The Latest on Covid Precautions

My goal is to make everyone feel safe and welcome, no matter their risk tolerance or situation. Here’s what is happening in the massage studio for the foreseeable future.

Your Massage Therapist

I am fully vaccinated. I will be wearing a face mask, a well-fitted N95, for all client work, for the foreseeable future. 

Been Sick in the Past TEN DAYs?

If you've been sick in the past 10 days  (cold, flu, or covid), please contact me BEFORE YOU ARRIVE to let me know when your symptoms started and ended. If you currently have symptoms, such as a fever, please reschedule, free of charge. My own immune system is sluggish, so other’s small colds can mean weeks out of work for me. Email or text 510-604-2005.

Client Face MAsks

Your Choice. Client face masks are no longer required in the massage studio. If you’d like to wear one, you are welcome to. If you don’t want to wear one, that’s also ok.

Healthy Airflow

Access to Outdoor Air, Before and Between Clients. Opening the two windows and the door creates a medium to strong cross breeze in the massage studio, depending upon the weather outside. Before opening the massage studio in the new location, I replaced the standard windows with side opening windows, dramatically increasing potential airflow. Instead of just the bottom third of the window opening, nearly the entire window surface area opens. The window openings are oriented to take advantage of the most frequent wind direction (north west) of the Bay area. (Who knew all that geeky weather knowledge from kayaking would come in handy?)

There’s 30 minutes between clients. The windows and door are open for about 15 of those minutes, and due to that strong cross breeze. most of the air in the massage studio is replaced by outdoor air. (Yes, I do this even on cold days.) Once the workday has started, I do not remove my face mask while inside the massage studio. The idea is that an immunocompromised client could come in after any other client, and be reasonably certain of breathing mostly fresh outdoor air.

Air Filters. There are also air filters in the massage studio, capable of filtering the air in the space 12 times an hour, the same safety standard that new hospital construction must meet. The filters are specifically selected to remove particles as small as viruses, as well as wildfire smoke. The air filters are turned on about 15 minutes prior to the first client of the day, and stay on, until about 15 minutes after the last client has left.

Outdoor Air During Your Session. If you prefer additional outdoor air, you can choose to leave the windows (and even door) open- just ask.  The default is closed windows and door during your session - most people are more concerned with staying warm, and having a quiet environment, but whatever you prefer is fine. The massage studio is located in an urban neighborhood environment - inevitably, there will be some level of noise outside.

 

Touchless Access

Touchless client access to things like soap, hand sanitizer, and paper towels

Surfaces

Based on the standard best practices for massage studios, I disinfect surfaces once a day. Obviously, any items that may touch a client’s face, like the headrest or pillows, are fully covered by linens. Linens are washed between uses.

Thanks!

-Andrea

Let's Talk Trigger Points

You might have seen a chart of the human body with little dots all over it at some point, maybe in a physical therapy office, or a massage studio. So, what's that all about?

Trigger Point

Back in the 1940's, two medical doctors began researching people with severe "untreatable" pain. Most of the research subjects had spent years in pain, and had exhausted the cures of Western medicine, yet nothing worked. Our researchers found that most of their subjects had one thing in common: trigger points.

A Point of Exquisite Tenderness

A trigger point is technically defined as a "point of exquisite tenderness". In physical terms, it's a circle of hyper-irritable tissue, generally located within a taut band of muscle. Trigger points can cause intense pain, which can be just local at the exact location of the trigger point, or it also can be referred to another location.

Trigger points arise as a result of acute trauma, or repetitive motion that causes trauma over time.

Encouraging Wider Spread Dysfunction

The area directly surrounding the trigger point often feels very tight, with a decreased range of motion. If one area of the body is unable to move as designed, neighboring areas will step in to help accomplish tasks. So, in the case of trigger points, the immobile trigger point will cause surrounding muscles to compensate. The degree to which this causes problems varies, but it creates a higher risk for injury during strenuous events.

It’s Crazy Common

The researchers estimated that 75% of pain clinic patients have a trigger point as the sole source of their pain.

Want an example of a trigger point? Most people have at least one trigger point in their neck or shoulders. Using the above image, locate a typical trigger point area in the neck or shoulder and press down. If that spot feels super tender, even more so than the surrounding area, you may have discovered your first trigger point.

If your sense of touch in your hands is sensitive enough, you'll notice that a trigger point feels like a nodule of muscle fiber that's far harder than the surrounding tissue. Note: A sense of touch takes months to develop in massage students, so don't be discouraged if your fingers don't notice any differences from place to place. However, I've been a massage therapist for 20 years, so they feel like flashing neon signs to me! Which is one of the ways I know that we are working in the right location to make positive changes.

How Trigger Point Massage Works

Trigger point massage addresses these areas by pressing and holding the area to dissolve the trigger point, and free the immobile muscle tissue. When treated in conjunction with the wider area, it can restore the entire region to proper function.

Schedule A Trigger Point Massage

If your interest is piqued by trigger point therapy, schedule a Trigger Point massage, using online booking, here.

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Is It Time To Charge Your Battery?

Has life been extra spicy lately? It might be time to call all that energy you’ve put out into the world back home to yourself. A great way to do that is to get a massage. Massage is an efficient way to regroup, and recharge your internal battery.

How It Works

One of the immediate benefits of massage is a feeling of deep relaxation and calm. The levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, drop, and “feel good” hormones like serotonin and dopamine, rise. I think of it as “hitting the reset button” or a mini-vacation - and you can do it within just one hour. A new perspective allows you to face big challenges with a fresh take and renewed energy.

Rest and Digest

By the same mechanism, massage supports good mental hygiene by regulating the nervous system. It temporarily shifts our nervous system from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest.” This decreases anxiety, and lowers both heart rate and blood pressure. From this place, our experience of the world can shift dramatically.

A Place of Safety For Everyone

Massage is one of the only modalities that provides healthy touch - something we all need to thrive - in a safe and nurturing environment. It offers support, comfort, and human connection.

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