Physical Therapy and Sports

Physical Therapy and Sports: Augmenting Healing With A Massage Chair

by Troy Flora

If you take on strenuous exercise or other types of similar activities, then you know that you risk being hurt. Muscles get pushed too far and sometimes can fail. This is true for other body parts. The stresses put on them can just be too great. Different injuries require particular physical therapy to recover. If you need to get physical therapy then they will focus on specific treatments to help your bones, muscles and ligament to gain strength and flexibility. These therapies will range from using exercise equipment to receiving massage therapy with a massage chair.

Physical therapy starts with an expert therapist. Much like a trainer, the physical therapist will design a program to increase the flexibility and strength of the injured areas. The therapist must understand your situation. They must know the procedures you went through if you had surgery. They also must know the physiology of your body and its related mechanics. Most of the programs require stretching and massage for flexibility and exercise for strength. They use specialized equipment in order to target specific areas or individual muscles. Massage chairs are particularly effective in loosening tight areas and enhancing blood circulation.

One of the first things you will do in physical therapy is to sit down with your therapist. You will go over in detail your physique and injured areas. The therapist understands surgeries and there affect on your muscle and skeletal systems. They will design a specific program with you. You will be put through a regimen of stretching. They will want you to gain more strength. You may need to do exercises or use specialized exercise equipment. They may rub down or massage certain areas of your injuries. They may have you receive massage therapy in a massage chair recliner. All these therapies are designed to help your recover fully.

Stretching is important to help regain lost flexibility. The muscles may be tight, the joints stiff and you may have scar tissue. These reduce your range of motion and decrease flexibility. Stretching helps to elongate the muscles. This helps to stretch the muscles helping their elasticity. A frequent and continuous regimen of daily stretching helps to speed recovery. Your therapist will design a stretching routine which will help focus on restoring the range of motion.

When you are injured, your body knows to shift work to other areas that are not affected. So certain areas are not used for most activities. The muscles that are not used will atrophy. They will start to lose strength. The body adapts to the situation. To reverse this process, your therapist will start you on an exercise program. The exercise program is usually designed to start off slow, but steady. The program may work muscle groups together or may work on individual muscles. The treatments are designed to bring all the elements together for full strength recover.

Some of the problems encountered in the physical recovery process are scar tissue. Scar tissue forms harder than the original tissue. This needs recurring kneading and pressing massage to restore flexibility. The muscle tissue breaks down into shorter lengths when physically stressed. The muscles tissues need the fibers to be elongated to restore further flexibility. Massage therapy targets these two important areas. Some physical therapy clinics use massage therapists and may also use massage chairs. In either case, the focus is on increasing the longer term flexibility. Massage therapy is effective in loosening the muscles and scar tissue while increasing the blood and nutrient flow accelerate the healing process.

Whether you are a professional tennis player or a beginner skier, injuries can happen to anyone. If you do find yourself in physical therapy, work on setting goals to recover. Find yourself an excellent physical therapy clinic. Make sure they have qualified people, proper exercise equipment and massage therapy. And if you need massage therapy, make sure a massage chair is part of your recovery plans.

Acupressure Massage Therapy

Acupressure Massage Therapy Imitated with Massage Chairs

by Cristina Kennington

Clean out your system with an Acupressure massage. Acupressure massage is based on the ancient Chinese medical arts of acupuncture, but without the needles. Acupressure is accomplished by putting medium pressure on particular trigger points throughout the body. This type of massage therapy activates the body's energy to increase the effectiveness of the immune system and restore balance within the body. Now technology is being used to locate and stimulate your body's acupressure points in the premier massage chair brands of today.

If you ever felt decreases in energy throughout your body, then you may have trigger points which have become blocked. The energy that normally flows through your body may be decreased leading to a feeling of fatigue. Acupressure massage therapy targets this particular symptom to help restore balance to your system. There are hundreds of pressure points in your body. These trigger points can be manipulated to enhance the energy flow in your body to bring back the levels of energy you are used to having.

To manipulate your trigger points, acupressure massage uses a variety of techniques. Firm pressure is applied to targeted pressure points depending on the areas in need of attention. Additionally, chopping style massage is used to loosen up major muscles to reduce stiffness. Kneading is used to elongate muscles and reduce soreness. Vibration massage is used to stimulate the capillary vessels to enhance blood circulation. As the trigger points are activated, energy begins to flow once again at its normal levels. This brings back greater harmony to the body.

If you are like most people, then you know your body can just get out of balance. We all deal with stress in different ways, but stress seems to be a constant. As it builds up, we need to relieve it. Built up stress causes muscle stiffness and the built up of toxins in the body. Both of these conditions cause the body to be out of balance. Acupressure massage benefits the body by helping to relieve the built up of stress, muscle aches and pain and reduce toxins levels. This helps to get the body back in balance.

The technology that is being incorporated into the best massage chairs is simply amazing. Advanced mechanical systems coupled to sophisticated software has produced wonderfully effective massage therapies. These massage recliners have sensors to scan your back. Their software programs create a digital map of your back and locate your individual trigger points. The software then targets these points and the mechanical systems provide kneading, chopping, vibration and firm pressure. These effective systems provide thorough and invigorating relief for your whole back and body.

For the lower body, many manufacturers have developed air compression systems. The air compression systems incorporate specifically designed airbags with special nodes to activate trigger points in the lower body. When the air compression system activates, the airbag inflates and the node pushes gently into the trigger point. These are most commonly found for the back of the calves and for the bottom of the feet. Stimulating these trigger points help to induce total body relaxation and release accumulated tension.

The ancient Chinese have understood the great healing powers of the body. They have studied and correlated many therapies to assist and enhance the body's own natural healing powers. These techniques are systematically being integrated into the best massage chairs. These top brands are finding innovative ways to provide effective relief of many common disorders. Acupressure is known to relieve insomnia, dizziness, headaches and more. We are just beginning to realize the power of these simple but effective techniques. Stress has been around since time began, stress relief is your counter balance. Massage chairs are the most convenient method to receive ongoing stress relief.

About the Author:

Own the extraordinary comfort of receiving an Acupressure Massage from a Panasonic Massage Chair on a frequent basis. See how massage chairs can effectively and economically delivery massage therapy on demand. You will find many massage chair recliners just for you.