• What formal qualifications do you have?
• Do you have a first aid certificate?
• Can I claim the treatment through my Southern Cross insurance?
• Will you ask for a medical history?

For me professionalism is characterized by a couple of things, one been education and the other attitude.

A true professional will incorporate these into their treatments. Education will allow to access and treat clients for their specific needs and the attitude ensuring they are taken seriously to become the link into the health care system by knowing when to refer clients to other health Professionals, if necessary. I work closely with osteopaths, chiropractors , medical herbalists , personal trainers and Pilates instructors.

Function to the body is improved, with a positive feedback on the musculo-skeletal system and consequently improve the psychology of the client, making them feel better about themselves.

• Relaxation Massage: A gentle massage with medium pressure, usually slow flowing effleurage and kneading strokes to encourage the parasympathetic nervous system, improves lymphatic and blood circulation, and encourages relaxation of the mind and body.  Great for stress relief
• Therapeutic Massage:  Treatment focus using deeper pressure to allow muscle pain to ease and encourage circulation and blood flow which in turns give nutrients and oxygen to soft tissue and improves range of movement.
• Remedial Massage: Specific massage techniques to treat the dysfunction of soft tissue, either from Sports injury, repetitive overuse in faulty pain patterns from work or sedentary lifestyle. Information is Gathered to help find the cause and treat the symptom.
• Neuromuscular Therapy: specific approach to restore the structural, functional and postural integrity of the body which treats the problems of pain patterns that form . Pressure techniques allow the soft tissue to be restored so Spasms, contractions, tensions, adhesions and Trigger Points normalise.  Function to the body is improved, with a positive feedback on the musculo-skeletal system and consequently improve the psychology of the client, making them feel better about themselves.

Why have a massage?

There are many benefits to massage therapy, to be able to share knowledge, skills and experience with my client base, but also to see how our bodies react to overuse, underuse, stress, illness, injuries, emotional challenges and life in general all shows in the soft tissue. 

Questions you may want to ask your massage therapist

• What formal qualifications do you have?
• Do you have a first aid certificate?
• Can I claim the treatment through my Southern Cross insurance?
• Will you ask for a medical history? 

For me professionalism is characterized by a couple of things, one been education and the other attitude. 

A true professional will incorporate these into their treatments. Education will allow to access and treat clients for their specific needs and the attitude ensuring they are taken seriously to become the link into the health care system by knowing when to refer clients to other health Professionals, if necessary. I work closely with osteopaths, chiropractors , medical herbalists , personal trainers and Pilates instructors. 

-Herbal and Natural Healing Treatments-

Rixt Botello has been practicing as a registered Medical Herbalist, Aromatherapist, Bach Flower Practitioner and tutor in all these subjects and others nationwide at Herbal, Naturopathic, Massage Colleges and also privately run courses for the past 20 years.She specializes in Aromatherapy, Flower Essence Therapy, Herbal Medicine, Nutrition Therapy, Reflexology Therapies.

She makes her own herbal and aromatherapy healing products, which are now available for purchase through Sarndra at Maintain Massage.

Products:

Rosemilk (can be used for: eczema, dry skin, mature skin (night cream), sunburn, luxurious moisturizer)

Violet Cream (can be used for: skin cancer, age spots, freckles, changing moles, dry sensitive skin)

Kawakawa and Manuka Ointment (can be used for: ringworm, tinnea, fungal disorders, eczema, psoriasis, dry skin, cuts)

Mullein Eardrops (can be used for: sore and painful ears, toothache, teething, waxy and itchy ears)

Skin Ointment (can be used for: First Aid – cuts, burns, wounds; bruises, strains, sprains,insect bites, itchiness, psoriasis, dry eczema, cracked skin, nappy rash, boils, splinter)

Aches, pains, and colds oil (can be used for: arthritis pain (osteo and rheumatoid), sore joints, gout, strains and sprains, muscle pain, coughs, colds, bronchitis, sore throat)

Echinacea Angustifolia Tincture (can be used for: natural immune strengthener)

HypLav Oil (can be used for: radiation and electrolysis burns)

Candida Cream  (can be used for: thrush- internal and external)

Shingle/Chickenpox Oil (can be used for: pain and itching)

Ironically, both practitioners described the same process, but they used strikingly different language. While talking to the interviewing physician, the first practitioner used the 5000 year old language of Oriental health practitioners, while the second practitioner used the 21st century scientific explanation of the same phenomenon.

This is a great example of how massage practitioners routinely undermine their work in the eyes of medical community and clients. To be successful in this profession, a therapist must be familiar with modern terminology, current scientific theories and be able to explain their work in making-sense way.

This should in no way undermine the achievement of the Oriental thinkers and health practitioners. Using great observation skills and intuitive minds, they were able to discover long ago the same processes in the body we just now are able to understand. They were greatly ahead of us.

Five thousand years ago no one knew about electricity in general and bioelectricity in particular. This is why people called it ‘Qi’ or healing energy, but it is unacceptable in 21st century to describe the therapy to the Western educated physician, client or patient using ancient figurative language filled with metaphors. This is not a way to build up practice in Western society.

It doesn’t matter what type of bodywork you are practicing or teaching, Swedish massage, acupressure, neuromuscular therapy, or reflexology; you are not in any case affecting the flow of some mystical healing energy. This is a complete fairy tale and scientific nonsense. Instead, your treatment triggers a chain of electrophysiological changes in the soft tissue and the entire patient’s body.

Unfortunately, for the entire profession these changes were incorrectly labeled as healing body energy. This 5000 year old term deprived the scientific basis for the massage therapy, and we need to change it as soon as possible in the schools curriculums, in the certification exams and even in the publications where it is a very common subject. Please, educate clients, colleagues, students or other health practitioners on this fundamental matter.

I am perfectly aware that many practitioners will continue to use this concept because it is very difficult to change already established system of beliefs. However, this article is for the practitioners who are ready to open their minds, embrace the science in massage therapy and learn and practice its application.

The successful massage therapy practice relies on two major pillars: spiritual-psychological aspect of massage therapy and its scientific foundation. While the first aspect is very well developed and greatly enforced in massage education and literature, the modern scientific understanding is lagging behind, and must be changed for the benefit of the profession and health of the clients. Masterminding this knowledge is an effective way to build up the flourishing practice and, at the same time, it will help the further development of the entire massage therapy profession.

Article from Science of Massage website here: http://www.scienceofmassage.com/

The seemingly theoretical concept of piezoelectricity has great clinical value for the massage practitioners. Massage therapy is a way to deliver mechanical stimuli to the soft tissue and one of its great clinical outcomes is generation of the piezoelectrical potentials in the massaged area.

As an example, review the impact of massage therapy strokes on collagen. As mentioned, the collagen fibers are the most important and abundant in our body. They form the structural frame of all organs and tissue and are a major repair material used to restore tissue after any trauma or inflammation.

Each collagen molecule is a strong dipole, i.e. it has two oppositely charged ends. The head is bigger part and it has a slightly larger positive charge, while the tail is smaller and it has a slightly smaller negative charge. Thus overall charge of each collagen molecule is positive.

Collagen molecules unite together to form different anatomical structures (tendons, ligaments, bones, structural frame of the inner organs, etc.). All collagen molecules in combination with other electrically active proteins generate a, so called, fixed electric charge of each organ and tissue.

Thus, the fixed electric charge is a cumulative charge of all electrically active molecules in the area. Even under normal conditions this charge constantly changes as a result of the individual person’s physical activity, diet, level of stress, etc. Despite of these constant fluctuations, changes in the fixed electric charge stay within the physiological range assigned to this particular tissue.

The situation changes dramatically if the soft tissue or inner organ were traumatized, or has developed inflammation, etc. The fixed electric charge within the affected area immediately changes its normal value as a result of the pathological process.

Any inflammation or trauma of the soft tissue increases the positive fixed electric charge and the collagen fibers are one of the major contributors to this process. Swelling, rupture and twisting of the normal collagen fibers greatly contribute to the increase of the positive fixed charge in the soft tissue. The healing process after initial trauma or inflammation is always accompanied by slow restoration of the fixed electric charge in the affected area.

During the massage, external mechanical stimuli in form of repeated application of massage strokes deform the collagen molecules and generate the piezoelectricity which increases the negative fixed electric charge. As we discussed above, the negative electric charge has the greatest impact on the proliferation, growth and regeneration of the tissue.

Also, the increase of the negative charge in the affected area is the critical factor in the correct alignment of the pro-collagen fibers before their maturation into the fully developed collagen fibers. The delay of this process slows the local healing. Thus the restoration of the fixed electric charge is a critically important process in reducing the tension in the soft tissue and eliminating the physical and even mental stress. At the same time it is an equally important component in speeding up the healing process.

The concept of piezoelectricity gives the practitioners a lot of important clinical tools to apply therapy correctly and optimize the outcomes of the treatment. For example the study conducted by Shamos and Lavine in 1967 showed that human skin exhibits the largest piezoelectrical potentials if the mechanical stimuli are applied under a 45 degree angle. This is a very important practical recommendation, as the massage practitioner needs to generate the greatest number of piezoelectrical potentials during the treatment.

Let’s compare the common application of effleurage and friction strokes with the application of the same strokes using a 45 degree angle. The video below presents the application of both techniques.

If the practitioner wants to optimize performance and enhance healing potential of the therapy he or she needs simply change the angle of the applied strokes and this factor alone without even learning additional massage techniques will greatly help practitioner to build up successful practice.

Modern technology allowed scientists to measure the piezoelectrical properties even within a single collagen fiber. In the recent study Minary-Jolandan and Yu, (2009) showed that single collagen fiber is able to generate piezoelectric coefficient of 1 pm V(-1) and summation of piezoelectrical charges generated by each collagen fiber allow the entire tendon to generate electric potential up to tens of millivolts, depending upon the size of the tendon. The authors of this study strongly reinforced the previously mentioned publication of Shamos and Lavine who found that only shear deformation of the collagen fibers triggers the piezoelectrical effect. Thus the angle of the application of the pressure during the massage strokes (45 degrees are the most preferable) is a critical factor in the generation of the piezoelectricity and normalization of the electrophysiological properties of the soft tissue.

A very important article for massage practitioners was published in 1977 by one of the most respected scientific authorities in the field of bioelectricity Professor B. Lipinski, MD. Using his experimental data he formulated the theory which links the therapeutic effect of soft tissue manipulations, acupuncture, Hatha Yoga and the action of negatively charged air ions with piezoelectrical properties of the biological tissue.

According to this theory, proteins, mucopolysaccahrides, nucleic acids, etc. which compose all tissue of our body are able to generate piezoelectricity. Thus, these substances have the ability to transfer the externally applied mechanical energy (e.g. by massage strokes) into electric energy inside the soft tissue.

The author showed that stimulation of the soft tissue in the special areas on the body produces the electric current. This piezoelectrically induced current activates the healing processes in the stimulated area, and it is able to flow “towards the internal organs along the semiconductive channels of biological micromolecules”.

Hence, every time you apply mechanical pressure to the soft tissue in the form of massage strokes you actively produce the electric current in these tissues, and it has enormous healing potential on the cellular, tissue and organ levels. This electric current is able to travel to the distant parts of the body, including the inner organs and normalize their function.

The healing impact of the massage treatment is directly correlated with the total amount of piezoelectrical potentials the practitioner need to generate during the therapy. If the practitioner doesn’t use correct tools and tips (e.g., angle of the strokes, speed of the strokes, greater variety of massage techniques, etc.) he or she greatly diminishes the healing outcomes of the treatment and undermines his or her efforts and practice.

Article from Science of Massage website here: http://www.scienceofmassage.com/

Phone: 09 962 6912
Mobile: 021 274 8890
Email: sarndra@maintainmassage.co.nz

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Victoria Square
2/139 Wellesley Street
Auckland City 1010

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