A little massage therapy eases the body

Getting a massage is something I rarely do, even though I absolutely love it.  Part of the problem I had had for a long time was finding the right place to go.  For years, I bounced around to various salons and spas, mostly to be disappointed with a lackluster massage that neglected to address any real back tension I had.
Then, my sister introduced me to the Boston Bodyworker, a wonderful, no frills, clinical massage facility in downtown Boston where the massage therapists provided wonderful deep tissue massages and helped address a lot of my shoulder and lower back pains.  But since I moved out to the 'burbs, I haven't managed to motivate myself to take the time to haul downtown for a massage.  (The proof lies in the fact that I've been carrying around a gift certificate to the Boston Bodyworker in my wallet since June, and I still have yet to make an appointment). And I've been hesitant to try and find a massage therapist at a local spa in my area; I'm just not willing to drop $75 or $100 on a massage where the therapist is hesitant to truly work out the knots in my back.

So, you can imagine my excitement when Melissa asked me if I thought it would be a good idea to offer massage therapy/clinical body work at CRCF.  But, since I am wary of any massage therapist, I demanded to know the intimate details of who Melissa would bring in.  I quickly learned that David, the masseuse she had in mind, had once worked at the Boston Bodyworker.  I now had the impetus necessary to schedule an appointment.  Plus, my shoulders have been bothering me lately and I've had a horrible time with my cleans, and my lower back and IT bands have been acting up.

Of course, I was running a little late, and made it to my appointment on the dot.  Flustered and slightly disconcerted, I ran into CRCF like a bat out of hell, and David was so kind, polite, and reassuring that I was, in fact, right on time.  Thank goodness.  After our quick introductions, David asked me if there were any problem areas, and I explained to him that my lower back, IT bands, and shoulders were literally being large pains.  

There were several things that I really liked about David.  First, he played music during the massage.  Not the obnoxious "relaxation healing" music where you listen to thunder and waves crashing on the sand set to Yanni or Peruvian windpipes; he gets major kudos for playing awesome artists like Elton John, Alanis Morissette, and Madonna.  (I would honestly love it if, for once, a massage therapist played Beethoven's Sixth or some Chopin nocturnes, but I'm a bit of a classical music brat, and regardless of my musical relaxation preferences, I enjoyed the nice mix of music on his ipod).  The second thing that I really liked about David is that he started with my lower back and my legs, since I had complained about them the most. (O.M.G, I knew my glutes were tight, but I didn't realize that they were that tight!)  Next, David was great about checking in on me to make sure I was feeling okay, wasn't afraid to apply a lot of pressure, but knew when to back off.  He pointed out some differences between the left and the right side muscles of my body (I didn't realize how much tighter my left side was when compare to my right). We chatted on and off occasionally throughout the hour session, but he didn't talk too much (there's nothing worse than a massage therapist who talks the entire time).  He normally only spoke to me if I asked a question. (I like to ask a lot of specific questions).  He was great about explaining where my muscles were tight, made suggestions as to why said muscles were tight, recommended that I use a tennis ball to massage my glutes and my traps and explained how to do that. 

When he got to my neck, the pain really began.  I had no idea that I had so much tension in there!  While massaging my neck, he began to ask me specific questions about my headache history, my caffeine consumption, and if I ate carbs, sugar, or drank.  (Sort of to the headaches, yes to the caffeine, somewhat to the carbs, a big fat yes! to the sugar, and a sometimes to drinking).  Long story short: he informed me that based on the tension in my neck, I clench or grind my teeth, which often happens as a result of eating carbs or sugar.  Goodness, could he read my mind about my major food addictions?  I will have to investigate these issues deeper for a future blog, but I am impressed that he managed to figure this out!

I was shocked when the hour was over -- it went by far too quickly, and I wished I could have had more time.  I was quite envious of his next client.  

While I truly heart the Boston Bodyworker, I'm a lazy individual, and I don't really want to go into downtown Boston if I don't have to.  David gave a great massage, and I recommend him to anyone in the 'burbs who's looking for thorough deep tissue therapy at crazy reasonable prices.  When can I get my next appointment?

This massage also reminded me about the importance of stretching and showed me some problem areas that if I hopefully stretch out, it will eliminate the pain and problems I've had with some of my olympic lifts.  I'm looking forward to another massage in the not-so-distance future!