) or stress-related muscle tension. Those with CMPS tend to have a persistent, deep aching pain in their muscles and may have difficulty sleeping. Unlike fibromyalgia, CMPS tends to affect both genders equally. Neuromuscular therapy and Myofascial release are just some of the massage techniques that have been proven to be effective in treating CMPS.

Arthritis

Arthritis is characterized by an inflammation of one or more joints. The most common symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness. There are more than 100 different types of arthritis, so understanding your client’s individual pain is essential. Massage can ease your arthritis symptoms. Recent studies on the effects of massage for arthritis symptoms have shown regular use of massage therapy led to improvements in pain, stiffness, range of motion, handgrip strength, and overall function of the joints.

Whatever your chronic pain issue may be massage can be a useful tool in helping manage and reduce the day-to-day symptoms that can stop you from doing the things you enjoy.