1 - Massage Isn’t a Luxury Anymore - You Need Something That Works
Let’s face it, the world is changing, and going in for a massage isn’t so much about feeling good for an hour or two anymore. If you are say working at home at a desk that was designed for random use, not the fancy ergonomic setup you had at the ol’ office - and you need serious therapeutic tricks to work out all those new knots you never knew could get so bad.
The good news is, cupping could be the missing ingredient to really keep those troublesome areas from screaming at you.
When performed alongside clinically-proven neuromuscular massage techniques, cupping can actually have an amazing effect on posture, contributing to lasting shifts and correcting even those most stubborn problems you’ve had since you were a kid. What does that mean for you? All those ugly pain patterns that are now showing themselves as you sit at your home-office can be kept at bay for much longer than with a regular massage. So, your massage won’t just be that feel-good escape anymore. The added benefits of Cupping with your massage will actually work to make the massage results last longer - making your money stretch further, too!
2 - Your Time is Valuable. You Owe it to Yourself to Spend Your Time Receiving Lasting Effects!
There is a harmony that happens when Massage and Cupping are combined. And really, let’s be real here - we have a limited time on this earth. What’s the point of spending our time receiving therapeutic work if it’s only going to last a day or two? The good news is, that harmony I mentioned earlier, actually creates relief lasting more than the typical few days. What would you decide between? A massage that feels good and gives you relief until the next day you’re back working at the computer - OR, a massage that feels GREAT, and lasts for a few weeks, allowing you to be even more productive, and able to go enjoy the physical activities you love on the side, without the discomfort? I’m going to assume you chose the latter.
3 - It’s Not Just a Fad - There’s Science Behind This Age-Old Technique
Most fads don’t have staying-power, so the fact that Cupping has been in use widely among multiple civilizations since ancient Egypt should say enough - but that’s not enough for some people. The cool thing is, the applications in Neuromuscular Therapy are actually backed by sound science. And I am happy to share that with you.
You see, our bodies have a tendency to get locked into a pain “loop”, where the muscles and brain get stuck in patterns which are originally occurring to protect us, but our bodies aren’t as good at letting go of those patterns as they are about gripping on. So, they tend to just grip on, long after any instance of injury. From this chronic gripping, the tension within our muscles literally clamps down on the smaller blood vessels, the capillaries, making it difficult for the blood to move to and from an area. And this is where a lot of the problems with pain management occur.
All cellular functions produce waste, and our bodies rely on healthy and consistent blood flow to move those wastes away, to be processed by the liver and kidneys. Well, if the blood flow is compromised by chronic tension, these wastes build up. And these wastes are very irritating to nerves. So, what do they do? They tell those nerves “Hey! There’s something wrong going on over here!” And our brains interpret that as pain! Now, we may have had an old injury in that area, leading us to believe that this injury has become chronic or degenerative. Or, maybe we’ve accumulated chronic tension from postural imbalances for so long that it causes something that seems like a new degenerative issue. Whatever it may be, it is pain, and it is very, very real. But… Where does cupping come into play with all this?
Cupping is actually extremely beneficial for all of this for two main reasons:
1 - Because of its ability to literally pull blood from deeper layers of tissue into the more superficial layers of the skin, Cupping encourages these deeply-stuck metabolic wastes to be moved closer to the lymphatic tissues, where the lymph then moves them to be finally processed by the liver and kidneys. This also creates room for fresh oxygenated blood, which is incredible for healing!
2 - This is where we get really nerdy! Cupping is such a strange sensation, one that our brain can’t easily interpret. So, after a few minutes of cups being left on an area, the nervous system gives up trying to figure out what the heck is going on, and just ignores it instead. It is like when you wear a new piece of jewelry. At first, you become hyper-aware of the sensation of that jewelry being on your skin, but soon you are hardly aware of it at all. The nervous system learns to block it out. But, because of this, the nervous system also blocks out that pain signal it’s been sent by those irritated nerves, and now we are able to override that pain signal once and for all! Your Massage Therapist can now provide that area with some nice sensations, move the muscle through activation techniques, and show the brain that nothing was actually wrong in the first place. This is where Cupping and Neuromuscular Massage are truly a match made in heaven.
4 - Once You Try it, You’re Unlikely to go Back
This is the truth, and I hope you’re prepared. We hear this all the time: “You’ve ruined regular massage for me,” “I need the cups, I can’t have massage any other way now.” And we get it - it’s not just the relief you get, but it’s a truly unique experience. When Cupping Therapy is used appropriately and creatively, multiple parts of the body can receive transformative work at the same time. A row of cups can be allowing your troublesome shoulder and low back to melt while your therapist’s hands are working on that crick in your neck, or maybe as far away as your feet. It’s like having five massage therapists work on you at the same time without that added expense. And, with the amazing effects it has on those most stubborn pain patterns like I mentioned above, the results are some you’ll want to experience each time your chronic pain starts creeping back (which will be less and less often.)
5 - Your Massage Therapist Offers It!
Did I mention you can now receive this incredible modality at Alaska Cupping Therapy? That’s right! How did you guess? After an in-depth course in Neuromuscular Cupping Therapy, Maria now has the ability to melt your pain patterns in a way that literally rewires your pain response, and allows those triggered areas the time and alignment they need to finally calm down. So, book your appointment today, and get ready for the session that will change the way you receive Massage!