Strengthening Your Body with Massage
- Jun 25
- 3 min read
We’ve talked in earlier blog posts about the importance of finding balance between strength, mobility, and endurance. When most people think about massage and bodywork, they think about loosening up tight muscles, and opening up range of motion, which are all “mobility” focused treatments. But the world of massage therapy has grown since its inception, and our understanding of the body and the nervous system has led to the development of modalities which can help reengage an inhibited muscle, in essence “waking up” its strength.
Neurokinetic Therapy (NKT)
NKT® is a method of bodywork that uses muscle testing to determine which muscles are being inhibited by muscles that are painful or over-contracted. As your NKT® therapist releases the over-contracted muscles, the inhibited muscles re-engage, and the Motor Control Center (MCC) of the cerebellum in the brain relearns how to perform a functional movement pattern. In simpler terms, sore compensating muscles are released, allowing dysfunctional muscles to relearn their natural movement patterns.
Proprioceptive -Deep Tendon Reflex (P-DTR)
P-DTR is a system of therapy designed to make improvements to our nervous system and resolve long standing pain, difficult to figure out conditions, faulty patterns of movement, repetitive stress and instability. Simple yet accurate muscle testing is used as the means of sifting through faulty receptors that are at the heart of these responses that most of us know as the end of the workday pain, post run spasms or just another headache. Corrections to this misguided information are achieved through “rebooting” these receptors so they are able to send the proper information to the brain. Athletes of all levels have found P-DTR to be a helpful tool for increasing athletic performance.
Kinesiology Taping
Primarily used as pain relief, kinesiology taping can also be a tool to help the body engage muscles that haven’t been firing properly, increasing performance. Kinesiology Tape will stimulate the muscle tissue below it to promote proper muscle activation, range of motion, and help correct those dysfunctional movement patterns. After an assessment with a massage therapist to determine what the movement dysfunction is, strategically placed kinesiology tape can even help improve motor control by providing sensory feedback to the brain.
Exercise Modalities
Outside of the development of these neurological based hands on techniques that bring strength back to muscle tissue, some massage therapists and bodyworkers have trained in exercise and movement practices to have tools to help their clients bring strength back to a weakened or slackened muscle.
The Fedlenkrais Method
The Feldenkrais Method is a form of somatic education that uses movement and awareness to improve physical and mental well-being. It's a method of learning that helps people move more easily and comfortably by increasing self-awareness through movement exploration. The method focuses on how we move, think, and feel, aiming to improve overall functioning by increasing awareness of bodily habits and tensions.
Pilates
Originally developed as an exercise routine for the rehabilitation for injured vets, Pilates has grown in popularity among dancers for its focus on core strength, balance, posture, precision and control. It’s the focus on posture that blends in so well with the world of massage therapy. A massage therapist armed with Pilates exercises can assess your tissue with their hands on techniques and guide you with exercises to strengthen the muscles that need it.
All of these alternative techniques are available at Psoas Massage + Bodywork. While not every therapist has every tool in their arsenal, our collaborative work environment makes it easy to refer clients to another therapist on the team with a different skillset depending on that clients needs. All while keeping an eye on the balance between strength, mobility, and endurance for our clients.
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