What is Structural Integration Massage?

Structural Integration works to balance and align the body’s structure until the entire system is a smoothly functioning coordinated whole. For example, the legs are aligned to the hips,  the body is positioned over the feet, and then all of these joints and related tissue are

integrated to one another. Some of the benefits people have experienced are reduced pain, increased flexibility, an enhanced sense of body awareness, and improved posture.

During the Structural Integration process changes in posture and structure are achieved by manipulating the body's myofascial system. The focus of Structural Integration is on the fascia rather than on the muscles (as in massage). The fascia is a protective layer of connective tissue that surrounds each muscle and muscle fiber. Fascia gives muscles and bodies their shape and support .

Structural Integration practitioners use a range of techniques to lengthen and reposition the fascia and the body. The amount of pressure used and techniques applied varies. Your practitioner may use slow, deep, stretching movements, or constant applied pressure. You may also be asked to move as pressure is applied or to stand and move during a session.

As tissue is being released, you may experience a variety of sensations ranging from warm and pleasant to uncomfortable. Your practitioner will apply appropriate pressure during the session based on your feedback so the pace of the session is under your control. Sometimes, as the tissue is released and balanced, clients experience the release of emotions, memories or traumas that have been stored in the fascial tissue. Such releases can create the opportunity for change and/or resolution surrounding the issues presented.

Movement education may also be a part of your Structural Integration series. Your practitioner can help you become aware of your habitual and inhibiting movement patterns and help you change these patterns to achieve more fluid movement. Movement education can affect your level of daily functioning by helping to change unhealthy patterns in common activities such as sitting, walking and breathing.

Structural Integration is typically performed in a series of ten to thirteen sessions to systematically release the myofascial tissue. Each session builds upon the last, addressing layers of tissue throughout the process. The series is designed to balance your body in segments, with each session addressing a different aspect of your structure and movement. Though the Structural Integration series is designed to work in sequence, your practitioner will often recognize your unique needs and use their skills and experience to address those appropriately.

At the beginning of a series, your practitioner will often spend some time discussing your health and personal history. It is important that your practitioner know any information that has affected your physical structure, including major accidents, traumas, surgeries, conditions and diseases as well as any current medications.

Typically, sessions are done with the client in shorts or a bathing suit. Your practitioner will observe you standing and moving to assess balance, alignment, mobility and movement patterns. In some cases, if appropriate, photographs may be taken for the benefit of you and your practitioner.

Have Unresolved Back or Shoulder Pain?

Structural Massage may be the answer. Proper functioning muscles are crucial for everything we do in life from sitting down in a chair to executing an intricate gymnastics

routine. Structural muscle re-education is a massage technique that is designed to restore proper muscle function and imbalances that result from injury and promotes the body’s ability to carry out these tasks. Structural massage tends to be a quicker, more permanent solution to a myriad of muscle and joint problems.  

The movement of every joint in the body is controlled and supported by many surrounding muscles.  Each of these muscles plays an important role in creating smooth biomechanical movements.    However, emotional, nutritional, and physical stresses or injuries can interrupt the neurological message from the brain that tells individual muscles to contract. As a result, one or more muscles are left unable to contract at their full potential. Surrounding muscles are forced to work overtime and the stability of the joint is compromised.  The body is then more prone to injuries, muscle spasms, pain, motion restrictions, etc.  These muscle and joint dysfunctions can also set the body up for a tendency to develop osteoarthritis. It may be surprising how many conditions muscle activation applies to. Structural massage may resolve headaches, TMJ pain, numbness, tingling, sciatica, and much more.

Your Structural Massage therapist will identify instabilities of the body through an initial assessment. After that, your therapist will create a plan to help you find relief.

There are a few individuals that take a little longer to respond to the treatment and may notice a difference in a few hours to a few days. Either way, the body can then start to heal. Whether you are a professional athlete, businessman, or stay at home mom; Structural massage may be the answer to help you get your life back. 

To schedule your Structural Massage session, contact us at Advanced Health Clinic 

How Organs Can Contribute to Pain and Dysfunction

Your body is made up of many interrelated parts such as muscles, bones, nerves, a thin connective tissue called fascia, as well as the internal organs (viscera). Did you know your organs are in perpetual motion? When you breathe, walk and stretch, your organs move in

your chest and abdomen. For example, when you take a breath, your kidneys move one inch; and with deep inhalation, they move 4 inches. In a day, they move a little over ½ mile. That's around 19,000 miles in a lifetime In addition your liver moves the length of a football field 6 times in the course of the day. That is a lot of movement! When you are healthy, all the structures move with a very rhythmic, fluid-type movement. Optimum health relies on a harmonious relationship between the motions of the organs and other structures of the body.

There are many reasons for an organ to lose its mobility: physical traumas, surgeries, sedentary lifestyle, infections, pollution, bad diet, poor posture and pregnancy/delivery. When an organ is no longer freely mobile but is fixed to another structure, the body is forced to compensate. This disharmony creates fixed, abnormal points of tension and the chronic irritation that gives way to functional and structural problems throughout the body – musculoskeletal, vascular, nervous, urinary, respiratory and digestive, to name a few.

Imagine scar tissue around the lungs. Because of the pull of the adhesion, with every breath, the movement patterns of the nearby structures would be altered. This could shift rib motion creating pulls on the spine. These restrictions might then show up as mid-back and neck pain, as well as limited motion in the shoulder. This scenario highlights just one of hundreds of possible ramifications of a small dysfunction - magnified by thousands of repetitions each day. This also explains how pain can often be far removed from the actual cause.

This is where Visceral Therapy can help. Contact us at AdvancedHealthClinic for more information.

Lymphatic System 101

Here is a crash course video on the lymphatic system

Farmington Utah Massage Therapist participates in Barral Institute's Continuing Education Workshop

Jackson Hole, WY - Lisa Larson, LMT, of Farmington, Utah recently participated in the Neuromeningeal Manipulation: An Integrated Approach to Trauma Workshop offered by the Barral Institute, a health resource center that presents continuing education courses to healthcare professionals worldwide.

The Visceral Manipulation Curriculum was developed by French Osteopath, Jean-Pierre Barral who has taught the techniques worldwide, as well as trained and certified Instructors to teach for The Barral Institute. Visceral Manipulation is a manual therapy in which light, specifically placed pressure encourages normal mobility, tone and tissue motion of the internal organs and their connective tissue. These gentle manipulations have the potential to affect the physiological function and the structural integrity of the entire body.

Lisa Larson, LMT, has been a massage therapist for over 20 years and specializes in Visceral Manipulation, Manual Lymph Drainage, and Medical Massage. Lisa works at Advanced Health Clinic,  one of largest Holistic and Integrative Wellness Clinics located in Utah.

To schedule for therapy, or learn more about Lisa, please visit www.AdvancedHealthClinic.com
For more information on Visceral Manipulation or the Barral Institute, visit www.barralinstitute.com

Touch is a human need.  It is one of the first senses we develop. Some children who not had healthy touch have failure to thrive. Sadly, there have even been deaths because a child did not receive human touch in the way that they need. Adults, as well as children, can experience depression and even become ill if they do not experience healthy touch on a regular basis. 

Healthy touch can give us a feeling of connection, it can ground us, it can help reduce anxiety or elevate a depressive mood. It helps us bond emotionally with ourselves and with others. Healthy touch can help lower blood pressure, strengthen our immune system, as well reduce pain and inflammation. 

Healthy Touch is an essential component to our health and well-being. For more information, please visit our website at AdvancedHealthClinic. 

Why Should You Get Massage on a Regular Basis?

Are You Feeling Tired, Stressed out, or Sore? Almost everyone agrees a good massage feel great - but what you might not realize is how good a regular massage is for your overall health. Did you know that massage can improve your performance, lengthen the time between your chiropractic visits, aid in recovery, help prevent and eliminate injuries, reduce stress and even enhance metabolism and circulation! The reason you feel different after a massage is because it is healing and invigorating tired, aching or injured muscles. Massage increases blood land lymph circulation. Lymph is a fluid that rids body tissues of waste, is dependent on the squeezing effect of muscles. An active person has better lymph flow than an inactive person. However, stimulation from vigorous activity can lead to increased waste, which can negate the benefit. This is where massage has a huge advantage. Massage can dramatically aid lymph movement, which together with blood, supplies nutrients and oxygen and rids wastes and toxins. It is easy to understand why good circulation is so important to our health and why massage can be so beneficial just for this purpose. Massage Has so Many Health Benefits: Increases the blood's oxygen capacity by 10-15% Helps loosen contracted, shortened muscles and stimulate weak, flaccid muscles. This muscle "balancing" can even help posture and promote more efficient movement; Speeds recovery from exercise-induced fatigue; Increase production of gastric juices, saliva and urine; Increase excretion of nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus, and sodium chloride (salt). This suggests that the metabolic rate increases; Balance the nervous system by soothing or stimulating it, depending on which effect is needed; Improves function of the oil and sweat glands that lubricate, clean and cool the skin. Though, inflexible skin can become softer and more supple; Indirectly or directly stimulating nerves the supply internal organs can dilate the organs' blood vessels, improving blood supply.

Experience the Many Benefits of Massage - Call to Schedule Now:

www.AdvancedHealthClinic.com