There is a long tradition of the use of massage by martial artists. Some incorporate learning massage skills as part of training, such as with Danzan RyuJujitsu. At the Jen Jhi Dao Taiji Quan school that I am part of, medicine is one of the seven aspects, with massage being an integral part of that aspect. Others use sports massage to enable them to recover from training more quickly, as well as to specifically aid in increasing flexibility and allow their muscles to work at their peak. While the use of sports massage is increasing worldwide, some athletes have not yet experienced the benefits to be gained, perhaps partly because they lack knowledge about it. This article aims to give you more information.

Types of Massage
Deep tissue; sports; remedial; therapeutic, relaxation, neuromuscular therapy, trigger point therapy…It is easy to be confused by the variety of terms used. Although therapists may have specific techniques that they use or types of client that they treat (e.g. athletes or pregnant women), to simplify things, massage therapists are either qualified to provide relaxation sessions for clients or they have the expertise to provide treatment for specific medical problems and injuries, such as postural misalignment, back and neck pain, and shoulder injuries. This training means that they are not only able to provide an effective treatment, but have the knowledge to act in a professional manner, for example making sure that appropriate massage techniques are chosen to facilitate the results you want with your body. For example you wouldn’t want focused deep tissue techniques in the hours leading up to an important event.

Qualifications
These depend on the country you are in. Some countries have no legal requirement for someone advertising as a massage therapist to have any training at all. Therefore, it is in your interests to check the qualifications of any prospective (or current) therapist. A good recommendation is that they are a member of a professional massage association. In New Zealand, Massage New Zealand (MNZ), is the association for massage therapists. Certified Massage Therapists (CMTs) provide relaxation massage, while Remedial Massage Therapists (RMTs) provide treatment. MNZ has a register of CMTs and RMTs on their website www.massasgenewzealand.org which gives information of what therapists provide specific sports massage. 

Benefits of Massage
Whenever I meet new people and answer the “What do you do?” question, I realise that many of them think of massage as just a luxury that makes you feel good. Of course it feels fantastic to take time out, having your muscles expertly soothed and kneaded, while your thoughts drift away in to relaxation. Even relaxation massage has many proven health benefits including: increasing circulation which enhances the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the body’s tissues and assists in removing metabolic wastes; producing endorphins – those same feel good hormones that are released with exercise; countering stress by relaxing both mind and body. However, if you are seeking massage to enhance your martial arts training or get treatment for injuries, you will need a well trained remedial therapist.

After a period of hard training or performance, there will be accumulation of waste material and perhaps some micro-trauma in the muscle fibres and even slight swelling. The tissues will be lacking in nutrition and some repair may be needed. Stimulating the blood circulation through massage, will help all this. Fresh blood from the arteries supplies the needs of nutrition and repair, while wastes are removed more quickly and effectively.  Effective remedial massage uses a variety of specific techniques to work deep in to the individual muscles, loosening any adhesions and mobilizing the tissues. If the connective tissue is glued together, the muscles cannot work efficiently and you will be limited in the range that you can reach and kick.

Hard working muscles often develop trigger points which in addition to causing pain, can also lead to restriction in movement through a joint and also a lack of power in the muscles affected. Trigger points can be treated in a variety of ways by a therapist to get the muscles back in working order.

As every martial artist knows, breathing is a key to correct form, but tight muscles can restrict breathing.  This can be remedied by working specifically on the muscles involved in respiration in the neck, chest and diaphragm areas.

Overall the massage treatment will also benefit you in that a good therapist will be able to pick up potential trouble spots and deal with any niggles, before they turn in to injuries, thus keeping you active and training.

When to get massaged
If you are training for the same time each week, a regular maintenance massage will help prevent injuries and keep the body flexible. How often depends on the amount and level of effort you are putting in, as well as your budget. Maintenance treatments can be from weekly to monthly. Whereas if you are aiming towards a grading or competition, you will be structuring your training to peak at the right time and your massage treatments should be planned accordingly. In the build-up stages your therapist can work with you to even up postural muscle imbalances, changes that can take the body and your fighting style a little time to adapt to. Focused deep-tissue work can get to the origin of any muscle dysfunctions, allowing your body to work at its peak. This deep work can be continued until two to three days before the big day, when a lighter treatment, focusing on specific muscle groups will enhance performance. Many athletes also have a short pre-event massage in the hours leading up to a competition. The pre-event treatment is light and invigorating, maximizing blood flow and passively stretching key areas. This can also be an aid to mental relaxation, to counter any pre-event nerves.

I wouldn’t recommend having your first massage just prior to an important event, since everyone reacts differently to treatments. If the massage is too deep too close to an event, your body may still be partially in recovery mode at the vital time and you may lose some of your power.

Post-event massage is also to be recommended as an aid to better recovery, removing muscle waste and stretching the tissues. The depth of this treatment will depend on the state of the muscles post-event. Injuries can be treated with ice, then lightly flushed to dissipate excessive swelling, after which the ice is re-applied (this needs to be done within minutes of injuries having occurred, otherwise is not to be recommended). Getting prompt treatment of injuries, speeds the healing process, so you can train hard again.
What to expect in a sports massage treatment
Any professional massage therapist will be pleased to be asked about their training and qualifications, as it shows that you are serious about getting a good treatment. The initial phone conversation gives you a chance to ask any questions and make sure that they provide the type of massage you are wanting. When you arrive, they will take a health history in order to screen you for any health issues which could affect the treatment. After getting clear on what you want to achieve from the treatment, a remedial therapist may assess your posture, tissues and movements in order to more efficiently target an agreed treatment plan. Many therapists use massage lubricants to ease the strokes, but may also use dry techniques and stretching to maximise the relief of muscle tension and pain. The type of treatment will depend on whether you want a general loosen up of one area (or even the whole body), or if you need focused work to remedy a problem or injury. A good therapist will explain what they are doing during a treatment, especially if it is your first massage. If you have questions or feel uncomfortable at any point, do let the therapist know, so that they can make your treatment as beneficial and enjoyable as possible.

I hope that after reading this, you are feeling better informed about what massage can do for the martial artist. If you take your training seriously, it pays to take your recovery seriously as well and get in to a routine of regular massage treatment. You will notice the benefits and your body will thank you for it.

 
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Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) pain and dysfunction often result from imbalances in the soft tissues (muscles and fascia); both those crossing the jaw itself and those in other regions of the body. In this article I want to give a brief overview of how they can be treated effectively using Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT).

A rather bad tempered woman, whom I’ll call Sue, came to our clinic hoping that a massage would relax her and help get through a stressful week. During the pre-treatment interview she mentioned many problems, including almost constant jaw pain, frequent headaches and most recently, toothache. Initially she did not expect me to be able to help with any of these symptoms, only seeing massage as a way to relax. However, after explaining further about the way trigger points in muscles could cause the type of symptoms she was experiencing, I persuaded her to give NMT a try. It was good to see her whole demeanour change when gentle palpation of various parts of the temporalis muscles was able to reproduce all her most debilitating symptoms. 

Neuromuscular Therapy has its origins in bodywork, incorporating the best skills of massage therapists, together with trigger point therapy, stretching, mobilisation, heat and ice. NMT therapists, differ from other body-workers in that they work intra-orally (with gloves obviously), to make lasting changes in the muscles, alleviating pain and helping correct faulty movement patterns. We take a holistic approach to find out the actual causes of symptoms and identify any perpetuating factors, such as bruxism, low nutritional status, postural imbalance and stress (often associated with jaw tension). 

Postural analysis is an essential part of our assessment of TMJ disorders. Forward head posture increases the downward pull on the mandible, thus placing additional stress on the elevators - masseter and temporalis - as well as causing increased intra-articular pressure in the TMJs.  Overworked muscles tend to develop trigger points (see below). The head may be forward as a result of peering at a computer screen, or bad driving position, or can stem from a forward or backward rotated pelvis. While it is not immediately obvious that short hamstrings or quadriceps could cause TMJ pain, I often find that this is the case.

Trigger points are often the cause of TMJ dysfunction. Trigger points are hypersensitive taut bands within muscles, which when compressed cause referred symptoms, often far removed from the site of the trigger point. Pain is not the only effect of trigger points; they can, for example, cause weakness in the affected muscles. Thus if the jaw muscles on one side only are involved, trigger points can alter the biomechanics of the TMJ. Headaches and dizziness are some of the many other symptoms of trigger point activity, which are commonly seen in our TMJ patients.

So how did I treat Sue? What NMT tries to achieve is a balance between the nervous and muscular systems. Four years previously, Sue had been involved in a car accident and sustained whiplash. Such trauma can often cause the receptors in the nervous system to send confused signals to the brain. If this does not resolve itself, the person may be left with over-short muscles and/or pain, despite the initial injuries having healed. 

Sue’s whiplash-related neck pain had resolved itself within six months of the accident. It was only when she was several months into a new high stress office job that the jaw pain started, followed by headaches. This is often the type of history that I see with TMJ cases. The whiplash was an underlying precipitating factor, which when added to the postural and emotional stresses of the new job, triggered the symptoms. NMT seeks to put together the pieces of the puzzle to find the appropriate approach to treatment.

Although Sue was initially too tender to get deep into the muscles housing the trigger points, ice and gentle stretching were employed. As she improved, I was able to work deeper, working intra-orally on the trigger point-laden pterygoids and masseter. Meanwhile, work to lengthen short muscles at the front of her neck helped to reduce Sue’s forward head posture, which was aided by changes at her computer workstation. The treatment was enhanced by ‘homework’ consisting of stretches and mobilisations, together with relaxation techniques to aid in a more relaxed stance with her jaw. It was really rewarding to work with Sue over the next few weeks: to see the positive changes in her body and perhaps more dramatically, the change in her personality from grumpy to light-hearted as the pain receded.

The bottom line is that Neuromuscular Therapy gets very successful results, often when many other treatments have failed. NMT therapists recognise the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, so work with other health professionals where appropriate. If you suffer from jaw pain or other problems, it would be in your interest to seek treatment from a Neuromuscular Therapist and see the results for yourself.
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Although I treat about equal numbers of men and women, I thought I’d give an insight in to how I help with two women’s issues: pregnancy and menstrual pain.

Pregnancy and Child Birth

 I have worked for many years with women at all stages of pregnancy using massage therapy. At later stages this involves lying on the massage table being comfortably supported in a side-lying position. The bodily changes during pregnancy can lead to various complaints, including back or sciatic pain. More general therapeutic touch is a great way to relax and enjoy this special time and many women have massage throughout their pregnancies. 

Although giving birth is one of the most natural processes in the world, it has a reputation of being extremely painful, with most mothers resorting to medications to help with the process. The good news is that there is another option. By learning easy self hypnosis techniques, the labour process can be made much easier and more enjoyable. There are also hypnotic techniques for self anaesthesia, to remove painful sensations, which can be learned by mums to be. 
 
"I would like to acknowledge the help I received from Marianne Macdonald of Advanced Body Mind Therapies in preparing for the birth of my son (first child). I was able to achieve a natural labour and birth without interventions of any kind, and without any pain relieving medications. My labour was also shorter than the average for first time childbirths. Marianne’s coaching on relaxation and hypnotherapy techniques gave me the tools to keep focused and very relaxed when coping with contractions. This enabled me to labour at home for the most part, and I was met by a pleasantly surprised midwife on arrival at the hospital, who on initial examination assessed me as being 8 centimetres dilated. This was coupled with a comment along the lines of “aren’t you a good manager then”. My grateful thanks to Marianne, and I would recommend her sessions to other expectant mothers." 

 Fiona Blackmore

 Another common ailment is pain and discomfort associated with menstruation. Again, many women have come to rely on pain-killers to get them through this monthly cycle. However, the majority of menstrual pain is caused by trigger points in the deep abdominal and back muscles. For those of you that have had treatment with me, you will know that Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT) is a highly effective method for alleviating and even getting rid of the trigger points that cause pain and those techniques work just as well on getting rid of menstrual pain. So if you, or someone you know, suffers in this way, give me a call.

 “I first began seeing Marianne (Advanced Body Mind Therapies) a few months ago. I had been suffering from upper back, shoulder and neck pain for years which was also affecting my sleep. After my initial session I felt a lot better within a few days, I am now virtually pain free, I have more flexibility in my neck and am able to get a full night’s sleep. I also used to experience bad period pain every now and again which I told Marianne about, she started treating me for the pain and I no longer have any painful periods - which is fantastic. I would not hesitate in recommending Marianne!”

Monique Facon

 
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