Navarre Massage Day Spa and Gifts

Are you looking forward to Juana’s Charity Chili cook off & Volleyball tournament on Oct. 10th?  Or, maybe you were thinking “if only that nagging pain in your shoulder or low back would ease you would love to is participate in Navarre’s Annual Run for Reef on Oct. 16th.”  Your pain can be a dull ache or throbbing.  The source of the pain unknown.  It  could be coming from muscle stiffness or from ligaments restricting body movements.  Let me offer some suggestions to help ease or alleviate your pain.

We all intuitively know that when we get up and move we will feel better.  Increasing your activity level is also proven to reduce fatal risks of heart disease, helps control weight loss, and can reduce anxiety and depression. Well, what’s happening is that movement increases blood flow to a tight area and therefore can ease your pain. Often people start by trying some stretching.

First, try closing your eyes and taking some frequent, deep breaths, breathing in to a slow count of 5 – hold for count of 5 – then exhale for a count of 5  Do this 3 times. Next, try some gentle stretching.  Many people stretch incorrectly and aggravate their discomfort.   If you are doing a static stretch (stretching with your body at rest) it should be held between 10 seconds to a few minutes.  However, dynamic stretching (stretching while moving) should be held for less time, usually less than 3 seconds. Research now says is best to do static stretching after your muscles have been warmed up. After deciding which kind of stretch to do then consider the optimum length to stretch.  If you don’t stretch enough, nothing is accomplished  And, if you stretch too far you could end up hurting more than when you started.  Generally, you should bring the muscle to point of tension.  A solid exercise “burn” is OK.  Pain is not.

Any stretch is enhanced when you add resistance.  During deep tissue massage treatments, I show my clients how they can stretch or work tight muscles when I find painful areas or trigger points.  One of the best techniques here is called strain /counter-strain.  Basically, you want to engage a muscle that’s tight and then apply a counter-strain to the target muscles in the opposite direction.  I realize it’s challenging, especially when you’re in pain, but it’s well worth the eventual relief when you can locate and work out the source of that pain.  Simple stretches or maybe a yoga class might just do the trick.

Another option is to use analgesic pain relief product.  I’ve had some really good success with a product called Biofreeze.  Menthol in the product causes sensory receptors to be stimulated, blocking other pain sensations in a physiological process called “gating.”  The product is cooling, so this reduces skin temperature, lessens inflammation, and allows the body the ability to repair itself.  If you are looking to try this option, I carry the product as both a topical spray and cream application.

Massage therapists are always concerned about self-care, and I think we need to share this with others.  Try these simple suggestions for pain.  And if they are not effective enough, call a massage therapist in Navarre for a therapeutic massage.  Find a therapist who is a detective, who searches for areas where pain might be lurking.  At Island Escape Massage and Spa (now on Facebook at “Island Escape Navarre”), our goal is to locate tight, injured muscles and soothe out those knots.  Remember that where we feel pain is often not the source of that pain . . . but more about that in another article.