More than just a Massage.
The following is not actually a blog from us, but is actually written by a happy client who started out skeptical of how massage could contribute to her overall well-being and is now a convert living a pain free life.
If you found a knot in your hair, you’d probably sort it out right away, leaving it would only mean it that it would get worse and eventually end up in a horrible dreadlock. So why don’t we take the same action when we find a knot in our muscles. I’m a fine one to talk, I’ve worked on a computer nearly every day of my adult life and largely ignored the aching shoulders, the crunchy neck tendons and the stabbing headaches. That was until recently when the white-hot pain that was shooting across my left shoulder became too unbearable to continue ignoring.
I’d heard that the therapists at Puhoi Beauty were great at Massage, but I had my doubts, for me massage is a pamper treat you have on a holiday or on a day out with the girls. I was skeptical that a massage could really sort out my shoulder pain. I couldn’t have been more wrong!
Yes the treatment room looks like one that you’d find in a spa and the soothing music adds to the ambiance, but my first sessions started with a conversation about my posture and my anatomy and had me doing arm and shoulder rotations and as a result I was told that we before doing any deep tissue massage we would need to release the myofascia with Myoffascial Release Work.
This was how they described myofasica… “Think about the chicken you are going to roast for Sunday dinner, the connective tissue between the chicken skin and the meat is the Fascia”. It seems after years at a keyboard the Fascia around my left shoulder had toughened up, restricting blood flow and resulting in pain. They got to work on loosening up the Fascia for a good 20mins, only then did they start to work on the deeper muscles under the shoulder blade and in the neck area. This wasn’t a painful session but I left feeling like I’d had a full on work out. The following week I implemented the homework they had given me, raising my screen, sitting correctly, taking breaks. There was less pain and my shoulder felt freer, and a lot less crunchy.
However, I was hooked on the anatomy and was concerned about the long term damage I might have done. My therapist had been very clear that knotted muscles wouldn’t release themselves. If left untreated the body will compensate, overusing another set of muscles to protect those that are damaged. The damaged muscles will harden, restricting blood flow and building up toxins, ultimately manifesting in health issues such as headaches, restless sleep patterns, sluggish energy, digestion problems, the list is endless.
So back I went and asked for some more work on my shoulder and to look at releasing any toxins that might have built up over the years. They suggested, electronic acupuncture, Gua sha and Cupping. I’ve never been one for Chinese Medicine, but they explained things in simple terms and related everything back to my anatomy and what each procedure was designed to do. She started by placing an electronic acupuncture machine on my ankle and explained that the light pulsing sensation would work on my meridian lines. The first lot of cups were placed on my stomach. The idea being that we wanted to test my overall wellness before we moved onto my shoulder. I’m not going to lie having the cups placed on your stomach is an odd sensation, not painful but a strange tightening sensation as the skin is sucked up into the cups. 10 mins later I was delighted to be told that I was indeed a healthy specimen, the circle marks on my stomach were minimal and immediately started to fade. So over I went and my therapist prepared to start on my left shoulder. She began with Gua Sha, a light scraping, with an implement that looks a little like a surfers wax comb, the idea is to stimulate blood flow. Immediately the shoulder started to darken. Michelle placed 3 cups on the area, there was no pain at all but the skin reddened and looked bruised straight away. The idea of the cups is to draw stagnant blood, energy and toxins away from the damaged muscles. Unlike my stomach, when the cups were removed, my shoulder featured deep purple circles, (these fade within 2 – 3 days) indicating that there was a lot of toxins and stagnant blood.
My shoulder is a work in progress. I’ve spent years ignoring the knotted muscles and now my therapist has one hell of a dreadlock to untangle. The Myoffascial release was the start, the cups and Gua Sha, released the toxins and established better blood flow and I’ll continue to see Michelle for some deep tissue massage. Already I have seen great improvements, the pain is less, the movement in my shoulders is more and my understanding of how my body works and how I should be treating it has vastly improved.
Puhoi Beauty & Spa offers so much more than a Massage, this goes way beyond a spa pamper session, they are mechanics for the body, in the business of fixing things. If like me you’ve neglected muscle issues, ignored aches and pains and forgotten old injuries, then now is the time to act. The muscles wont heal themselves and will cause further problems as you go through life, in all sorts of ways. Let the therapists at Puhoi Beauty & Spa take a look, enjoy learning about your anatomy and be open to the suggestions on how she can help. You’ll be amazed at the results they can achieve for you.