Hot Stone Massage

Asheville N.T.S. Is very proud to announce the addition of Integrated Therapeutic Hot Stone Massage & Cold Stone Facial.

Our Therapeutic Hot Stone Massage is a unique twist on traditional Hot Stone Massage Therapy. Drawing upon the benefits of Shiatsu, Swedish, Reflexology is why our Therapeutic Hot Stone Massage is such a powerful tool.  The Cold Stone Facial included in this session is a wonderful contrast to the heated stones. Brain activity causes heat in our face and head. The cool gemstones assist in relaxation, stress reduction and circulation.

Benefits of Integrated Therapeutic Hot Stone Massage & Cold Stone Facial:

• Flushes toxins and metabolic waste from tissue
• Enhances Range of Motion
• Increases circulation of blood & lymph

Lavender

Even in the lovely mountain town of Asheville NC, I am sure there folks out there suffering from Insomnia. What a fancy word for tossing and turning all night with no sleep. Many alternative health modalities have shown to be helpful in the treatment of insomnia. Massage, Shiatsu, Deep Tissue, Reflexology, Polarity Therapy… plus many more… Functioning without sleep is like trying to start your car with no battery.

The mind and body must be seen as one functioning unit. Mis-alignments can be in the mind and body. Aches and pains can keep us up at night as well as over thinking. Many of us have a dificult time putting our day to rest. Incomplete tasks and day to day stress can keep our mind burdened with thought. For many of us it may take many years to learn to quiet the mind to be content and at peace with one self and surroundings. Massage Therapy and Energy Work can be a tool to assist us in that journey. For the body to completely benefit from sleep, these alignments must be dealt with.

The bodies subtle alignment is very similar to that of car. Imagine driving down the road in your favorite automobile. Now imagine that you have to pull the steering wheel slightly to the left just to get the vehicle to drive straight. When the alignment of the car is off the tires start to wear unevenly. This is also true with the human body. If you look at the bottom of your oldest pair of sneakers you will be able to get a very basic idea of how your alignment may be. The impact of mis-alignment can be detrimental to the feet, ankles, knees, pelvis, low back, spine, shoulders, neck, head, wrists, and elbows…and yes the brain. Just imagine wow good you will sleep after the re-alignment of the mind and body.

Thanks to studies at major universities, we now have evidence based treatments. Massage, Yoga, Aromatherapy can be a way back to health.

Asheville NTS provides the cutting edge of alternative therapeutic massage techniques and energywork.

Join the MS Community of WNC for yummy, refreshing, homemade ice cream!

Come learn more about our upcoming volunteer and social events. Find out how you can get involved, make a difference, and have fun!

50% of the event proceeds will benefit the National MS Society!!

Thursday, September 15 · 5:00pm - 8:00pm

The Hop Ice Cream Cafe

640 Merrimon Ave Asheville, NC

Massage for Spinal-Cord Injury

Massage benefits people with spinal-cord injuries by increasing their range of motion and muscle strength while decreasing anxiety and depression, according to a recent study.

“Spinal Cord Patients Benefit from Massage Therapy” was conducted by Miguel Diego, Tiffany Field, Ph.D., Maria Hernandez-Reif, Ph.D., Sybil Hart, Ph.D., and Tory Field, of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, along with Bernard Brucker of the university’s psychiatry department and Iris Burman, co-founder and director of Educating Hands School of Massage in Miami, Florida.

Fifteen males and five females participated in the study. Their average age was 39 and each had C5-C7 spinal cord injuries for at least one year. The subjects were stratified by range of motion and randomly assigned to either a massage-therapy or exercise group.

The massage-therapy group received two 40-minute massages per week for five weeks. The exercise group was taught an exercise routine that they performed on their own twice a week for five weeks.

On the first and last days of the study, a physiotherapist with no knowledge of group assignment assessed participants’ range of motion and muscle strength, and administered the Modified Barthel Index, which rates self-care and mobility skills.

The massage group showed a greater increase in muscle strength than the exercise group on the Manual Muscle Test, designed to assess motor function after spinal-cord injury.

Range-of-motion tests revealed that both groups improved in shoulder abduction, but the massage group showed greater improvement in wrist extension and flexion.

The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale was completed on the first and last days of the study, and the State Anxiety Inventory was used to assess participants’ anxiety immediately before and after massage on the first and last days of the study.

Members of the massage group showed a greater decrease in depression scores on the last day of the research. They also had significantly lower levels of anxiety than subjects in the exercise group immediately following massage on the first and last days of the study.

“The increased muscle strength and range of motion may have contributed to the decrease in their depression and anxiety,” state the study’s authors. “These data suggest that patients with spinal cord injury can benefit from massage therapy.”

The authors recommended future studies to assess massage therapy for other problems related to spinal-cord injury, such as spasticity and pain.

Source: The Touch Research Institute. Authors: Miguel A. Diego, Tiffany Field, Ph.D., Maria Hernandez-Reif, Ph.D., Sybil Hart, Ph.D. Originally published in the International Journal of Neuroscience, 2002, Vol. 112, pp. 133-142.