Shawn Carlsen, RMT

to book an appointment call:

(604)584-7464

or

(604)329-3701

Welcome.

If you are here, you may already realize that Massage Therapy is an excellent way to maintain, improve, and optimize your health. Yet you may have questions about what it is best used for and what exactly it does. Here are:
 Some of The Benefits of Massage Therapy

• Decreases Pain and Discomfort (this includes local pain and "referred" pain)
  One of the most common complaints of patients is also one of the major benefits of massage. Pain is actually a symptom of the problem, and may appear at the site of the problem or distally (somewhere past the area of the problem). An example of a distal pain would be a tight latissimus dorsi muscle depressing the shoulder and creating constriction around blood and nervous tissues in the arm and upper shoulder, which in turn creates pain in the upper shoulder and arm. With treatment of the problem(ie the latissimus muscle), the pain disappears.
  
 
• Stimulates the Relaxation Response through the Parasympathetic Nervous System
  Nerve endings in all tissues but especially the skin can be stimulated through massage to encourage the body to relax, and it is a well-known fact that relaxation and rest put the body in a state that promotes healing of many kinds. A further benefit is that it also reduces the blood pressure and heart rate.
 
• An Increase in Blood Circulation and Lymph Fluid Return
  The rythymic nature of many massage techniques increases the blood flow, which helps remove build-ups of metabolic waste materials such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid from the tissues, and also helps bring in oxygen and other materials to the same tissues, which promotes the healing process.
  
 
• Relaxes and Decreases Tightness of Muscles
  Stress and repetitive activities can lead muscles to be chronically tight, resulting in an increase in stiffness and a increased chance of injury, as increased wear and tear on joints and ligaments. Massage therapy helps restore a correct tone to muscles, which leads to a decrease in symptoms and an increase in health.
  
 
• Reduces Tissue Adhesions
  Bad posture and repetitive behavior as well as previous injuries (even minor ones) can lead to adhesions of tissues through inflammation. This leads to further bad posture and potential injuries, which in turn leads to more adhesions. Massage Therapy can help break this cycle by identifying the areas of adhesion and using various techniques to reduce and eliminate them, as well as breaking the bad habits that lead to the adhesion.
  
 
• Helps Recovery Time of Muscles Following Exercise and Physical Activity
  Athletes and others involved in vigourous exercise have a reduced chance of injury and often can increase their training with fewer aches and pains.
  

So now that you have seen some of the benefits of massage, you may be wondering, what specifically is it good for? Well, here are some conditions that massage is ideal in treating:

• fibromyalgia
• whiplash
• chronic pain
• stress reduction
• neck, back, and shoulder pain
• arthritis
• work injuries
• sports injuries
• joint pain and dysfunction
• sciatica and other sorts of leg and hip pain
• tendonitis, bursitis, repetitive strain injuries
• And many more. If you are unsure, call us and ask!
 
I look forward to helping you reach your goals. If you would like to get in touch with me to book an appointment, either call one of the numbers above or email me.here. My office is located within Surrey Chiropractic, Acupuncture, and Massage, which is at
200-10362 King George Boulevard, Surrey, BC

View Larger Map I am also available to make house or office calls if you give advanced notice.