Tag: massage

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What is ‘Thixotropy’ and How Does Slow & Steady Win the Massage Race?

Ever wonder why I can’t dive right into those muscles fast and furiously?  No, not just because it’s not relaxing to be poked, pulled, and prodded repeatedly; it’s because the body’s physiology won’t respond to fast pressure, period.

Thanks to a property called ‘thixotropy’, relaxing those tense muscles requires slow, steady application of pressure.  Thixotropy is a way of describing a gel-like substance acting as a solid when a fast force is applied to it, while also acting as a liquid when a slow force is applied.  This means that if you hit the surface of a thixotropic substance with, say, a hammer; it will bounce off the surface.  But, if you lay that hammer down on the surface, it will slowly sink into the substance, instead.

The thixotropic nature of our muscles means that to sink into those deeper areas of tension or to get through one muscle and into another, a therapist must apply slow, steady pressure to truly access those layers of your body.  If we simply bat at the body, it will bounce us back.

Here’s a fun video thanks to the educators at Lamar University showing that visually demonstrates the property of thixotropy using a large vat of corn starch and water.  As you can see, students can literally run across this gel pool with quick feet, but once they slow down, they sink down into the mixture.

So the next time a therapist tries to quickly dig into a knotted muscle, especially if they don’t warm it up, don’t be surprised if unconsciously your body pushes back.  Just another one of the many interesting wonders our bodies hold in store to keep us going on a daily basis.

Need some slow, steady pressure applied to those problem areas?  Let’s get some deep tissue and myofascial release into your life.  Contact me to schedule your next massage and stay tuned for more interesting information next Massage Monday.  Have a great week!

Until next time,

Jason Brain

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How ‘Primal’ Are Your Movements: The Seven Primal Movement Patterns

Every time you move, in a flash, your body receives innumerable impulses from the sensory neurons, deciphered by the brain, and relayed out to the motor neurons creating movement.  And while your body is an incredible machine, coordinating multiple movement patterns in a matter of split-seconds, there are a seven specific movement patterns that the body relies on most often.
These seven primal movement patterns include:
Push  Upper body pushing away from the body
Pull  Upper body pulling towards the body
Lunge  Linear stride, lowering a knee, with an upright torso
Squat  Hips move downward underneath body with straight back
Rotate  Twisting of the core (pelvis to ribcage)
Hinge  Bending at hips forward, butt moves back with neutral spine
Gait  Walking, jogging, running, sprinting

These seven “Primal Movement Patterns” are the most commonly undertaken by the body.  To speed up the processing for each movement, our body creates neural-shortcuts for each movement.  Imagine, using computer coding as an example, instead of 100s of pages of biologic HTML to activate each motor neuron crossing each joint in the movement, our brain creates a shortcode like [shortcode=action-squat] for ease with repetition.  Inside that “shortcode” is the hyper-quick recipe for how you repeat that action over and over, day in and day out.
Problems arise, though, when these movement patterns become inundated with faulty coding, such as imbalances, compensations, injuries, improper muscle tone, emotional trauma, inactivity, and more.  As you can see in the overhead squat image above, there are many ways to compensate when performing the action.  Good news!  You can reprogram that code with mindful, dynamic movement patterns through exercise, massage,  yoga, postural adjustments, and more.  It takes hard work and time, but well worth the investment in your body.

Properly performing these seven primal movements on a daily basis can be the difference when it comes to aches and pains in your daily life.  No need to battle your own body with incorrect movement patterns; let’s schedule your 1st training/massage session in the near future.  Contact me for availability and let’s schedule your next massage!  Have a great week, look forward to talking to you soon.

Until next Monday,
Jason Brain
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Spotlight on IASTM: My New Favorite Weapon of Mass(age) Relaxation

During December 2018, I participated in an awesome IASTM Certification course and learned all about the emerging world of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, taught by the makers of RockBlades (the tools seen below).  But what is IASTM, and how can it benefit my clients?
Using these tools, the principles of IASTM are bound in the skin and fascia.  Using different techniques with the tools to feather the skin, scrape the myofascia, and chop densified tissue, we work to manipulate the neuro-sensory systems of the fascia (which has 5-10+ times more nerve receptors than muscle) to change the regulation of neural activity.  Basically that means I am working to amplify or pacify the nervous activity to the muscles and reducing chronic tension (down-regulate) or increasing tissue tone (up-regulate) using different strokes on the skin.

While the feeling of IASTM varies with the pace and depth of the technique used, you might be surprised that it is not a blatantly painful modality (you might be thinking about Gua Sha, another scraping modality).  Quite the opposite actually.  The goal is to start lighter and work up gradually to find the right response.  If the muscle is approached abruptly and deeply, it’s likely to tense up and efforts to relax it may prove futile.  Also, some of the nerves can only be played with using the slightest touch, while others need a fast pace, or a deep scrape.  Each technique is specific to the nerves that need to be manipulated, like the Pacinian and Ruffini corpuscles in the skin and fascia. 

I’ve started incorporating IASTM into my massage work already and am seeing results.  It’s not for everyone, but is another tool in my bodywork arsenal for my clients.  Looking forward to trying these tools for a test drive?  Let’s schedule your next massage soon!
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Cheers 2018, Bring On 2019

Blink and it’s already 2019. I hope you had a great year in 2018 and are looking forward to a wonderful new year.  In case the months ahead do turn stressful, or painful, or you are interested in making the resolution of “more self care” this next year, I’m not far when you’re in need of a dose of massage therapy.

Below you will find a quick recap of some of the new additions to my massage therapy practice in 2018, and here’s (cheers) to many more exciting adventures in bodywork this next year!

Rockblades (IASTM Tools) by Rocktape

IASTM (Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Manipulation)
Yes, it a mouthful, but you know what, it’s a mind-full also. I took an IASTM certification class this December on the use of scraping tools, including the ones pictured, for myofascial therapies and it’s still creating new wrinkles in my brain. The principles focus on neuro-sensory functioning and fascial health, and involves varying pressures depending on the goal (from “feathering” to “chopping”). I’ve already begun including the tools into my bodywork sessions and am excited to continue gaining more IASTM experience.

My Massage Studio

1 Year Studio Anniversary
In August, I celebrated the one year anniversary of my studio space in Encino, CA; or as I like to think of it, my very own zen den on Ventura Boulevard. If you haven’t seen it, consider shaking it up and scheduling a future session there!  It’s been a pleasure sharing it with fellow NHI graduate and massage therapist, Josh King.

Hypervolt by Hyperice

Hypervolt by Hyperice
In case you haven’t heard from me about this device … I am in love with this thing. Since Spring, the Hypervolt has helped immensely when I want to address deeper tissue and need to warm up more superficial muscles. It’s amazing what some high powered vibration can do to muscles and the nervous system in a short amount of time.

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