When you’re looking for relief from sore muscles and swollen joints during pregnancy, massage can be great!  There are plenty of reasons why you should add massage to your daily life, whether it is a quick foot rub from your partner or a prenatal massage from a professional. Not only will it relax your muscles and feel amazing, it also comes with many health benefits.

A prenatal massage is a full body massage performed by a registered massage therapist that is similar to a Swedish massage except for a few modifications with body positioning that can ensure the safety and comfort for both mother and baby.  Women should always have a discussion with their prenatal care provider about their health before deciding on any type of massage therapy. 

Let’s dive right into some of the many benefits of prenatal massage:

1.     Reduce Swelling

When your feet, legs, and hands start swelling during pregnancy, it is often caused by reduced circulation and increased pressure on the major blood vessels. Massage can help stimulate the soft tissue, move the extra fluid, and reduce the swelling, leaving you feeling more comfortable.

2.     Relieve Lower Back Pain

Pregnancy massage improves lower back pain including sciatic nerve pain by addressing the tight muscles in the affected area. Prenatal massage increases blood flow and helps release the tension that can be brought on naturally by pregnancy.

3.     Improve Sleep

Getting good quality sleep becomes harder and harder as your pregnancy progresses. Prenatal massage relaxes the nervous system and releases feel good hormones. This will leave you more relaxed and let you sleep better. That is something we all need!

4.     Prepare Your Body for Labor and Birth

Prenatal massages can help you have an easier delivery, not only because it can reduce your overall stress level but also because of how well it can keep your muscles toned and relaxed in advance of the start of labor. 

5.     Relieve Pain Naturally

Prenatal massage offers a natural, safe, drug-free alternative for pain relief. This is beneficial since the use of medications is limited during pregnancy for the safety of your baby.  The increased blood flow to your tissues and the relaxation your body will experience during and after a session can significantly alleviate many of the common discomforts of pregnancy.

Contact us today at Athletic Kneads to discuss how prenatal massage can help you!

The main difference between Swedish massage and deep tissue massage is the amount of pressure used by your massage therapist. Deep tissue massage uses more pressure than Swedish massage. But there are lots of other reasons you may prefer one massage technique over the other.

There are so many reasons why people get massages. Whether it’s an athlete recovering from a sports injury, an office worker who hunches over a screen eight hours a day, or a busy parent who feels the strain from constantly lifting and carrying her kiddos, massages are a perfect way to heal the body from physical and emotional stresses.

Regardless of your background, at Athletic Kneads we believe everyone can benefit from massage therapy, whether it’s little aches and pains from your daily life or a pulled muscle from the sports you play. We can help everyone get back in the game with massage therapy.

Of course, everyone has their own needs and preferences. That’s why we offer several different methods of massage. That way, whether you’re looking for deep structural release or prefer a more relaxing, gentle touch, you can get exactly what your body needs!

Our registered massage therapists personalize every massage we give, drawing from the two classic and most well-known massage techniques — Swedish and deep tissue massage. Most people have heard of them because they’re the gold standards for massage. So what are the differences between the two? Are they intended for different purposes, and most importantly which is right for you? Let’s find out!

Swedish Massage

What is a Swedish massage? Swedish massage is one of the most popular forms of massage therapy. It can help you relax, give you more energy, and may help after an injury. Swedish massage involves long, kneading strokes combined with rhythmic tapping strokes and movement of the joints.

What Can You Expect During a Swedish Massage?

In addition to stimulating the nervous system, Swedish massage also nurtures the skin, which soothes the nerves and reduces physical and emotional tension. How does it do that? Your massage therapist will use long, kneading strokes and deep, circular movements to increase the flow of oxygen into the bloodstream, which helps flush lactic and uric acids from your body.

Of course, we all have our personal preferences, but overall, Swedish massage is more gentle than deep tissue massage and better suited to anyone who’s looking for a pampering indulgence, or full mind-body relaxation.

Who Is a Swedish Massage Best For?

Swedish massage is great for anyone who wants to loosen muscle tension that results from daily exercise, poor posture, etc. It also works well for people with tension in their lower back, shoulders, or neck or anyone who wants to treat themselves to a luxurious indulgence of self-care!

Book in today at AthleticKneads.com to get the right treatment for you!

What Is Cupping? 

Cupping therapy is a form of ancient Chinese medical therapy dating back thousands of years. Basically, heat is used to create pressure inside the ‘cups’, now achievable through pressure valves without heat, which draws the superficial soft tissues (skin, fascia, and maybe muscles) up into the cups...all in the name of greater circulation and pain relief. 

The Newest Form Of Cupping Therapy.

Taking a tried and true form of therapy and adding movement, this is what the modern landscape of manual therapy looks like.  With cupping, this is no different….enter DYNAMIC CUPPING.

While cupping therapy has its benefits, clinically we have found that incorporating movement, specifically, a full range of motion and sport-specific movements during cupping can help relieve pain and improve the needed movements to return to play and activity faster.  

At Athletic Kneads, Dynamic cupping is utilized in 2 ways.  

One is to place the cups in the desired area of injury. The practitioner will then glide and move the cups around with the intention of affecting the underlying tissue with improved circulation and adhesion release.

The second option is to affix the cups in the desired location and then have the patient progress through a series of movements and specific sports related actions.

Conditions That Respond Well To Dynamic Cupping.

Treatment plans for care and actual therapies used should be case specific.  That being said, dynamic cupping has shown to be beneficial in relieving pain and speeding recovery from low back pain, neck pain, hip pain, shin splints, IT band syndrome, Achilles tendonitis, rotator cuff strains, shoulder pain, as well as many other musculoskeletal complaints.  

How Does Cupping Work?

• Improved circulation.

• Hallmarked by the circular bruise post-treatment, as the tissue is pulled up into the cup, capillary beds begin to swell and break (mildly), leading to an increase in blood flow.

• Mild Inflammatory Response

• Anytime tissue is damaged, intentionally or unintentionally, the body begins a cascading response that causes what we call inflammation. Inflammation carries the cells needed to heal damaged tissue and in this case, we intentionally apply suction to mildly damage capillary beds and move soft tissue, in turn causing a mild inflammatory response with the goal of increased recovery and shortened time.

• Tissue Movement & Decompression

• As a manual therapist, most treatment modalities utilize pressure or the pressing in on a tissue. Cupping is one of the few that is decompressive in nature as it pulls the skin and superficial tissue away from the body. While the debate is still out, utilizing dynamic cupping can help relieve pain and restricted motion by decompressing the tissues and moving them across each other. 

• Clinical Evidence

• As a Massage Therapist that utilizes dynamic cupping therapy with runners, CrossFit athletes, golfers, and hockey players as well as many other athletes. The low back pain, neck pain, and shoulder pain suffered with desk sitting can also be helped with cupping, it is a great adjunct to many other therapies. At Athletic Kneads while incorporating movement and Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) practices with cups in place. We have found that creating the right mix of treatment for the right patient aimed at their specific goals often yields faster than expected results.

We look forward to more data being produced on dynamic cupping as a stand-alone therapy and in conjunction with regular massage, and IASTM therapies.  We have much to learn about the human body and every day is an opportunity to grow and improve. Dynamic cupping could be a great therapy for you and help you achieve your goals and recover faster. 

Book today to get back in the game with dynamic cupping and massage therapy. 

The end of the year is coming up. It is a good idea to check to see what benefits you still have left with your health insurance coverage . Massage therapy, Chiro and physio are some of the common health benefits that many people don’t end up using and losing out on treatments that are already covered by your insurance or benefits plan.

Many Canadians are not aware that their medical coverage through their employer, spouse, or parents’ insurance benefits may cover registered massage therapy. Almost all benefit plans cover a maximum amount within a set period of time (typically a year). That means that if you go over the amount covered by your provider you will be paying out of pocket. However, it also means that if you are under your maximum limit then you are not making the most of your plan and are leaving money on the table.

If you have a plan and have not used all your massage coverage yet, then you are essentially letting your coverage go to waste.

Know your coverage

Not every plan will cover the entire cost of registered massage therapy. In most cases the majority of the cost will be covered, but in other instances only a percentage (80% is common) will be covered. It’s important to talk to your insurance provider. It is also important that you check to see if a prescription from your doctor is required to get massage therapy. Some plans need this in order for you to claim it through the insurance provider. Something as simple as a sore back is enough to get a prescription, so don’t hesitate and book in now with your healthcare provider. 

How many people use insurance?

The College of Massage Therapists of Ontario commissioned a study which found that, in Ontario, 75% of patients pay for their registered massage therapy, in full or in part, through workplace insurance benefits. It is a common and accepted practice in Canada to use your work coverage to pay for registered massage therapy.

Registered massage therapy works

Using workplace insurance to cover the cost of registered massage therapy helps to alleviate both physical and mental conditions including:

• Shoulder pain

• Back pain

• Neck pain

• Migraines

• Muscle and joint pain

• Restricted movement

• Anxiety and stress.

Relieve work stress with a massage

One of the biggest benefits to patients is the stress relieving qualities of registered massage therapy. In Canada stress resulting from job-related factors costs an estimated $16 billion per year. Using your coverage to pay for registered massage therapy is not only beneficial to you, but also to your employer. Massage therapy will make you a more relaxed, happy, and productive employee.

Repetitive strain injuries (resulting from performing the same task over and over again, like typing) now affects one in ten Canadians. Registered massage therapy is an effective preventative therapy for relieving the strain caused by performing repetitive tasks.

Since massage alleviates physical and mental health conditions, and is an effective preventative therapy it has a broad range of applications. So, if massage is covered by your insurance plan then you should make the most of it during the stressful holiday season and before your benefits reset in January.

Book now at Athletickneads.com so we can get you back in the game with massage therapy!

No matter when you're affected by shin splints, massage therapy can help. Shin splints are a common injury among runners, basketball players, hikers, tennis players and anyone that tends to walk or run for long periods of time. You may feel some soreness around your shin or notice some swelling and tenderness in your lower leg. The pain might appear during exercise, afterwards, or it might be constant. 

There are many ways that shin splints can occur for people, sometimes it is when you are starting a new exercise or sport or getting back into one that you participated in previously . Tight calves can be a cause of shin splints because they increase tension on the lower leg and feet. 

Treatment for shin splints can be uncomfortable as it will recreate the soreness you feel. Through stretching and deep tissue massage we can break up the adhesions and help realign the tissues in the lower leg to get your shins feeling good as new. 

Getting you back to the activities you love and enjoying them pain free is our goal at Athletic Kneads. Book in with us today to get back in the game with massage therapy.