Archive for the ‘Hot and cold Stones’ tag
How Important are Cool Stones?
How Important are Cool Stones?
Cooler temperatures are finally starting to appear in more stone services throughout the country but we are finding that our ability to explain the application is affecting our ability to provide the service. There are several factors involved in bringing cool stones into your service.
Clients’ mind set; How do they feel about cooler temperatures?
I have found that most people’s fear of cool stones is based on their feeling of being cold, which no one likes. Working with cooler temperatures is about receiving cool not about being cold. If the room is warm, your client should not get cold from this treatment. Therefore we have to educate the spa going population on the benefits of cooler temperatures and its power to assist the body in its healing process.
I believe that cool temperatures are the most important temperatures we work with. The body starts its healing process by influencing changes. We do massage to bring heat to contracted muscles which initiate a change. We workout to improve the shape of our body and improve our quality of life; we break down some muscle tissue which recovers and therefore becomes stronger. But like anything else, this can be overdone and can damage the muscle. Hydrotherapy is usually done in short duration and repeated which allows the body to accept the contrasts in a gentle way. Using cool temperatures in short durations will take the body out of its norm and it will recover from the experience which will assist in helping the systems in our body become stronger. In order to move forward, our body needs change on all levels; emotional, physical and spiritual.
It is our responsibility to reach our clients on the emotional and physical level and using temperature is a significant tool.
The types of stone massages; Deep Tissue, Swedish, Aroma Therapy….
The application of working with stones will vary depending upon the modality you are practicing. With Deep tissue; you will be able to work with a greater range of temperature due to the firmer pressure and pace of the application. With Swedish; it is generally applied with lighter pressure which means you will be applying stones that are not carrying as much heat as Deep Tissue applications. In either application, cool stones will be applied with firm pressure and slow pace allowing the nerves to adjust to the change of temperature. The warm and cool application will be decreased, dictated by tolerance, pressure and pace. In most instances, when working with cool stones, the pace will be firm and slow and when working with hot, it will be firm and fast and as the temperature decreases the pace will slow down. The stones must be dried off before application and only a small amount of oil should be used. When the stones are first applied, press them firmly into the body and do not move them until the client gets accustomed to the change in temperature. You also need to be aware that some places on the body are more sensitive to cooler temperatures then others such as the back. For those clients that have an apprehension of cool make sure the stones are not to cold. Remember it is about changing their impression of cool stones not about shocking them.
Your ability to manipulate the stones and understanding of transfer of temperature to the body
Like in most modalities, education, practice and passion produce the best results. Stones are no exception except without education and practice this could be a formula for disaster, for you and/or your client. We all need to work within our own abilities. Those who are stronger and have greater dexterity with the stones will be able to work with greater temperature ranges. But strength and dexterity in itself are not the most important factors. The most important aspects of this work are the hydro principles and how they affect the body. The body will exurb as much heat that we will give it and then produce a great deal of circulation. In some instances, your client over a longer session could get off the table and feel nauseous. The cool stones will bring the body back into balance. The body does not take in cold it pushes out heat. I believe the cooler temperatures are the most important ones I work with because the body heals by change and I can generate heat with my hands.
We can change the perception of cool stones in our treatments for the massage and spa going population with our commitment to continuing education. This will enhance our ability to communicate with our clients and allow us to reach higher levels of expertise.
By; Bruce Baltz, LMT
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Transition of Stone Massage
Stone work has been used for centuries as a healing practice by most indigenous people. Over the past ten years, stone work has entered the spa industry on many different levels. The use of Reiki/Energy Work, Swedish Massage, and Deep Tissue Therapy are just a few techniques that have been represented in this modality. The least recognized in this group is the use of ‘hot and cold stones’ for deep tissue application.
I have been involved with the body work related industry for the past twenty-three years as a personal trainer and a massage therapist since 1993. My focus as a massage therapist has been working with various facets of the medical community and athletes. This back ground assisted me in the development of Deep Tissue Healing ‘The Art of Stone Massage its application.
Stone massage is in a transitional stage, with the general public and most massage therapists thinking of stone work as a gentle relaxing treatment designed for spas primarily using hot stones only. Over the past five years, my focus has been on the education and development of deep tissue stone work with both hot and cold stones. In the practice of this modality the stones are used as an extension of my hand with direct contact to the body with the use of Prossage Heat (oil/ointment). The strokes that are used will be very familiar to all deep tissue massage therapists from effleurage to myofascial release and trigger point work to mention a few. With a solid foundation and understanding of stone massage a therapist can use that knowledge and utilize it for almost any modality.
The benefits of hydrotherapy are well recognized and supported by the medical community for its therapeutic properties. Stone work should now be added to that list because of its effectiveness in applying contrasting temperatures to the body. When working on an ischemic area, our goal is to increase blood flow to initiate the healing process. The severity of the injury will determine the amount of time that you will spend applying hot or cold stones. When a hot stone is presented into the treatment, the hyperemia will happen faster than with the use of hands alone. Your client’s muscle will relax sooner, which in turn will enable you to work deeper staying within the comfort level of your client.
If chronic pain has to be addressed in the treatment, it is essential that cold stones be applied. The more sensitive the injury the shorter the duration of heat that will be used. Increased blood flow in chronic pain situations can become an irritation if sustained for too long. In this situation cold stones will be used for a longer period of time than hot to reduce that inflammation. It is important to use cold stones in every treatment. The duration will depend on how much heat was used and the condition of the muscle tissue you are working on.
In Deep Tissue Healing basalt/ lava stones are primarily used to transfer heat, where as the hand carved white marble stones are used for the cold application. It has been found that basalt/lava will hold heat longer than other stones, and white marble stones will maintain a cooler temperature more efficiently. Shapes and sizes of stones vary depending upon the treatment area and the size of your client. As your stone work becomes more medical in nature the shapes and sizes are more important. With proper selection, you will be able to engage the affected muscle, tendon or ligament with more accuracy. For example, when accessing subscapularis you will use a stone that is oblong yet flat with a length of approximately five to six inches, depending upon the size of your hand. When the proper stone is chosen, you will find accessing hard to reach areas to be much more effective. During this deeper application the smoothness of the stone and the warmth will relax the affected tissue with little to no discomfort experienced by your client.
The basalt/lava stones are heated in water not in microwaves, crock pots, hot caddies for towels, or electric skillets, because the temperature is harder to control. When stone massage first entered the spa treatment realm we were using ‘turkey roasters’, 18 quarts or larger, yes a kitchen appliance to heat the stones. But now there is NESCO, which manufacture a heater called “Spa Pro.” This heater is better suited for stone massage because of its professional appearance and better quality of components. The cold stones can be made cool in three different ways: (1) refrigerator, (2) cooler with ice, and (3) the freezer. The choice on how to cool the stones is entirely yours along with the client’s tolerance to accept this change in temperature. For those clients who adapt well to the change in temperature, then cooling the stones in the freezer would be ideal. Whenever working with temperature (be it hot or cold) we must keep in mind less is more. As stone massage therapists there are two rules that must not be broken first do not bring a hot or cold stone to the table that you do not feel confident to handle. Then you will have to consider the tolerance your client has for heat or cold being applied directly to their skin. If this is not respected, a contraction to resist your work could occur. We want to avoid this contraction so that the client will obtain the maximum benefit from the treatment.
The preparation and understanding of working to work with stones safely must incorporate proper body mechanics. When I am working with a stone as an extinction of my hand, I take away the ability to work with the back of my hand and the use of my forearm. In this position, the end result is that my wrist could be in a hyper-extended position for most of the session. I can tell you, from experience this is not a good thing. The stones might save your fingers but in exchange you have done damage to your wrist. Using both hands equally and changing the angle of your wrist will help increase your longevity as a stone massage therapist. If you are able to combine this with pinning the stone to the body instead of holding it in your fingers your ability to feel through the stone will be greatly increased.
Stone Massage is still in its infancy, and I am committed to bringing this modality to a higher level in pain management.
Bruce Baltz is an internationally recognized educator with over twenty years experience in the fitness and bodywork industry. Bruce is a licensed massage therapist in New York and Florida and is the founder of SpiriPhysical Inc.