massage Archives - The Daily Octane

Several Types of Massage

For more than seven years, I have offered a source of pain relief and relaxation for my thankful clientele. My office is locally known for having a diverse massage staff and we offer a broad spectrum of talents. We have licensed massage therapists who excel at pre-natal massage and some that offer thai massage. A couple of my massage therapists really focus on offering incredibly relaxing Swedish massage and tend to avoid offering deeper work. The rest of us are deep tissue specialists.

Deep tissue massage is a gray area term. It can be synonymous with orthopedic massage or medical massage. I am not implying that all those offerings are the same, but rather they are often interchangeable terms for clients. I will break down all the varied massage offerings in this field in another Massage Therapy Mondays post, but for now we are going to focus on a small slice of the industry.

The majority of clients that enter the doors to my office fall into two categories. They are either dealing with some sort of physical pain or they are athletes looking for assistance with recovery. Most of these clients come for an hour but some come for ninety minute sessions. The cost for these appointments is $75 and $105, respectively.

Benefits of massage

Injuries are commonplace. There are more causes and symptoms than I could ever list here so I will speak in generalities. We see a lot of instances of general pain in the neck, shoulders, back and hips. Knees and wrists also motivate people to contact us on occasion, but the main four are neck, shoulders, back, and hips.

The causes of the pain is a far more diverse and complicated list. First and foremost, we are unbelievably destructive to our bodies in today’s society. It is not that we live harder lives than our ancestors. It is the stress of modern life that lies at the root of so many issues. Maintaining our households, worrying about our children and/or elderly parents, and successfully negotiating our careers can leave our bodies under constant assault from a chemical called cortisol.

The cortisol hormone is produced by your adrenal glands. It is known as the source of the “fight or flight” response. Beyond that primary function, it also serves to regulate a number of complex balances in the body such as blood pressure and metabolism. Without turning this into a biology and chemistry lesson, let’s just agree that is vital to life.

Cortisol becomes a problem when tissue is exposed to it for too long. While cortisol can help your body in a number of ways, it can also me destructive. Long term exposure to cortisol in the connective tissues can break those fragile organs down. It can weaken tendons and ligaments and damage protective organs like fascia. Every organ, bone, muscle, tendon, and ligament is covered in fascia. It is one singular and contiguous organ, akin to an internal skin. If you damage one area of your fascia, it can have consequential effects throughout your body.

Massage for Recovery

Athletes are everywhere. While many people instinctively think of professional football or baseball players when they hear the term, athletes are also runners competing in 5ks or marathons. Triathletes, who compete in multiple disciplines are athletes. People who choose to hike the Appalachian Trail or tackle all the High Peaks of The Adirondacks are athletes. Even those of us that regularly weight train at the neighborhood gym fall into the category of athletes.

Sports Massage — Sports massage can be in office or at an event

There are unique needs and dangers of constant exercise that a massage therapist is specifically trained to understand and negotiate. Trigger points, muscle fatigue, delayed onset muscle soreness, lactic acid, and plantar fasciitis are just some of the regular issues athletes come to us with.

Massage therapists have special training to work the common issues athletes experience. We can focus our attention on areas that require the work. There is a subtle balance the body must maintain in order to remain pain free or recover from injury, and massage therapists have the tools to facilitate that balance. Unfortunately, people are Increasingly turning to devices to address these issues.

Foam rollers have a long history

While I have been in the massage industry for nearly a decade, foam rollers were around long before me. Over time, they have become more and more sophisticated. Nowadays, they come in all shapes and sizes to address as many areas of the body as possible. The theory behind rolling is that one can loosen tight muscles by using their own body weight to knead the tissue in the same way you roll dough.

Assortment of foam rollers — Foam rollers come in many shapes and sizes to serve different areas of the body

For years, I have even suggesting foam rolling to clients as a complimentary option to maintain the success I have during the massage. A month between appointments is a long time and if rolling can help keep their quad muscles loose, all the more power to them.

The new kid on the block

Massage “guns” are a relative newcomer to the scene. A California chiropractor invented the massage gun to aid in recovery of his own back pain. Subsequently. he began using it on his clients and its popularity spread from there.

A massage gun is a tool that looks like an altered drill. It creates a repetitive compression against the body similar to a jackhammer. It functions at a high rate of speed and features a padded point of contact. The theory behind its use is that is will soften the tissue and aid in the removal of toxins and facilitate positive blood flow to the desired area. There is no doubt that the application of that device to some areas of the body can be a very pleasurable and therapeutic experience.

The massage gun has seen increased usage in the physical therapy field as well. When operated by a trained practitioner, it can be a fine ancillary tool in the box. Physical therapists and chiropractors have been using devices as part of their treatment plans for a long while now. However, I would make the argument that you cannot beat the trained hands of massage therapist when it comes to the soft tissue of the body.

Issues arise when individuals purchase a massage gun for themselves and use it at home without training or an understanding of the complex balance of the body’s musculature. Application of the gun to bone or areas of high nerve density can have devastating consequences. They could easily cause injury or make an existing injury worse.

Sometimes you need a pro

If you came across this article because you are injured and are curious if a massage gun can help, my emphatic massage is “I don’t know.” This article is not meant as a admonishment of massage guns in the marketplace. I am simply here to offer a cautionary warning.

If you are feeling pain that is causing discomfort beyond the normal, you should always seek attention from a trained individual. If you are experiencing issues with your soft tissue, consult a massage therapist like myself. We have experience in these issues and have an understanding of the general causes of pain. If someone comes to me with an injury that requires more than I can offer, I am quick to advise they see a doctor.

If someone chooses to address their own pain without any medical training with a massage gun, they are putting themselves at risk. Remember, many of our every day aches and pains originate from over-exposure to cortisol. A gun or a foam roller cannot address your stress, but the hands of a licensed massage therapist certainly can.

Christopher Hess, LMT

Note: Over the next week, I will be introducing readers (however few there are) to the new format of The Daily Octane. Each day will be the topic reveal for that calendar day going forward. Additionally, I will provide context for why I feel I have ANY business even writing about the subject.

One of the most common questions I get asked on a regular basis is, “How did you end up becoming a massage therapist?” If you don’t know me and are setting eyes on me for the first time, that is a totally logical question to ask. If there is a stereotypical look for a massage therapist, I am about as far from that as one can get.

A Dead End Professional Career

I graduated high school in 1993 from a small rural school in the Fingerlakes region of New York State. During my childhood, I was fairly sheltered from the rest of the world and my upbringing was one a typical middle class conservative family. I started working when I was 14 years old at a dairy farm. That was shit work (see what I did there?) and lasted only a few short weeks. At sixteen, I took a job at The Hollywood Restaurant in Auburn, NY. Some of the teens I ran with at the time had also worked there so it seemed a logical choice. I worked as a dishwasher and then later as a prep cook.

I tried college for a bit. The world of television and radio was calling me. My aspirations out shined my ambition and I quickly floundered. At the same time, I was struggling to socially adapt to adulthood and began an excessive amount of drug use. None of it was illicit narcotics or anything like that, but it was affecting me all the same.

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There is an age old trope in early adult life. If you feel trapped and need to escape your life, go in the military. So that is precisely what I did. I landed in The United States Marine Corps and left for Parris Island in November of 1994. While in the Corps, I carried the Military Occupational Specialty (or MOS) of 4641, which is a Still Photographic Specialist, otherwise known as Combat Camera. That was a lot of fun and high stress but it served me in a transformational way. Like many veterans, I left the military with a clearly defined understanding of work ethic, responsibility, and initiative.

After my separation from active duty, I stayed in Southern California, where my last assignment was. To make money, I worked part-time as a bouncer. I also started selling cars. A dear friend of mine at the time was doing that and he brought me into the dealership. I had a knack for it but it was still not enough money for life in Huntington Beach, CA so I sought out something additional.

On a whim, I walked into the casting offices of Disneyland. The first time I entered a Disney Theme Park was AFTER being hired to work there. Like so many people in this world, I was a Disney fan, so working in the park seemed a logical thing to do in my early 20s.

A little over a year later I decided to move back to New York. I took a job as a car salesman at a local dealership and also worked part-time in a camera store. Neither was financially fruitful. This is primarily due to a dramatically shorter car sales season in an area with prevalent snowfall.

I Begin My First Real Job

In 2001, my aunt was able to get me a job at AT&T. I worked in customer service and sales in their small business division. Business to Business sales served me well and I was good at it. I commonly ranked high in their national salesperson rankings…right up until the call center closed in the spring of 2005. Over the next three years I jumped from sales job to sales job, never being satisfied. Along the way, I learned about wholesale distribution, payroll administration, media marketing, and advertising. Sadly, I even sold male enhancement products in the middle of the night at a toll-free number call center. That was gross.

All of that changed in the fall of 2008 when the stock market crashed. Overnight, the sales jobs dried up. The company I was at called 75% of their workforce into a large conference room and unceremoniously fired us. The President at the time, George W. Bush, along with Congress, passed an Unemployment Insurance Benefit extension, which allowed me to collect payments for 99 weeks. I realized during that time that I was not qualified to do anything but sales. And there were no sales jobs in Syracuse right then.

Sometime in 2010, a friend called me out of the blue. It was a woman I worked with at a Karaoke joint. I used to be a DJ while she was tending bar. The call changed my life and I will never forget it. I was walking the aisles at a Wegmans, shopping with no money, when I answered the ring.

She was going back to school. She wanted to be an esthetician. Her current boss wanted her find someone to replace her position. That was where I came in. She went on to explain that the owner could be sort of difficult to work for. He was a chiropractor but also a massage therapist and a good business man. He also didn’t want to waste time on a hiring process and was trusting her to find me. I took the job.

My Entrance Into Massage

Over the next couple of years, I went from receptionist to office manager. I played a part in the growth of the business and along the way I learned a lot of valuable information about the industry I was in.

In late 2012, a series of events occurred that forced me to make a difficult decision. I will most assuredly address this in a later blog post but for now lets just say I made the choice to leave the office I worked at. There was only one thing I realistically should do at that time. I registered for Massage School.

The Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage is without a shadow of doubt the best in the region. They have two campuses, one in Rochester, New York and the other in Syracuse, where I went. If you ever wondered what massage school is like, lets just say it is unbelievably different than traditional college. I will recount that transitional period of my training at a later time, as there are a load of good stories.

One amazing reality that is hard to believe all these years is that I had no earthly clue in 2012 if I was even going to like being a massage therapist, never mind be any good it. Thankfully, it turns out both were incredibly true.

I graduated in June of 2013 as the Salutatorian of my class. I passed my boards and was officially licensed by New York State in October of that year. My first paid massage position was at Align Chiropractic & Massage in East Syracuse, NY. It was owned by two friends and former co-workers of mine from the previous office. Immediately, I knew I had found my calling.

Less than a year after starting with them, and just slightly over a year after graduating massage school, I made the choice to open my own practice. In hindsight, it was a very humble beginning. I rented a single room in an old house that was converted to offices. I borrowed a small amount of money from a friend and purchased a high end massage table, a website, a computer, and sheets. The rest is history.

At a later time, I will recount the growth of my company and how I got to where I am today. For now, I will leave you with this:

Camillus Massage Therapy, P.C.

Presently, my humble company that started as a small DBA has evolved into a professional corporation. Camillus Massage Therapy, P.C. employs twelve employees working a varied schedule in four treatment rooms. We have business relationships with The Upstate Cancer Center and Syracuse University to provide chair event services for events. I also have a contract with Syracuse University Athletics where I serve as the only Licensed Massage Therapist providing treatment to that department. That work consists of season long treatment of several of the teams, and it is work I love.

This is me at The Ride for The Rescue, which is an annual cycling charity event. — My staff often provides sports event at cycling and running events

Another amazing working relationship is with The Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage where I serve on their Program Advisory Committee. They invite me to come to the school to speak on Q&A panels for new students, participate in strokes clinics where I assess the preparedness of students to enter public clinic, and as a facilitator of mock interviews for the students preparing for graduation.

I could not have imagined being where I am today when I graduated High School. I also couldn’t be any happier. My career is the most fulfilling thing I have ever experienced next to the love of my two sons.

After 25 years of being pretty good at some things, I have become an expert at this. Massage Therapy is a growing industry with more and more acceptance as a medical treatment option. I have plans for the future in this field, but I will keep those pretty close to my chest for the time being.

In future blog posts, I will make an attempt to demystify the massage industry and explain exactly what it is that I do and maybe answer some lingering questions people have.

Christopher Hess, LMT

Be sure to return tomorrow to see what Tuesday’s topic will be.