Descriptions
Gloria's massage therapy practice is suitable for special occasions or for routine self-care (for example, once per month). Targeted work is offered within holistic routines tailored to each client's preferences while maintaining consistency between sessions. Gloria keeps SOAP notes to document treatments and outcomes—an integral part of therapeutic practice that is not always utilized in spa settings.
Gloria applies techniques symmetrically and frequently alternates sides so clients can focus on sensations, notice areas of tension, and follow the pattern. Consistent, rhythmic touch fosters a deep, hypnotic state of relaxation—ideal for engages the parasympathetic nervous system and relieving stress.
Swedish
Flowy and gliding Swedish massage with light to medium pressure will sedate tense nerves and feel like waves of the ocean pushing and pulling your tissues. Classic techniques that are the hallmarks of every professional massage therapist will connect different areas of the body. You will not be bored, you will be soothed!
Deep Tissue
As the tissues are warmed up with Swedish techniques, deep tissue may be performed with slower, firmer pressure. After blood flow circulates, tight muscles are loosened, adhesions in the fascia are reduced, knots and trigger points are addressed, the segment will conclude with heat and/or compressions to calm sensitivity in the tissues, and allow the immune system to heal in the hours and days after the massage. The tenderness that you were not previously aware of will diminish in time.
Achieving the ideal pressure is essential. Experienced massage therapists develop intuition with how much pressure to use. Immediately inform the therapist if the pressure is too much.
Deep tissue massage is not intended to cause post-massage soreness and malaise, (PMSM). Gloria does not offer painful, heavy-pressure massage. If you need painfully deep pressure, please try sports massage, a male therapist, and/or try Rolfing. Extremely deep pressure can result in bruising and undesirable soreness. It is the client's responsibility to inform the therapist is the pressure feels unbearable.
Treatment Work
Medical massage, also known as orthopedic or clinical massage, is not as holistic in approaching the whole or upper body with some targeted areas but instead the sessions can be shorter and only address specific areas or issues. Clients may seek treatment for chronic discomfort, pain, and/or limited range of motion. The focus is outcome-based; a goal is evaluated with the purpose of making an improvement. It can often be a part of a recovery or treatment plan with a team of other health care providers, and generally takes more than one treatment to achieve results. Tracking progress is achieved by recording SOAP notes. Because the tissues are interconnected by fascia and tensegrity and because the tissue loosen during the process of activating the parasympathetic nervous system, Gloria does not explicitly offer clinical or treatment only massage.
Prenatal Massage with Pregnancy Cushion
Please avoid booking in the 1st trimester unless given permission from your doctor. Prenatal massage with a pregnancy cushion begins in prone. After being face down, the client gets on hands and knees so the cushion can be removed. The client rolls over and part of the table is raised on an incline so that she is not laying flat on her back. Restricting heat, heavy pressure, and limited time in prone are additional precautions.
Knots, Spasms, Trigger Points
A knot is a persistent tightening of muscle that typically involves part of the muscle and can be felt through palpation as a bump or ball under the skin.
Spasms are when the entire muscle voluntarily contracts and remains contracted which is usually very painful and can last a few seconds or for much longer.
Trigger points are muscle knots or irritated muscle fibers within a taut band of skeletal muscle that radiate pain, also called referred pain, to areas directly around the knot or in commonly mapped areas. Trigger points can be felt by the client when palpated or compressed.
There are key or central trigger points that may activate latent trigger points also considered satellite trigger points.
Dr. Janet Travell in the 1950s discovered tender spots in the muscles and helped people understand that knots or trigger points can be the source of pain with no disease or disorder otherwise attributed to their body pain.
Hawley, Dr Bryan. “Medical Massage Therapy,” drbryanhawley.com.