Cold Stone Massage Methods

Submitted by: Matilda French

Although everyone knows that cold stones play an important part in the entire cold stone massage process, a cold stone therapy is basically not just about these stones. These stones may be responsible for providing a list of benefits like a boost in the blood circulation, pain reduction, and loosening of the muscles. However, it doesn t end with just the cold stones alone. You need to incorporate certain massage styles so that these stones can give you good results. Think of these cold stones as the warm-up of the entire treatment procedure. Once you ve removed the stones from your patient s body, you can now start applying any of the cold stone massage methods listed below:

Sports Massage This method is perfect for all athletes. Through this type of massage, the therapist base the treatment on the kind of sports that the athlete plays and would concentrate on specific body parts. Sports massage, together with cold stone therapy can be done while an athlete is preparing for a competition, or recovering from a certain sports related injury. This method provides an athlete several benefits such as the lowering of an athlete s fatigue, boosting of flexibility, optimizing an athlete s competition, preventing injuries and increasing of endurance.

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Shiatsu Massage Also regarded as acupressure, Shiatsu is basically based on the meridian system and originally came from the traditional Chinese medicine. Through this method, the therapist uses his or her thumbs, fingers, and palms so that applying pressure to certain parts on a patient s body is possible. Once incorporated with cold stone massage, the stone may be used as a tool on applying the pressure. It is the patient s responsibility to inform the therapist about these affected areas of his or her body before the start of the massage session. Shiatsu also includes different massage techniques that include applied pressure, squeezing, rubbing, and tapping. The main goal of this method is to boost the flow of energy in the body.

Swedish Massage The Swedish massage style was developed by experts hundreds of years ago. This is the reason why when people use the term massage, it often refers to this type of massage. Through this treatment, a therapist may use the cold stones to apply long and smooth strokes to rub the muscles of the body. These strokes are said to move in the path of the blood that is moving towards the heart. Extra methods of the Swedish massage include percussion-like tapping, kneading, bending, stretching, and circular pressure. In this method, the therapist usually uses lotion or essential oils to decrease the amount of abrasion between the cold stone and the patient s skin.

In a cold stone massage, placing the cold stones in a patient s body is just the beginning. Once the muscles have loosened up through the use of the stones, it is now the therapist s responsibility to continue with whatever cold stone massage method he or she likes. These techniques have different special applications so before choosing which one to use, it is better to know your options first.

About the Author: I write for AML Stone Source, the leading

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supplies provider. They carry products such as

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, as well as many other accessories for hot and cold stone therapy.

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