Neuromuscular Therapy

Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT), American style, is a specialized form of therapeutic massage that targets muscle tissue to address issues like pain, tightness, and dysfunction. It utilizes a combination of postural assessment and palpation followed by the application of different soft tissue therapies focused on treating the neuromuscular system (which involves both muscles, fascia and the central nervous system).

NMT aims to restore balance and function in the body by addressing specific tender points (localized muscle spasms) and trigger points (localized muscle spasms with associated referral pain to other adjacent structures) and correcting imbalances caused by muscle overuse, injury, or postural problems.

NMT also emphasizes understanding the body’s biomechanics and muscle function, with the therapist evaluating how muscles are affecting posture, movement, and pain. It is commonly used to treat conditions like chronic pain, sports injuries, whiplash, sciatica, and headaches and jaw pain. The approach often involves collaboration with other healthcare professionals (like Doctors, Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Dentists, Orthodontists and Myofunctional Therapists) for a more holistic treatment.

Although Neuromuscular Therapy has received some bad press for being aggressive, a skilled NMT therapist will always work within the pain threshold of each patient by receiving feedback from the patient throughout the session to achieve the best result.

TMJD Massage Therapy

TMJ is short for Temporomandibular Joint. It is the most complicated and important set of joints in the human frame, with architecture that is unique in the body. Made up of two bones of the head and two boney ends of the jaw, it has a joint capsule filled with fluid for lubrication and nutrition for the internal structures.

When these two joints, found just in front of the ears and just below the cheek bones, become dysfunctional and painful due to traumas to the face, head, neck and jaw — like auto accidents, falls, fights, changes to the bite, tooth loss, fillings, long fatiguing dental sessions and chronic developmental breathing problems — many experts would say a person has developed TMJD. The “D” stands for disorder or dysfunction.

A person with TMJD will often have other symptoms as well: headaches in various areas of the head (especially in the temple region just above and in front of the ear), pain in the neck (especially at the base of the skull), pain in the shoulders (especially in the thick trapezius muscles), and pain in the low back and pelvis, which often happens as a compensation for the postural changes that accompany TMJD misalignments in the jaw, head, and neck.

Craniostructural Massage

Craniostructural Massage has emerged as an effective option for pain relief and dysfunction. This technique is a marriage of basic Structural Integration Massage Techniques with Cranial decompressions. These therapy systems use very gentle manipulations of the myofascial, cranial fascia and the dura that surrounds all the cranial structures, which continues around the spinal cord all the way down to the front of the tail bone.

These therapies are based on the idea that misalignments in the bones of the skull, as well as in other skeletal structures, can affect the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and contribute to a variety of health issues.

Craniostructural Therapy protocols are designed to address misalignments and dysfunctions within the cranial and spinal structures that may affect overall health. Using gentle, manual techniques, CST works to restore balance, enhance the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, and support the body’s self-healing mechanisms. Its applications range from treating chronic pain to improving neurological function, with the goal of promoting long-term wellness.

Given the chronic nature of pain, most patients require regular treatment intervals at first and then over time, based on their body’s response, less therapy, less often.

Myofascial Release

Myofascial Release is a very effective hands-on massage technique that utilizes slow, sustained, direct and indirect pressure to painful, restricted areas of the musculo-fascial system to restore pain-free motion to the joints and muscles of the body.

The myofascial system is a connective tissue system that forms a wrapping around every structure of the body. It forms the immediate environment of every cell of the human body. Under normal conditions, minus any excessive stress or trauma, this connective tissue has a relaxed and wavy architecture. It stretches and moves without restriction to provide protection and stability where needed.

Properly applied, gentle Myofascial Release techniques begin to unwind and unbind the accumulated tension in the myofascial/connective tissue system. It uses slow but deep direct pressure deeply stretching the myofascia. This gradually and sometimes suddenly removes tremendous pressure from the fascial system allowing blood, lymph, and nervous system energy to flow. The body then can begin to restore itself by way of the existing, activated repair mechanisms in the tissues that have received therapy.

Active Isolated Stretching

Active Isolated Stretching is a series of extremely specific, exact, held postures designed to gently lengthen and strengthen tight and sore musculofascial-tendon units throughout the body. The purpose is to reset and activate them back to or close to their original, ideal length. This can be done during or after a massage session.