Did you know massage and bodywork can open up your shoulders and improve upper body mobility? See the difference that 60 minutes of massage therapy can make in how you feel and move. The following video shows the before and after movements that highlight shoulder mobility and range of motion.

The client experienced a significant improvement in his posture and range of motion with a series of three Deluxe 90-minute orthopedic sports massage sessions over three weeks. The client's primary source of pain was his right shoulder when elevated above his head and in his wrists when performing push ups.

One simple way we communicate value to our clients is by assessing how they feel before and after a session through a movement screening, which simulates movement patterns in everyday activities like sitting down, climbing stairs, picking up children, housework, etc. Additionally, the activity of noticing the quality of change from before and after a massage therapy session helps anchor the changes into the nervous system. 

Over three weeks, the treatments primarily focused on restoring the shoulder function by:

• Increasing circulation to hypertonic(tight) muscles

• Improving joint nutrition

• Decreasing some hypertonicity without creating instability 

The orthopedic sports massage sessions included techniques such as:

• Cranial Sacral Therapy

• Zen BodyTherapy(Structural Integration)

• Myofacial-Release

• Muscles Energy Techniques

Outside the orthopedic sports massage sessions the client was given posture corrective exercises to improve his posture and increase mobility of the shoulder girdle.

The Results

The results of the treatments were measured using the functional movement screening (FMS) which assesses seven movements patterns on a 0 to 3 scale for mobility and stability. If someone scores below a 13, they are in active pain and 4 to 5 times more likely to be become injured through exercise. By the end of the 3-week series, the shoulder pain was reduced, the client was able to perform 20 push-ups with no wrist pain, his FMS score improved from 11 to 16.