Massage FAQ
- Why Should You Have Massages and How Often?
- What Kind of Massage Is Right for You?
- Why Is It Important to Have a Licensed Massage Therapist?
- What Can You Expect When You Have a Massage?
- Are There Other Ways to Receive Massages?
Why Should You Have Massages and How Often?
Limited range of motion in any joint, numbness or tingling of the hands, feet or skin, muscular tension, stress, headaches, or back pain may all be symptoms caused by medical conditions requiring attention by your physician. However, most often such symptoms are caused simply by tight muscles and connective tissues – those tissues holding muscles to skin, muscles to muscles, and muscles to bones. Most of these symptoms can be resolved completely or in part with massage and bodywork therapy. Massages can also help reduce the symptoms or severity of many medical conditions such as high blood pressure, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, lymph edema, and back or neck pain. Many clients of massage also reduce their needs for medications—in consultation with their physicians.
As with any medical condition, the frequency of treatment with massage depends both on the complexity of the condition and how long you have had it. Acute conditions may completely resolve with one treatment, while chronic conditions may take several visits or several weeks. Education and self-care are the major factors in resolving a condition without it coming back. The more highly skilled your therapist is the more self-care information you will likely receive.
What Kind of Massage Is Right for You?
The many benefits of massage and bodywork therapy are being scientifically researched and documented in both medical and industry-specific journals. Massage therapy and bodywork benefits almost every aspect of the body at every stage of life. Working with your therapist you can decide what kind of massage is right for you now and as your life changes. Massage therapists can specialize in relaxing Swedish massage, pre-natal or infant massage, sports massage, neuromuscular therapy, orthopedic massage, craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, somatic therapy, geriatric massage, or other specialties.
Why Is It Important to Have a Licensed Massage Therapist?
Massage therapy is a well-recognized, specialized health practice. State licensure is your guarantee that your therapist has had quality professional training. In South Carolina, a massage practitioner must complete a minimum of 500 hours of professional training from an accredited school of massage, successfully pass a national board examination, and apply for and be awarded a state license to practice massage and bodywork. Licensed therapists must then complete continuing education courses in order to maintain their licenses. Being licensed and having been screened by The Balance Institute is your guarantee of quality service.
What to Expect
Massage therapy is usually performed on a massage table in a private treatment room. You, the client, complete a medical intake form similar to one completed at a physician's office. After greeting you, your therapist will accompany you to the treatment room, review your intake form, ask questions, give you opportunity to ask questions, and explain her or his techniques. The therapist will then leave the room while you dress down to your comfort level or the level appropriate for the treatment agreed upon (e.g., from the waist up to treat back pain). A table massage can also be performed through clothes but is generally more limited in its effects.
Your therapist will knock before entering the room. She/he will then apply the treatment using oils or lotions. Most therapists play soft music during the session, and many burn lightly scented candles to help create a relaxed atmosphere.
Licensed therapeutic massage is non-sexual. A licensed therapist cannot legally touch the breast tissues or the genitals. Therapists can massage the chest muscles surrounding the breasts if agreed to by the client. Such treatment is beneficial to problems involving the shoulder girdle and breathing restrictions and is non-sexual. Therapists often treat the gluteus muscles of the buttocks and the upper thigh muscles around the front and sides of the hips. These treatments can be performed through the drapes or directly on the skin.
At all times you, the client, will remain appropriately draped with a sheet, blanket, and/or large towel. Your privacy and respect is maintained at all times. A massage therapist will never perform a chiropractic maneuver on your back or neck. She/he cannot diagnose medical conditions and may refer you to your physician for follow-up of any suspicious findings or symptoms reported by you.
At the end of the session, the therapist will notify you of the session's end and leave the room. You will get dressed and usually meet with the therapist outside of the room.
Payment may be made either before or after the session. Tips are appreciated but not required.
Are There Other Ways To Receive Massages?
Chair massage is a popular massage technique which is performed with the client completely clothed. These massages are usually 10-15 minutes in duration and are available at places like airports, sidewalk cafés, golf courses, special events, malls, and offices. Businesses and corporations often employ massage therapists to perform chair massage at their places of business as added employee benefits or an occasional perk.
Chair massage lowers blood pressure, lowers stress levels, and improves mood and worker productivity. Chair massage is convenient, mobile, quick and rejuvenating.
You can book your own appointments online.
Try it now!
Quips & Quotes
How much exercise is enough for you to get and stay healthy? This varies by person. Start by checking with your doctor to make sure it is safe for you to exercise. Then choose an activity that you like. Move intensely enough to get winded but still be able to carry on a conversation. Do this for 20 - 30 minutes most days of the week. Or, do this for ten minutes several times a day, most days of the week. This is a good and easy start to good health.
Which is better? Heavy weights or cardiovascular workouts? From my trainer's perspective, I would choose cardio. Both heavy weights and cardio workouts cut fat, lower blood pressure and improve blood work; but heavy weights usually require close attention to protein intake, supplements and lots of time in the gym. In addition, heavy weights create thick hearts that are unhealthy and pump small amounts of blood per heartbeat. Cardio workouts produce more overall benefits and can be done anywhere. They build healthy and strong hearts that expand and pump more blood with each heartbeat.
I am 73 and have bad arthritis, so I cannot be doing a lot of things that are hard on the joints, such as running. Jan evaluates you before you do any training and takes everything into consideration. She comes up with a plan and it works.
--Jackie
I look forward to my maintenance massage session every couple of weeks. It's truly the highlight of my week!
--Byron
I just wanted to feel better—my lower back pain was making me miserable, exhausted, and depressed! I've had massages before but they hurt during and after the treatment, and I didn't want to hurt anymore. I called the Balance Institute looking and hoping for a better outcome. I found it!
--Dianne
The Balance Institute keeps you motivated to lose weight, get in shape, and feel better... The staff at The Balance Institute is fantastic. You go in and feel as if you are part of the family. I also think that it is very comfortable for middle-aged people like (my husband and me)... We were never sore no matter what we did, which was different from other exercising we had done in the past. I also have had the massages at The Balance Institute which are wonderful.
--Cas
So what if you fall off the wagon? If you forgot to brush your teeth yesterday, would you think you're a terrible person and never brush again? No! If you get off of your healthy routine, just get right back on it. Success is the culmination of repeated small successes.
...in the year I have trained at The Balance Institute, I have not only improved my physical fitness but have lowered my blood sugars, decreased my insulin, lowered my blood pressure, decreased my depression, improved my eating, and lost a significant amount of weight. I feel much better about myself and have increasingly become committed to taking better care of myself.
--Lynne
Is it healthy to be muscle-bound? Not really. Muscle-bound people tend to have thick hearts, get short of breath with endurance activities, and have problems with range of motion in their joints. Overall health is better with a healthy balance of aerobic or cardiovascular activity and moderate strength training that works all muscle parts and allows the body to be flexible.
Everyone at The Balance Institute takes great and sincere, personal interest in their clients and their individual needs....Somehow they weave what they do at The Balance Institute into an experience that does wonders for body, mind and soul. I always walk out of there feeling 100% better than when I walked in. I can't say enough good things about it!
--Beverly
If you are a first-time client of massage/bodywork therapy, we suggest you begin with Swedish massage to experience the relaxing and safe benefits of massage treatment. Swedish massage can lower blood pressure, improve blood and lymph flow, improve skin tone and appearance and—in our Center—has even caused weight loss.
Myofascial massage is a slow stretching of the connective tissues that connect skin to muscles, envelope muscles, and reach even to the bones.
Massage/bodywork therapies give you much needed "down-time", an opportunity to re-connect with yourself, who you are, where you've been, and where you're going.
Try massage/bodywork therapy for painful conditions such as shoulder tension, neck tension, muscle aches, joint tightness, back pain, knee pain, and foot pain.
My goals were to get motivated to start running again and work on my shoulder that was dislocated a few years ago. I've only been training with Jan a month but am already running several times a week on my own, and we're working on the shoulder with exercises I never thought of. Thank goodness she did the testing at the start of my program. It proved how high my blood pressure can get when I don't take my medicine regularly!
--Jeff
Sugar is energy. Muscles use sugar for energy. When muscles aren't used, sugars back up in the bloodstream. When this happens, diabetes develops. The good news is that people can often use exercise instead of insulin to control blood sugars. Both insulin and exercise move sugars from the bloodstream into the muscles for use as energy. For those who use insulin, the dosage can often be reduced with exercise. Work with your doctor and trainer on getting the balance that is best for you.
If you're starting a weight loss effort, do it sensibly. Increase your activity by 20% over what you're currently doing, and eat only the amount of food at each meal that you could fit in your cupped hands.
Don't think that starting full force into an exercise program is healthy. If you get sore, you might get discouraged and quit. Remember the hare and tortoise story. It's ok to be the tortoise. Persistence and consistency are the keys to success.