Hey Everyone! Tasha here.  We love anatomy and learning about our bodies and how they function! Did you know there are around 650 muscles in your body? The muscles have 3 main functions: they provide our bodies with movement, support the organs, and help regulate body temperature. Our muscles are very vulnerable to damage from impact injuries, inactivity, overuse, or even from regular repetitive use and daily wear and tear. However, the muscles often get overlooked as a major source of physical pain and dysfunction! The good news is that almost every time this pain can be lessened or often completely resolved through proper massage techniques such as trigger point, injury, or myofascial bodywork.

When muscles are healthy they should stretch, contract and receive proper signals from the nervous system. Healthy muscle also has a consistent texture, good range of motion, and is not tender to the touch. When muscles are unhealthy they will be stuck short or stuck long and not activate or respond properly to nerve signals. Unhealthy muscles will have inconsistent ropey, knotted, or gritty textures, low mobility and be sensitive to pressure. Unhealthy muscle areas will not have proper blood flow or lymphatic drainage and a buildup of lactic acid can occur. This is when trigger points thrive and become a source for pain and restricted movement!

Trigger points can be active or inactive and they have specific patterns called referral areas that pain or sensation will travel along. When trigger points are inactive, they will limit movement and cause other problems but you will feel tenderness or sensitivity in the referral area only while the trigger point is being worked on. When the trigger points are active, you will have constant sensation or pain in the referral area typically described as deep, dull and aching pain as well as limited movement.
The reality is pretty much everyone has trigger points, you can't really escape it (although, not everyone has trigger points that are active). However getting trigger point, injury, or myofascial massage by a skilled massage therapist can actually eliminate trigger points and your aches and pains! Receiving this type of work can be uncomfortable or possibly painful during the session but it is not harmful and the rewards are the pain-free days, weeks, and months afterward. 

We love working on trigger points! We have seen trigger point massage techniques significantly improve the lives of our clients by getting rid of the pain that nothing else could or giving them back the movement and lifestyle they need and the life they deserve. Give it a try for yourself!

​​​​Until next time, may you have the highest quality of life possible!
Tasha Ouderkirk, LMT, Business Owner

Hello Everyone! Tasha here. I'm going to dive into a topic we haven't discussed here yet. Have you heard of Float Therapy? While we do not offer floating at this office, we do at our clinic location, Body Balance Massage and Float in American Fork and you need to try it!

"Floating takes your brain out of the chaos society has created and places it into it's natural state of peace and stress-free harmony." -The Float Tank Cure

A good float session has so many benefits. Float therapy is ideal for achieving a state of calm, reducing stress, and improving overall physical, mental, and emotional health. 

"Floating should be a staple for anyone seeking a calmer and more peaceful life." -The Float Tank Cure

The idea is that our body and brain are completely overwhelmed with constant stimulation from sight, sound, and touch 24/7 and need a break! The specific design of the float environment is a unique opportunity to be weightless, have no distinction between your skin and the water, ideally no light and no sound to give your nervous system a complete rest. This allows your body to fully rest and heal deeply. It is so simple but so profound at the same time. 

"90% of the central nervous system's workload is related to gravity, light, sound, and touch."-The Float Tank Cure

​
​At Body Balance Massage and Float our six foot by eight foot float pools are filled with about 10 inches of water heated to skin temperature and filled with around 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt magnesium sulfate. The room has the potential to be completely dark and quiet, although you can leave on some lights and request music. 
It is SUPER clean. No amount of bacteria could survive that amount of salt, but in addition to the salinity, the water goes through a UV light treatment and gets shocked with high strength hydrogen peroxide every hour. The room is cleaned, sanitized and stocked with fresh linens between each appointment and at the beginning and end of every day. 
The most common float length is for one hour but we do offer 30, 60, 90, and 120 minute sessions. For someone who is floating for the first time, I like to recommend the hour because it is long enough in case it takes you a while to settle in and get into a groove but not so long that you get too anxious or need a restroom break.

"To keep the body in good health is a duty...otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear."-Buddha
​
Besides the lack of sensory stimulation, there are also huge benefits from the high concentration of magnesium from the Epsom salt in the water! Our bodies use vitamins and minerals for all of our daily functions and magnesium is one of the main minerals it likes to use. The most effective way to get a good boost of high quality magnesium is by absorbing it through the skin straight into your body, which is exactly what happens when you float! Some of the things magnesium helps with are: digestion, blood pressure, mental health, inflammation, headaches, muscle tension, cramping, spasms, sleep, athletic performance, arthritis, fibromyalgia, autism, concussion recovery, chronic pain, and so much more!

"I truly believe that floating might prove to be a universal pain reliever; one with no negative side effects and with benefits far beyond physical well-being."-The Float Tank Cure

​How often should you float? While floating is completely safe as a daily routine, that isn't practical for most of us. How regularly you do it would ultimately depend on what your goals are that you want to achieve through floating and what you choose to value and prioritize in your life. Here is what Shane Stott, the author of The Float Tank Cure says about it- "My recommendation: Shoot for a strong habit of floating even if it's only once a month. Stick to it until it's part of your routine, and you're comfortable with it. Don't let up until it's a part of your regular life. Even with a slow, monthly habit you will start to see results and you will likely notice your life begin to improve. This will fuel a frequent float habit and will give you the best odds of gaining all the benefits of floating."

"The more you float, the more benefits you unlock."- The Float Tank Cure

I have come to truly love a good float session and I encourage you to add it to your health care routine and see what benefits you can discover for yourself!
​
​​​Until next time, may you have the highest quality of life possible!
Tasha Ouderkirk, LMT, Business Owner