Could You Benefit From a Medical Massage in New York?
David Weintraub, LMT and Owner at Bodyworks DW writes about medical massage in new york city. What is it, and how can you benefit from it?
It's likely you will lose mobility as you age
One of the main benefits to medical massage is increased range of motion in our joints, ie regained mobility. So, we can't really highlight the benefits of medical massage in new york without talking about the reasons we lose mobility in the first place.
As most of us age we slowly lose our mobility. We assume it’s aging, but often it’s simply sitting around too much. Office desks, driving, and sitting on the couch binge watching shows are all culprits. No matter what we do at the gym, all this sitting takes a toll. Check out this Mayo Clinic article on sitting risks.
When you sit for long periods your posture becomes misaligned. This results in poor biomechanics and mobility. Other repetitive postures such as leaning to one side while standing or carrying a bag on the same shoulder every day can also decrease mobility.
These unnatural habits limit our range of motion, speed, and power in our walking, running, and sports. Or even worse, they develop into nagging injuries preventing us from enjoying our activities.
What is the difference between Medical Massage and a Spa Massage?
The ultimate difference is what the massage therapist chooses to focus on during the session.
In a typical spa massage, the therapist will give a full body massage rather than focusing on injuries or specifics. The goal is to provide a relaxing experience, increase blood flow, and provide general maintenance to the muscles.
In a medical massage, the focus is on functional outcomes and medical needs. These may include releasing scar tissue, increasing range of motion in joints, and helping the client learn better body mechanics.
How Does Massage Increase Mobility?
Fascia is a substance in your body which glues all of your muscles together. It can become harder due to inactivity. Or fascia can get filled with inelastic scar tissue due to injury. This often results in poor posture and limited movement. Over time you end up on a downward spiral where movement becomes more and more difficult.
Medical massage improves the elasticity of your fascia. It uses targeted deep tissue techniques to increase blood flow to stuck areas and to lengthen and stretch the fascia. By choosing which areas to work on wisely, a great medical massage therapist can rebalance your posture. And increase range of motion in your joints. You’ll find ease in your movement patterns again and feel much better, especially with a series of 5-8 massage sessions.
How does Medical Massage in New York, NY Compare to other places?
New York State is a special case for massage therapy. Massage therapists must train for a minimum of 1,000 hours. And pass a difficult board examination to practice medical massage in New York State. Most other states in the US require only 500-700 hours. And do not include specific training in medical massage.
In general, you can expect medical massage in New York, NY to include the following training within the 1,000 hour requirements:
- Medical massage techniques such as myofascial release & trigger point therapy
- Anatomy and physiology
- Clinical massage therapy principles and modalities
- Kinesiology
- Hydrotherapy
- Pathology
- Professional ethics
- Business practices for medical massage therapists
- 150+ Hours of Supervised clinical practice sessions
New York City makes a really special case for massage therapy. Our citizens tend to have more stressful office jobs, sit for longer hours, and conversely, work out super hard after all that. New York City dwellers have come to expect quality sports and medical massage. If a massage therapist doesn’t seem confident dealing with injuries and pain management, there are plenty more to choose from.
How Does Bodyworks DW Advanced Massage Therapy take this the Next Level?
At Bodyworks DW, our owner David Weintraub is a first call massage therapist for several orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists. Including top notch doctors at the renowned Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, NY. He works together with them to increase mobility on difficult cases where a patient has severely restricted motion. HSS doctors routinely send patients to David that are recovering from surgeries or to prevent the need for surgeries. He's worked with clients to recover from knee replacements, torn rotator cuff repairs, hip replacements, spinal fusions, nerve relocations, and other major surgeries. Working together with their team of physical therapists, David uses medical massage in midtown and the financial district to vastly speed up recovery times for their patients.
David has created Bodyworks DW as an advanced training ground for talented massage therapists. He keeps his staff current and growing by offering regular trainings, coaching, and discussion groups. Each of our therapists has been hand picked by David. And then trained to become a top notch medical massage therapist.
We offer advanced medical massage in midtown and the financial district in New York City.