Who doesn’t love a good massage? Just offering your sweetie an ordinary old massage would probably go a long way. But I’ve got something even better:

I am going to teach you how to incorporate acupressure into a massage, creating an experience that’s tailored specifically for your sweetie. This will not only induce pure physical bliss but also leave your partner feeling overwhelmed by how smart and thoughtful you are.

Acupressure Points for Everyone

First, there are three acupressure points that should be incorporated into everyone’s massage. They are called Kidney 1, Bladder 15 and Bladder 32 (ish).

Kidney 1: Kidney 1 is located on the bottom of the foot, just behind the pad, between the second and third metatarsal bones. Click here to see the exact location. Using firm pressure with your thumbs, press Kidney 1 on both feet at the same time. This point is used to ground a person, to energetically pull down the constant buzzing that happens in many of our heads. Touching this point will help your partner quiet the internal chatter and become more fully present in his/her body. It’s a great way to start any massage.

Bladder 15: Bladder 15 is located about an inch and a half outside the spine, at the level of the fifth thoracic vertebra. In layman’s terms, that’s about midway between the top and bottom edges of the scapula, the triangular bone in this picture. Don’t stress about finding the exact spot, because the acupuncture point just slightly above Bladder 15 has similar effects. Again, using firm pressure with your thumbs, press Bladder 15 on both sides of the spine at the same time.

Bladder 15 is what’s known as the Back Shu point of the Heart. Briefly: Each of the body’s organs has its own Back Shu point, and they are all located along the Bladder channel. Shu in Chinese means “to transport,” as in transport qi (or blood, or fluids, or whatever’s needed) to the organ associated with that point.

So essentially, Bladder 15 helps to nourish the Heart organ. The Heart in acupuncture has many functions — some of which are similar to the ones we know from Western medicine and some less so — and it does play a role in a person’s ability to give and receive love and to be present in relationships. It is, so to speak, the key to your partner’s heart.

Bladder 32 area: I say Bladder 32 area because there are a bunch of points in the sacral region that can be used. But Bladder 32 is a good point to shoot for, as it’s located at the epicenter of these points, all of which are effective for stimulating sexual energy. Click here to see the exact location.

Any of the points in this region should be pressed on both sides at the same time. Rather than using firm pressure right away, ease into these points, as they can be very tender on some people. Women especially might experience tenderness around Bladder 32, as it’s a common treatment point for anything related to menstruation. Men and women who have sciatica or low back pain also might find this region sensitive.

Choose Your Own Acupressure Points: The above three points should included in all acupressure massages. They alone can make for a great treat. Here are some additional acupressure points that can be incorporated based on your loved one’s specific needs.

Some styles of acupuncture think about the body in terms of zones — the back (tai yang in acupuncture speak), front (yang ming) and side (shao yang). And each of these zones is accessible via certain acupuncture points on the hands and feet.

For example, if a person seeks acupuncture for low back pain and occipital headaches, the acupuncturist might choose Small Intestine 3 on the hand (see below), because this point directly affects the tai yang back zone of the body. The idea is that these opening points, as they are known, help to loosen the tight musculature and constricted meridians of the zone, which then lessens the intensity of any direct needling to the area.

Find out if your partner is experiencing any pain or tension in a specific part of the body. Based on that information, you can select from the following points:

Small Intestine 3: This acupressure point is for pain, tension or discomfort anywhere on the back of the body. So if your Valentine mentions low back pain, upper back and neck pain, or headaches that feel like they’re coming from the base of the skull, this is a good choice. Click here to see the exact location.

You can press Small Intestine 3 on both hands, although it’s usually easier to do one hand at a time. If the pain is in the upper back or head, you can ask which side of the body is worse and just do the point on that side.

Spleen 4: This acupressure point is for pain, tension or discomfort anywhere on the front of the body. Any complaints having to do with the chest or abdominal region can benefit from this opening point. This means chest or abdominal pain as well as shortness of breath and other upper respiratory problems, and digestive or menstrual issues.

Similar to Kidney 1, press Spleen 4 using firm pressure with your thumbs on both feet at the same time. Click here to see the exact location. Go easy at first, because this point can be tender, especially on women who are menstruating.

Gall Bladder 41: This acupressure point is for pain, tension or discomfort anywhere on the side of the body. Valentines with temporal headaches, hip pain, shoulder problems, or iliotibial band syndrome can benefit from this point. Since the point is on the top of the foot and your partner is face down, you’ll want to gently bend the leg so that the foot comes up. From here you can press Gall Bladder 41 separately on each side since you’ll only have one hand free. Click here to see the exact location.

Large Intestine 4 and Liver 3: These are not opening points for any particular part of the body. Rather, they form an excellent point combination known as Four Gates. This is one of the most frequently used point combinations in all of acupuncture. There are several theories on why Four Gates is so powerful, but the prevailing idea is that the combination opens up circulation throughout the entire body, with Liver 3 handling the lower half while Large Intestine 4 addresses the upper.

If your partner isn’t experiencing any specific aches and pains, Four Gates is a great addition to your acupressure massage. It will circulate energy and help ease any stagnation, physical or emotional, that may have gone unmentioned. Learn more about the benefits and exact location of Four Gates here.

How to Bring It All Together: A massage can be very personal. You know your partner best, so the massage should primarily be based on your intuition and your partner’s comfort level and preferences.

There is no rigid formula, but here are a few suggestions for how to bring it all together:

- Start by asking your partner if he or she has been experiencing any pain, tension or discomfort in a specific part of the body. This will help you determine which acupressure points you’ll be incorporating into the massage.

- Ask your partner to lay on his/her stomach. All acupressure points can be reached from this position.

- Regardless of which points you’re planning to use, begin the massage with Kidney 1. Because of its grounding qualities, Kidney 1 will help bring your partner into a relaxed state for the rest of the massage.

- While you are pressing Kidney 1 on both feet, ask your partner to take some deep breaths and imagine that he/she is filling his/her whole body with air, all the way down to the bottom of the feet where you are applying pressure.

- After Kidney 1, move to the area-specific points that are appropriate for you partner. This will help loosen that part of the body so that he/she can get greater enjoyment from the rest of the massage.

- As you did with Kidney 1, ask your partner to take a few slow, deep breaths while you press these opening or circulating points.

- Next, move to Bladder 15 and Bladder 32. These points can be performed once or several times while you’re massaging other areas on the back.

- Each time you press the Bladder points, ask your partner to breath slowly and deeply directly into the area that you are pressing.

- Repeat as you see fit.

There you have it. The key to a successful acupressure massage is literally in your hands. Good luck!

Article by: Sara Calabro

Researchers at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle are improving the quality of research studies on massage therapy.

“As with back pain, a plethora of options are available for treating neck pain, yet the most commonly used treatments lack consistent evidence of the effectiveness, especially for persons with chronic neck pain,” write Sherman, et al. Although there have been a number of studies examining the benefits of massage for neck disorders, a review of the literature indicate the need for Sherman’s study. “A major deficiency of previous studies [on massage therapy] has been their use of low ‘doses’ of massage that massage therapists consider inadequate,” in addition to the lack of massage as the primary treatment, treatment schedule, or descriptions of the type of massage used. And considering the lack of a standard protocol for evaluating massage therapy, it is not surprising that the benefits of massage therapy remain unspecific.

This study was designed to provide a foundation for rigorous research by evaluating three components of optimal dosing: 1) frequency of treatments per week; 2) length of each treatment session; and 3) total treatment period using a massage protocol that includes typically used techniques. Such research will determine the optimal minimal dose of massage for chronic neck pain. Unlike many of the research studies reviewed in this column, this study has not been completed; however it outlines the ideal methods for determining the optimal dose of massage therapy on chronic neck pain, providing details about protocol and treatment regimen not often published in massage related research. This addition to the massage therapy literature will contribute to advancing this area of research.

To start, the authors ran a small, randomized pilot trial to determine if clinical significance was seen among massage recipients by four weeks when receiving one 60 minute massage per week. In this subsequent research, the research team will recruit 228 participants with neck pain to receive different weekly doses of massage for four weeks to determine the optimal dose. The study was set up so the research team could evaluate five doses over several frequencies/week ( two or three 30-min treatments or one, two, or three 60-min treatments). Using the five dosing combinations, participants will be randomized to a wait-list control or treatment group to implement the study protocol. A second treatment period of six weeks with a weekly 60 minute massage or no treatment will follow the initial four weeks of study. This was chosen because, in the authors’ previous trial, up to 10 treatments were given over a period of 10 weeks, allowing for evaluation of benefits of an additional six week treatment protocol.

Participants will include the general Seattle area population, of mixed race and gender, ages 20 to 64, who have had at least one primary care visit for neck pain within the previous 3 to 12 months and has a diagnosis of non-specific, uncomplicated neck pain. Exclusions include, but are not limited to, receiving massage for neck pain within the past year, or any massage in the last three months, mild neck (lasting less than three months) or complicated neck problems related to cervical radiculopathy, previous neck surgery, MVA within the past three months. Treatments will be performed by licensed massage practitioners at Group Health Research Institute, who have at least five years experience treating musculoskeletal pain, have practiced and are comfortable with the massage protocol.

A specific massage therapy protocol was written for both 30 min and 60 min sessions and includes: a Cervical ROM assessment; hands-on tissue warming; lymph drainage; neck work; LMP can address compensatory patterns found in upper body, upper and lower extremities, pelvis, etc. using supine, prone and/or side-lying positions; integration which may include cranio sacral techniques, stretching, rocking and other; and completion. Neck work is defined as skull through upper back/chest, C7/T1, clavicles to 2nd/3rd ribs and sternum. Massage strokes may include, in no specified order, friction on base of skull, long strokes down lamina from base of skull, slow friction of the anterior neck, slow friction to scalenes, deeper longitudinal stripping techniques running parallel to muscle fibers to encourage muscle lengthening, treatment of scar tissue along with areas affected by scar tissue, effleurage, petrissage of trapezius, paraspinals, spenius cervicus/capitus, levator scapula and SCM muscles as blending strokes between a-f above for relaxation and transition, stretching to finish and enhance soft tissue manipulation – including PNF, MET and any active assisted stretching.

Sherman, et al, will use the Neck Disability Index, a 10-item questionnaire, to assess neck pain and dysfunction and a pain index that will be provided at five weeks post treatment. Secondary measures will also be used to assess factors such as stress and days of restricted activity. A blinded telephone interview at five, 12 and 26 weeks post-randomization will be performed to determine the primary outcomes of neck-related dysfunction and pain. A further questionnaire on the Internet will be collected at 10, 16, 20 and 39 weeks to supplement the interviews. The study outlines data collection, processing and quality control with details on the protection of human rights, safety monitoring and what will occur should a participant experience adverse effects.

For readers aware of the many limitations of massage therapy research, this trial should be of great interest. Namely, the sample size is appropriately powered to provide a rigorous data set which will allow for interpreting findings in a conclusive manner. Further, the protocol and methods are clearly delineated, which will allow for subsequent replication of findings and be key for validating these study findings.

The publication of this rigorous research has several implications for the field of massage therapy research, the practice of massage and practitioners alike. First, a study of this caliber will advance the science of research in massage therapy by providing valid, reliable and ultimately conclusive findings. Second, using methods to demonstrate the mechanisms and dosages required to produce optimal benefits of massage therapy for conditions such as chronic neck pain will advance the practice in non-clinical and clinical settings as an integral part of integrative health care. Third, and maybe most critical for you the reader, this research provides a valid and reliable source for you to demonstrate evidence based practice for your clients, your students, health care providers and others who want to know how and why what you do works.

We look forward to the results of this trial being released and will report the findings in subsequent reviews sponsored by the Massage Therapy Foundation. Janet Kahn, PhD, LMT, one of the researchers who performed this study, will be presenting the keynote address on day three of the International Massage Therapy Research Conference – Presented by the Massage Therapy Foundation (IMTRC).

Contributed By April V. Neufeld, BS, LMT, NCTMB; Jolie Haun, PhD, LMT; MK Brennan, MS, LMBT, RN, ACM

Reference

1. Sherman KJ, Cook AJ, Kahn JR, Hawkes RE, Wellman RD, Cherkin DC. Dosing study of massage for chronic neck pain: protocol for the dose response evaluation and analysis of massage [DREAM] trial. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2012, 12:158. www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/12/158

Article originally appears on Massage Today

Happy Holidays!! We are OPEN the weekend of Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd. On Monday the 24th we will be open from 10am to 6pm, closing up early for the holiday. Closed on Tuesday, back open for business Wednesday at 10am. Have a fun and safe holiday! Don’t forget to stretch!!

Is there someone in your life you appreciate? Give them a back rub in the comfort of your own home! Knowing how to give an awesome back rub is a skill that everyone should have. Here are some of the biggest mistakes to avoid, and some tips to do it right:

Talk to Your Partner: Ask them where they have pain or tension. In your back rub, make sure to focus on those spots in particular.

Set the mood: Choose a quiet room, light a candle, play some relaxing music and get comfortable. If your partner prefers to be seated, put a pillow in their lap for support.

Start by Listening to their body: Feel what’s going on by assessing your partner’s shoulders. How is their posture? Does one shoulder look higher than the other? Does one side hurt more than the other? Rather than starting with lots of movement or technique, let your fingers slowly sink into their shoulders and see what you feel. This is called Palpation – its the difference between looking at words on a page, and actually reading them. For a massage to be truly exceptional, you should start by feeling what’s happening with your partner and responding to it.

Go slowly! Usually people move their hands WAY too quickly, this is a rookie mistake! Going slowly allows your partner to adjust to the depth of pressure and allows you to  actually feel for any adhesions, or “knots”.  Also a very fast paced massage is likely more stressful than relaxing.

Use kneading strokes on the shoulders and neck, and apply a moderate amount of pressure on areas that feel stiff or hard, avoiding the spine and any bones. When you are applying pressure, try to really feel what’s going on underneath your fingers, rather than just doing the action of the movement. Listen to your partner’s muscles, and watch for signs of tension or relaxation. Adjust as needed.

Ask for Feedback: Say “how’s the pressure?” and really listen to your partner and try to adjust accordingly. If you need to apply more pressure, try stepping back a couple steps and leaning into your movement instead of pressing down. For a lot of pressure, you can carefully place an elbow, forearm or closed fist and proceed VERY slowly. This is especially nice on areas between the spine and scapula (shoulder blade).

Take Your Time on each area and work methodically so as to not miss anything. Try starting with the shoulders, working down the back slowly, applying pressure to the middle and lower back, and finish with the neck and scalp. I like to leave the neck and head for last, because these areas are sensitive and will be easier to work on if the rest of the body is feeling relaxed.

Advanced Tip: If you really want your massage to be awesome, Learn some Anatomy! You can do it online at Get Body Smart, or try the Anatomy Coloring Book, or Trail Guide to the Body. This way when you’re working, you can follow along the length of muscles.

One of our clients sent us this letter about her experience with Alison:

“Hello!  I hope this isn’t a weird request, but I was hoping that you could pass a message to Alison.  I had regular prenatal massage sessions with Alison throughout my pregnancy, and they were amazingly helpful.  I had been planning on having one last prenatal massage before my due date, in late August, but I ended up having the baby almost a month early!  As a result, I never got a chance to thank Alison for her help throughout the pregnancy–I had a very easy time of it, physically, and I really do think that the massage sessions were a big part of keeping myself healthy and grounded.  I’ll be coming back for massages again as soon as the household budget can support it.  Thanks!”

Here’s Alison:

Alison is a Swedish Institute graduate, who first discovered massage through theater. Massage was a necessary part of warm up for certain classes, and it was in those classes at NYU that she realized massage was something she could do.  After acquiring a BFA from NYU Alison enrolled in the Swedish Institute and has been in love with the healing arts ever since.  Since graduating from school, she has worked in numerous locations, including fitness centers, chiropractors’ offices and the exclusive Gansevoort Hotel Spa.  Alison is also certified in prenatal massage therapy.  She is now bringing her love of massage, healthcare and service to Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Please come to Knitting Factory on Thursday Nov 8th at 7pm. It’s for a good cause! We hope to see you there!

Rachel Beider, LMT and Owner, Massage Williamsburg

We know it has been an especially stressful and chilly couple of weeks for New Yorkers. As Autumn is in the air, we are here to help you relax! We are warming things up at Massage Williamsburg. In addition, please stay tuned for more posts on how you can help volunteer and make sure that everyone affected by hurricane Sandy is staying warm this season.

Enjoy our Complimentary Table Warmers, which can be controlled to your personal heat preference. There is nothing better than getting under our soft, flannel sheets onto a nice toasty table!

We also use hot towels during our sessions, especially nice in warming up the neck and shoulders.

As always, we use the coziest sheets and blankets, and clients enjoy our Temperpedic Face Cradles, which use memory foam for the most comfortable positioning.

Lastly choose our Moisturizing Grapeseed Massage Oil or add our own brand of luxurious aromatherapeutic Lavender Oil to your session for Free!

We want you to leave feeling warm, relaxed, and rejuvenated!

Hello Amazing, Loyal Clients!

We want to let you know that there are some awesome changes happening here at Massage Williamsburg. We have been hearing a lot of feedback from some clients who were disappointed in the lack of same day appointments and last minute availability. (Just last weekend, we turned away nearly 30 people, and added many to our long waiting list!) With so many new clients enjoying our practice, some of our regulars are having difficulty reserving their desired times. We knew it was time for our business to expand.

As many of you know, in mid-July, we started working on expanding our office to include another suite within our building. We are so pleased to show you the new suite, #202, which boasts three stunning additional treatment rooms, and a warm and welcoming reception and waiting area! We are also currently renovating our space in 107 to reflect the gorgeous updates of suite 202! We will be up and running in both spaces within the month. With these changes come some wonderful benefits to you: More Last Minute Appointments, More Same Day Appointments, More Weekend Appointments and more overall availability!

With this lovely expansion, and after three years of rent increases, it has become necessary to increase our rates. Our new prices will reflect a rate increase of $10, so our One Hour Sessions will be $95, 90Mins will be $135, and our Prenatal Massages will increase to $110. We would like to offer this opportunity to lock in your current rate of $85/hr by purchasing as many sessions or gift cards online on our homepage as you wish, before the increased price takes effect on October 15th.

We thank you so much for your loyalty, support, referrals, and overall patience during these growing pains. We are so excited for the change that this Autumn brings, and cannot wait to see you again soon!

Warmly,

Rachel Beider, LMT

Proud Owner, Massage Williamsburg