Those who suffer from chronic back pain know the typical suggestions for dealing with it: exercise, stretching, medication, muscle relaxants, massage therapy etc. Oftentimes, one symptoms of muscle or joint pain is accompanied by several others, such as poor circulation, stiffness, restricted mobility and muscle spasms. It doesn’t take long to get frustrated with a sore and tense back that you start to view the daily pain as inevitable. But perhaps there is one more option available for consideration.
Infrared therapy lamps use innovative wavelength technology to stimulate local circulation and provide temporary relief of muscle and joint pain. This technique, using therapeutic infrared heat to penetrate muscles and connective tissue to release tension, is favoured among wellness practitioners and acupuncturists. Experts in health and wellness see infrared heat as a useful analog to other treatment modalities and therapeutic practices.
The infrared heat therapy lamp uses a mineral plate, made of 43 elements essential to the human body to emit a special band of electromagnetic waves, (2-25 microns), which are similar to those released by the human body naturally to absorb nutrients and and minerals. Using infrared therapy for muscle and joint pain or stiffness, or minor joint pain associated with arthritis is a natural and sustainable remedy for recurring issues.
In addition, infrared heat treatment can increase circulation in the direct area where it is applied, to relax muscles and ultimately relieve the body of muscle spasms, strains or general back pain. Infrared heat penetrates much deeper than surface heating, such as electric heat, so it is better equipped to deal with persisting tensions stored within the body and aching to be addressed.
Unlike traditional attempts to soothe sore muscles, the infrared heat therapy lamp provides a consistent and comfortable release and easily accessible mode of pain alleviation. All that is required of you is full relaxation. Integrating infrared heat therapy into your health and wellness routine is relatively effortless, but the rewards can be unexpected! Experience what it is like to live your life free of restrictive pain and tightness in the body now, not later! It has never been more straight-forward to achieve full body restoration than it is with an infrared heat therapy lamp. Try it today and you won’t believe the difference heat can make.
]]>Fitness is next to Godliness - or at least it's close. As a culture, we are becoming increasingly more conscious of the necessity of regular exercise in order to lead a healthy, balanced life. In a city like Vancouver, you’re hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t actively take measures to get outside or get to the gym at least once a week. This is all well and good but sometimes we push ourselves a little too hard during a workout.
It’s not uncommon to hear someone finish a workout only to exclaim, “I’m going to be sore for days after this.” We spend a lot of time doing weight training or cardio but often neglect the very important factor of muscle recovery. After strenuous exercise, our muscles are crying out for hydration and relaxation - they need to heal in order to become stronger versions of themselves. This is why it’s quite rational to consider integrating massage into your fitness routine.
Massage is proven to aid muscle recovery time and loosen stiff joints with little to no effort on your behalf. Researchers put eleven young healthy men through a high intensity workout to see the effects of massage on their muscles. The massage was given right after the workout and affected two specific genes in the muscle cells. The first gene is one that decreases inflammation caused by strenuous activity. The second gene turned up the production of mitochondria in the muscles which use oxygen and energy from good to generate energy for cells to consume. Massage helps all of these processes along.
By speeding up muscle recovery and bringing hydration to the muscles by applying pressure directly on the skin and muscles, massage can reduce the time it takes for muscles to recover and restore energy for your next workout. In addition, massage is often cited as a means to improve sleep and circulation, all of which contribute to more effective exercise sessions and a renewed sense of energy throughout the body. Luxury massage chairs are now equipped with dynamic and intense automatic modes like “Relax” and “Restore” programs that integrate kneading, tapping, knocking, and rolling massage techniques to produce maximal relief and restoration.
If you want to take your fitness routine to the next level, consider integrating daily or weekly massage into your regime. There is nothing to lose and only improvements to gain!
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Massage chair therapy is known to be successful in treating physical and emotional problems anywhere from indigestion to anxiety. The benefits of regular massage for one’s overall health and wellness are well documented. But is massage safe for everyone? Studies indicate that massage therapy, performed during pregnancy, can actually reduce anxiety, decrease symptoms of depression and relieve muscle aches and joint pains. In addition, massage can improve labor outcomes and newborn health. Sounds amazing right? That’s because it is. Massage therapy has the unique ability to address various physical needs by integrating diverse therapeutic techniques. Relaxation massage, restorative techniques and intense Shiatsu techniques all work to release tensions built up throughout the day and rejuvenate one’s overall sense of health and well-being.
Despite massage during pregnancy receiving ambivalent responses from the health community regarding safety and use, contemporary researchers that prenatal massage therapy may actually be instrumental in creating complete prenatal care and deserves serious consideration. So just what exactly can massage chair therapy accomplish for pregnant women?
Studies suggest that pregnant women experience similar, if not elevated levels of muscle pain as the rest of us. Pregnant women experience the same levels of emotional and physical relaxation from massage, and arguably, they need it more! A massage during pregnancy may even be a useful tool for the reduction of joint and muscle swelling, both symptoms of late pregnancy and very annoying to ignore. In addition, massage during pregnancy can help women’s bodies regulate hormone production, improve nerve pain and even decrease signs of depression, anxiety and aid the birth and labor process.
When is massage therapy safe for women who are pregnant? Experts agree that women can begin massage therapy at any point in their pregnancy - during the first, second or even third trimester. However, precautions must be taken during the first trimester as there is an increased risk of miscarriage associated with the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
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Spinal alignment may not be something you often think about but it could has something to do with your neck pain problems. Smartphones tablets, and other wireless devices are notorious for causing the neck to strain in ways we don’t often notice until it's too late. ‘Text neck’ is a term used to describe the neck pain and damage sustained from staring down at your cellphone, tablet, or other wireless devices for extended periods of time and far too often. It isn’t hard to believe that spending hours on end with your neck straining downwards would cause upper back muscle pain and acute neck tension.
Depending on the frequency at which you use your device, text neck could be something you’re experiencing. The amount of time human beings spend sitting and looking at screens has unprecedented effects for overall feelings of wellbeing, circulation and posture.
Spending time distracted and seated can lead to the development of poor posture which can compound the effects of neck pain even further, creating long-term persistent tightness or soreness in the upper regions of the back. It is true that human beings have been looking down for centuries for activities like reading, but the amount time that wireless devices add to this position is slightly concerning.
Some studies suggests that text neck may even be linked to the early onset of arthritis in the neck. Text neck is all too common in the modern age. Research suggests that 79% of the adult population (ages 18-44) have their cell phones with them almost all the time, spending a mere 2 hours of their waking day away from their cell phone.
Common symptoms associated with text neck include:
Apart from limiting your smartphone and tablet use, there are several ways to soothe ‘text neck’. Ideally, one should focus on prevention. Holding your cell phone at eye level is one way to ensure your neck is protected from advancing the strain that occurs when looking downwards. It is also wise to take several breaks throughout the day to get up and walk around in order to loosen the muscles if they are becoming tense. Becoming aware of your posture is also key. If you are sitting and looking at a screen, be sure your head is positioned squarely in line with your shoulders and spine.
Another way to deal with the negative effects of text neck is taking efforts toward rehabilitation. Developing your core strength - the abdominal and lower back muscles - will help you better support your upper body, including your neck. Massage therapy can be an effective option when attempting to restore sore and tension upper back muscles.
]]>Most of us know that our posture could use some improving. The hours we spend sitting at desks, looking at computers and straining our necks reading on wireless devices has started taking its toll on our posture. Some experts suggest that when it comes to neck and back pain, poor posture is the number one culprit.
Developing poor posture subtly puts your spine in misalignment, causing some muscles to work extraordinarily hard while other muscles which are not being used get increasingly weaker. Being hunched over also has consequences for other physiological mechanisms. Poor posture can cause you to exert undue pressure on your internal organs, negatively affecting processes like digestion, circulation and breathing.
Poor posture is without a doubt one of the most difficult bad habits to fix. Massage therapy is one of the most useful tools available to help correct poor posture before it gets worse! The relaxing psychosomatic effects of massage allow the body to reinforce health and natural movements as well as loosen and restore sore muscles developed due to bad posture.
One of the most popular benefits of massage therapy is the way it combines relaxation and intensity to give your body the relief it needs to realign and resume its natural, pain-free posture. Consistent massage can loosen and relax joints, release pressure in acupressure zones and produce an overall sensation of restoration.
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Those of us with a seemingly low body temperature most find ourselves cold in a room full of comfortable people. We may start shaking or shivering while waiting for the bus during the winter or get a cold simply from spending time in a highly air-conditioned area. Having an abnormally low body temperature can prevent you from doing the things you want to do, or perhaps make it difficult to enjoy being outdoors during Vancouver’s rainy months.
One of the reasons experts cite for people with low body temperature is poor circulation. Those of us who experience poor circulation can start to lose feeling in limbs or extremities without warning when exposed to cool environments. Massage is proven to improve circulation by increasing the temperature in muscular and connective tissue. Not only this, but massage can also help to increase heart rate to allow an improvement in circulation and overall blood flow around the body which creates the added benefit of circulating oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.
While most people view massage as a means to reduce muscle or joint pain and create relaxation, many forget the additional health and wellness benefits massage can provide. So how exactly does massage increase temperature naturally? With various techniques, such as creating friction, skin rolling or stimulating myofascial release, massage can bring the heat! Frictions involve applying pressure transversely along muscle fibres to help break down collagen fibres that can build up within muscles and cause restriction. By increasing temperature using frictions you can achieve greater flexibility and reduce the sensation of restriction in the muscles. The rolling style massage, a standard massage technique programed into most luxury massage chair models, helps separate fascia from muscle. Fascia is the tough, fibrous layer of connective tissues located directly beneath the skin. By separating the fascia from the muscle you can successfully decrease muscle tightness and increase blood flood by stretching the muscle.
So what are the benefits to be gained by increasing your temperature? Well the first, and most obvious, is greater comfort and feeling of calm afforded by no longer worrying about freezing and losing feeling in the extremities and enjoying life to the fullest. The most common and practical benefits include, decreased tension overall, increased range of movement, and improved posture. A decreased level of stress and renewed sense of flexibility can help you avoid stress and muscle tightness.
As we come to understand body as a complex, dynamic and interactive system, it becomes more apparent mental and physical well-being are intrinsically interdependent. The brain does not simply exist in the head, it extends down the body’s entire nervous system, making decisions based on the state of the entire body. This is why it is important to take care of the physical body in order to achieve optimal energy, sleep, digestion and emotional well-being. For centuries, the health benefits of acupuncture have been recognized and esteemed. Nearly everyone can improve their body’s functioning and promote natural self-healing with this practice. Acupuncture is a 3,000 year-old healing technique of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Only in the last few decades has the West started introducing and integrating the practice into modern medical, health and wellness culture.
Traditional acupuncture uses fine, sterile needles to stimulate acupuncture points or acupoints throughout the body. Acupoints are specific anatomic sites connected to the nervous, immune, endocrine, cardiovascular, and digestive systems. By stimulating the body’s various systems, acupuncture helps relieve pain, improve sleep, digestive function and promotes an improved overall sense of well-being. However, acupuncture is just one of the ways to stimulate these anatomic zones. Other forms of acupoint stimulation techniques include massage, moxibustion, or heat therapy.
Therapeutic massage can target acupoints with kneading, tapping, knocking or rolling massage techniques. With careful manipulations of the skin and connective tissue underneath, massage therapy stimulates blood circulation and releases tensions held within the body. By releasing energy blockages in the body, acupressure massage stimulates the body’s restorative functions by evoking its natural healing responses, taking place in various physiological systems.
]]>It’s nearly impossible to find any working person who will tell you they don’t experience stress. What is less common is a realization that chronic stress can wreak havoc on your physiological and psychological health if left untreated. Key indicators of chronic stress can be anything from jaw and stomach pain, trouble sleeping to grouchiness and trouble focusing.
The reasons for stress and the symptoms it develops in human beings are multitudinous. Not giving your body and mind an adequate amount of time to process information and rest is one of the easiest ways to slip into a cycle of stress and insomnia.
A study conducted in 2006 by psychology professor Richard Wener at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University revealed that commuters who take the train to and from work experience less stress than those who drive. This study also highlighted that the longer the commute, the more irritable commuters are at work and at home The key finding was that drivers who have long commutes experience more stress and this negative emotion can spill over into professional and personal life.
One of the most effective ways to combat stress is seeking and discovering comfort. It is inevitable that the events of life will cause us physical, emotional and social stress. However, research suggests that the easiest way to combat the negative effects of stress is to create comfort in any way you know how. New York-based expert on wellness matters, Donnalynn Civello, establishes that the development of chronic stress is less about lack of time and more about the state of mind applied to each situation as it arises. Civello examines the way in which a healthy state of mind, of calm and awareness, can be the most effective method in combating stress. Recognizing that the power to alleviate stress lies within the actions you take in your mind and body is the first step to overcoming the negative symptoms of stress.
To achieve full mind and body restoration, it is important to organize your life in a way that promotes holistic health and wellness. Just as the research shows, it is in your state of mind and accessing the highest level of comfort available where your agency lies. Massage therapy is one of the most recognized modes of increasing comfort on a consistent daily basis.
If you live in Vancouver the chances that you’ve been on a bicycle in the past six months are considerably high. Cycling is an essential part of the Pacific Northwest’s culture, it's built into our everyday lives. In May 2016, Vancouver was recorded to have the highest percentage rate of commuters biking to work in Canada. Commuting by bicycle now constitutes 10 percent of all trips, with 41 percent of trips being made by car. We are addicted to cycling and it shows! However, all that cycling has its pros and cons. Cyclists experience improved cardiovascular health and overall fitness but also deal with the sensation of sore and tired muscles almost daily.
It is no secret that professional athletes use massage to keep themselves performing at their best. Massage is used for muscle recovery to reduce pain and shorten post-exertion recovery time. Research now suggests that cyclists, especially those going on long rides through rough terrain, can benefit immensely from regular massage therapy. Not only does massage increase blood flow and promote muscle healing, it truly does shorten overall recovery time post-ride.
Experts suggests that cyclists should integrate massage into their health and fitness regime. It is recommended that cyclists get a massage 3-5 days prior to a particularly strenuous ride and another within 48 hours after the ride. Cyclists who integrate massage into their lifestyle may experience benefits like decreased pain, inflammation and recovery time, all of which will undoubtedly improve the cyclist's overall performance and expand their range of motion.
And what easier way to make sure you receive a massage at these particular intervals? With a massage chair! With the consistency of massage chair programs, users can develop a massage routine that is personalized to their own needs and reliably sit back and relax at their own leisure. Vancouverites should explore the vast possibilities for relaxation and restoration massage available in massage chairs.
Nearly one third of American adults report suffering from occasional bouts of insomnia. For some, this statistic may come as a surprise but for most, either you or someone you know deals with sleeplessness on a regular basis. The reasons for insomnia are manifold, often the inability to fall and stay asleep is connected to a series of healthcare problems. However, treating insomnia as a symptom of a more complex holistic healthcare issue may open up the possibility for natural health and wellness solutions to emerge.
You can identify chronic insomnia by noticing you are experiencing cycles of extreme fatigue and poor concentration, followed by adverse affects on mood and overall well-being. This type of recurring insomnia should be discussed with a healthcare professional. Before giving up, surrendering yourself to the fate that you will never have a proper sleep schedule or regular energy levels, please consider the wide range of lifestyle alterations and holistic treatments available. While insomnia is treatable with psychological services and biomedical treatments, there are also many complementary and alternative methods for solving your sleep problem. Massage therapy is often used as a complementary treatment for sleeplessness. Neurochemistry suggests that serotonin, a neurotransmitter which plays a large role in regulating mood, behaviour, body, temperature, physical coordination, appetite and sleep, can also be converted by the brain into melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone released by the brain’s pineal gland to quiet and reset the part of the brain that regulate circadian cycles to prepare for sleep.
All of this is relevant to the relationship between massage and sleep because massage can directly influence the body’s production of serotonin. Studies indicate that integrating massage into one’s lifestyle simultaneously decreased long-term pain and improved sleep with an increase in serotonin levels. Using massage for 30 minutes twice-weekly is said to improve the quality of sleep and increase serotonin the the body. Recognizing the power of massage, a substance-free, natural and healthy solution to sleeplessness, could help millions of sleep deprived people restore a balanced circadian rhythm and boost serotonin for a happier, healthier life.
What Is the 'Extended L-Track' and How Does it Work?
Those of us who have been in the massage chair market, researching the features and technology of the newest and most innovative new chairs on the market are likely familiar with terms like ‘S’ and ‘L’ Track. For others however, the distinction between these two is less obvious. S and L tracks refer to the roller track that extends from the head down to the low back and for some, in the case of the L track, to the thighs and glutes. The track of a massage chair is what carries the rollers up and down the length of the backrest. The rollers that travel from head to glutes move along the track laterally and vertically, creating kneading, tapping and knocking motions. While most massage chairs come equipped with an S-Track, several models now feature an L or SL-Track. What exactly is the difference? Well, let me explain.
An S-Track takes its name from the ‘sinusoidal’ shape of the human spine. S-Track roller systems allow rollers to follow the curvature of the spine as they move up and down your back. This modality afford a considerable amount of comfort for the user as the rollers do not simply move up and down without paying attention to the details of the human body.
Alternatively, the L-Track roller system is famous for the way the rollers now reach down the back to extend underneath the seat, massaging the thighs and glutes. The L-Track is also known as the extended roller track as it is simply an S track that extends to the top of the hamstrings. Chairs equipped with an L-Track of SL-Track can work on the glutes, piriformis and the hamstring muscles with as much precision and intensity as they work on the neck, mid and lower back. You may want to consider purchasing a chair with an L-Track if you have piriformis syndrome or sciatica secondary to the pelvic musculature.
What you may not know is that every chair, even if it is simply listed as an L-Track chair, still uses the S-Track but simply extends beyond it. The difference between extended L-track designs and traditional S-Track chairs is the experience of full body relaxation. For someone wishing to feel their entire body, head to toe, massaged in calculated rhythms, the L-Track is the track for you. The moment you try an S-Track and L-Track to compare the performance of each, you will notice there is a qualitative difference between them. If it is luxury you seek, the extended L-Track has got you covered - literally!
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