Massage Therapy
Massage therapy, also called therapeutic massage, is the manipulation of soft tissue for therapeutic purposes. Massages can be for the full body, or a just a particular area such as the back or shoulders.
ECHN offers two locations for massage therapy services:
- At the Women's Center for Wellness, 2800 Tamarack Avenue, South Windsor; 860.533.4646
- At the Glastonbury Wellness Center, 628 Hebron Avenue, Glastonbury; 860.652.3181
At both locations, therapeutic massage is offered to both women and men in a comfortable, soothing and safe atmosphere. Appointments are required at both locations.
ECHN's massage therapists are highly trained and experienced professionals who have had extensive training in massage techniques, human anatomy, physiology, pathology, and body mechanics. All are state-licensed massage therapists. During the massage session, only the part of the body on which the therapist is working is uncovered.
How Massage Can Help
The benefits of massage are many. It relieves aching muscles and joints, increases your freedom of movement, and helps you achieve a more balanced posture. Massage can also increase circulation and release tension around habitual postures, such as protectively hunched shoulders or aggressively tightened jaws, for example.
Massage can further boost your immune system by relieving stress and increasing lymph flow, making you less vulnerable to illness. It can help alleviate discomforts related to PMS, menopause, pregnancy, sports injuries, back problems, and illness rehabilitation. Massage can hasten the elimination of waste toxin debris stored in the muscles, increase the interchange of substances between the blood and tissue cells, and heighten the oxygenation of the tissues.
Massage is also a wonderfully natural, healthy, and often recommended way of reducing stress and anxiety.
Different Types of Massage Techniques
Types of massage techniques include:
- Feldenkrais - Feldenkrais massage improves flexibility and coordination, increases ease and range of motion, and can heal injuries of overused or misused muscles. It is a method of retraining the body how to be pain-free and unlearn past bad body habits (due to old injuries, for example.) This is especially helpful for musicians to improve their posture and movement, for athletes and anyone looking to relieve pain.
- CranioSacral - CranioSacral therapy aims to enhance your general health, improve resistance to disease, improve brain and spinal cord function, reduce accumulated stress, and work with your own natural mechanisms to enhance effectiveness. In a deeply relaxing one-hour session with your clothes on, the therapist will palpate and then focus on abnormalities of structure and/or functions within the body. Performed with or without a doctor's referral, this therapy addresses chronic or post-surgical pain, lowered vitality, recurrent infections, TMJ symptoms, depression, various headaches, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, menstrual-related discomfort and more.
- Sports Massage - Many sports and fitness enthusiasts rely on regular massages as an important part of the health maintenance routine. Sports massage benefits anyone involved in athletics or vigorous fitness activities, and is helpful in relieving sports injuries such as tendonitis and muscle or ligament strains.
- Swedish Massage - This is the most common type of therapeutic massage. It is generally a full-body massage used for relaxation and stress reduction, involving manipulation of the soft tissues of the body. A session may also include techniques of cross-fiber, deep-muscle, polarity and trigger-point massage.