Welcome to Avodah Massage

Remedial Massage

Remedial massage is a treatment which aims to correct abnormalities and assist the body to return to a homeostatic state through soft tissue manipulation. Remedial massage is useful for helping joints, tendons and muscles recover from old injuries. It is also an appropriate therapy for improving range of motion, managing and reducing pain, supporting rehabilitation and helping correct postural deviations. Remedial massage can also be helpful for managing symptoms of chronic illness such as pain, fatigue, stress, headaches, migraines, nerve pain and joint pain.

​

Nervous System Focused Relxation Massage

Nervous system focused relaxation massage is a deeply relaxing form of massage designed to touch on vagus nerve points and assist the nervous system to move into a parasympathetic state (this is the rest and digest state as opposed to the fight or flight state that very stressed people live in). This style of treatment uses acupressure points specifically around the ears and base of the skull to allow the body to relax and enter a state of deep rest. A massage focused on relaxing the nervous system also helps to signal safety to the body and mind.

​

Pregnancy Massage

Pregnancy massage can help reduce stress, relax your muscles and improve blood flow, mood and sleep during pregnancy. Massage in pregnancy is much gentler than the type of massage you can have at other times, and should avoid certain areas of your body. During pregnancy massage the client is supported to lay on their side with a pillow in front of them, between their knees and under their head to make them as comfortable as possible.​​​​

​

Lymphatic Massage

Lymphatic drainage massage is a form of gentle massage that encourages the drainage of lymph nodes and the movement of lymph fluids around the body. Lymphatic massage can help relieve symptoms of lymphedema. The fluid in the lymphatic system helps remove waste and toxins from body tissues. Lymphatic massage is a relaxing and detoxifying form of massage therapy.

​

Trigger Point, Myofascial Release, 'Myofascal Melting', and Deep Tissue Therapy

Trigger point therapy is a technique that works to release painful tension in muscles and fascia that you would usually experience as a 'knot' or stiffness. Muscle contraction results from an interaction between two chemicals called actin and myosin. A trigger point develops when the muscle fibers get stuck in contraction and are unable to return to their relaxed state. These are hyperirritable points sometimes referred to as adhesions. Trigger point, deep tissue and myofascial release techniques involve slow and direct presure where the body is holding the most tension (which is most often a trigger point). Myofascial release techniques generally maintain compression of the tissue anywhere from 60 seconds to 5 minutes. This technique is used to deactivate trigger points as well as release tension and adhesions from the fascia tissue. "Myofascial melting' is a form of myofascial release wherein the therapist uses slow and calculated pressure to sink through the superficial fascia layers. As the tissue yields, the therapist follows the fascial tension, causing a softening or 'melting' feeling through the muscle.

​

The science behind myofascial release and myofascial melting:

The biological mechanism of "fascial melting" is based in neuromuscular and fascial research. Clinical studies demonstrate that the human nervous system is involved in controlling how connective tissue and muscle fibers respond to the manual pressure applied during massage therapy.​

There are four main neuro-biological laws of the myofascial release and the 'myofascial melting' technique that show the scientific validation for its application. An explanation of these laws has been provided below, this information has been sourced from the various scientific journals mentioned. 

​

​1. Monosynaptic Stretch Reflex & Muscle Guarding: the primary study of muscle guarding revolves around the mechanical threshold of intrafusal muscle spindles. When sudden or very hard pressure is applied it can deform the muscle spindles, causing an immediate involuntary 'splinting' mechanism. Essentially muscle guarding is your body automatically stiffening to protect the area.

​The Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies published a comprehensive review on neuromuscular responses to manual forces titled "The role of autogenic inhibition in the reduction of muscle splinting". The data confirms that too 'high-velocity' or 'high-load manual compression' triggers a monosynaptic reflex arc. This forces Alpha motor neurons to fire, contracting the target muscle to protect the tissue against perceived trauma. Staying below this threat threshold is imperative to prevent neurological splinting. Without the slow and steady caution of the myofascial melting technique, the muscle will simply harden and guard under pressure. As the saying goes 'only fools rush in'.

​

​2. Autogenic Inhibition via Golgi Tendon Organs: Golgi tendon organs are tiny sensory organs in your muscle that continuously measure the amount of physical tension and force your muscles are generating. To bypass muscle guarding, 'low-velocity' AKA slow, steady and sustained pressure has to be utilized to activate the Golgi Tendon Organs. These sense receptors are highly responsive to constant, prolonged compression. When activated in this way with slow, steady pressure, the therapist can sink into the tissue without alarming the Golgi Tendon Organs, instead, they will send electrical signals to the brain and spinal cord to relax the muscle.

​

​3. Fascial Mechanoreceptors & Autonomic Shift: Fascia is heavily made up of sensory nerve endings that respond to manual touch by affecting the autonomic nervous system. Dr Robert Schleip, a leading human fascia researcher, published foundational work titled "Fascial plasticity – a new neurobiological explanation" in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. Schleip’s research shows that manual manipulation stimulates Ruffini endings and interstitial receptors in the deep fascial networks. Slow, tangential, cautious melting techniques stimulate these specific receptors, which in turn upregulate parasympathetic activity. This autonomic nervous system shift lowers muscle tone throughout the body globally and triggers localized fluid exchange locally. 

​

4. Thixotropy and Hyaluronic Acid Fluid Dynamics: The physical "melting" sensation experienced during myofascial release or fascial melting technique is not the muscle physically changing shape but actually a thermodynamic fluid shift in the extracellular matrix. The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association published a 3D mathematical fluid model titled "Mathematical analysis of the flow of hyaluronic acid around fascia during manual therapies".  Connective tissue layers are lubricated by a dense fluid layer composed of hyaluronic acid. When restricted by fascial tension or tightness, hyaluronic acid becomes thick, dense, and gel-like. This is due to a physical property called thixotropy. When subjected to low-load, sustained manual pressure and body heat, the hyaluronic acid transitions from a dense gel to a slippery, highly lubricated liquid. This allows the tight fascial planes to slide smoothly again. 

​

​A major indicator that the fascia layers are yielding are micro twitches. Micro-twitches (clinically known as the Local Twitch Response) are involuntary, localized contractions of a tight band of muscle fibers. During manual therapies they are very reliable physical signs showing that a hyperactive trigger point has been effectively located and is beginning to release. 

​When a trigger point forms, it creates an area of neuromuscular ischemia (deprived blood flow) and an accumulation of pro-inflammatory chemicals. These chemicals cause the localized motor end-plates—the areas where nerves talk to muscles—to become hyper-irritable. The local twitch response is a centrally mediated spinal cord reflex, when the sustained pressure accurately engages the mechanical threshold of the hyper-irritable motor end-plate, it fires an electrical burst. This electrical spike travels to the spinal cord and loops right back to the specific motor unit, causing it to rapidly twitch. This involuntary twitch acts like a circuit breaker resetting a system. The sudden contraction forces out the pooled metabolic waste products and opens the restricted capillaries. The twitch is the final mechanical barrier of the restriction breaking down. Within seconds of the twitch ending, the tissue will undergo a dramatic, warm fluid shift as the fascia transitions into a highly lubricated liquid state.​​ This is essentially the science explaining what has happened to the muscle and connective tissue fibers when a client feels less pain and improved mobility after their treamtent.​

​

​​*Disclaimer: AI was used to help summarise the key points of the studies mentioned above. 

​

​​

​

​