The Benefits of Chair Massage
How is chair massage effective?
I can work muscles from a chair that cannot be worked from a table. Chair massage is very good for neck and shoulder tension particularly, especially how it get into rhomboids.
The biggest benefit of chair massage is that it is easily accessible, portable, and there are particular things that can be done in a chair that can't be done on a table. That's my essential message.
What is chair massage specifically good for?
Chair massage is specifically good for accessing shoulder muscles that can't be accessed from a table. It's good for tension relief, relaxation, circulation, head, neck, and shoulder pain.
The chair massage that I do for clients is different from what most people are accustomed to in that I have people really participate with activator stretching, what's called PNF stretches. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, where the client is providing a counterforce to my pressure, and what this does is increase the blood flow by gently pulling the muscle tendons away from the bone. What this is, this is a different type of stretch as opposed to a passive stretch that stretches the muscle belly. We're stretching the muscle tendons as well as the muscle belly, so it gets an increase of blood flow into the area which allows the next stage, the next step of the work to be much less painful and much more effective.
The next step is to use very deep and very specific pressure into a tight muscle, and when the correct pressure is put at the right depth, the tension begins to release and clients can feel either a twitching, a spasming, or what they often call a productive pain.
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What is a corporate chair massage?
Corporate chair massage is when I bring in my chair into a place of business and work with the employees of that business. Typically, each person receives between 10-20 minutes of chair massage work.
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Would be a great idea for a company that had a health and wellness program for their employees, or maybe for an employee appreciation perk?
Yes, and this is intended for real pain relief. So employees that are having difficulty with too much computer work, they feel neck pain, they're having headaches, they might have carpal tunnel syndrome, it's a very common symptom that I work with, with chair massage and carpal tunnel. The one of the least effective surgeries out there is for carpal tunnel, I really try to help people avoid a surgery such as that which is actually easily avoidable.
How does it normally work when you go into a company to do one of these events?
Most of the time it is some form of employee appreciation as the company is offering a service for their employees, so the company is paying for the service for a minimum of three hours, and depending on the number of employees, each employee will receive between 10-20 minutes of custom chair massage work. They'll feel a noticeable difference when they walk out the door.
The chair massage is completely complimentary to the employees and because the company is taking care of everything?
That's correct. It is completely covered by the company, and the employees generally don't even tip, but they can get a business card and receive more work privately.
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How much does it cost to have chair massage at your office?
Packages are available on my website for single sessions for $90 or you can pre-purchase 3-packs and 5-packs for a discount price.
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How many chair massage sessions does it take to feel better and see results?
What I most treat people within the chair massage for is shoulder and neck pain and arm pain, so carpal tunnel, in which case, any one of those, what I like to do is pack in a few sessions tied together. So you got two or three sessions in a week, and then if we do a five pack, I'll do five sessions within a two-week period. It really depends on the individual’s case and the pace they want to go at to get relief.
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What would you recommend as a follow-up for maintenance
Again, it is specific to the person. But, typically after a five pack, we do a re-evaluation at which point we evaluate what feels different and better and what still feels tight and needs work. If they feel really good then I'll recommend we do maintenance sessions, maybe only once a month. If they're still having a lot of discomfort, then I recommend another package, then re-evaluate. We're constantly doing the work and re-evaluating and adjusting their treatment plan as we go.