Refresh Bodywork -Treatments and Therapies

Cupping is actually an ancient form of alternative medicine where cups are put on the skin to create suction. These ancient practices involve more than body benefits, but mental and spiritual as well. With the utmost respect to those traditions, at Refresh we use a more simplified version as we use cupping to decompress fascia and muscle tissue by using gliding techniques and active release with cup placement on the body.

In a deep tissue massage a therapist uses firm pressure while delivering slow, deliberate strokes to massage deep layers of muscle and fascia. Deep tissue massages are used to break up scar tissue and break down muscle adhesions (aka the “knots” you feel in your muscles).  We do not offer this as a stand alone but it is incorporated as needed into our Sports Massage and Therapeutic Focus services.

Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST) is an innovative stretch therapy that is an effective way to care for your body and help it perform at its best. FST is a gentle form of passive stretching that targets movement patterns in the body.  FST can increase flexibility, reduce aches and pains, and improve range of motion. It targets not only muscles, but fascia (the connective tissue that surrounds muscles, bones, and joints) as well, and supports every aspect of movement.  

 Sports massage is a customized type of massage using appropriate modalities such as stretching, cupping, deep tissue and myofascial release techniques aimed to help reduce muscle stiffness and improve relaxation by reducing heart rate and blood pressure.

Swedish massage is probably one of the most commonly offered massage techniques. Swedish massage uses long, gliding strokes (typically done with oil) to promote relaxation by releasing muscle tension and giving the client a sense of wellbeing.  We use this technique in our de-stress programs.

This is our special name for when we simply focus on one area of the body.  Clients recovering from injury or with chronic conditions don't always want full body work. In these sessions we work on range of motion, releasing muscle tension and breaking up knots and adhesions through appropriate modalities.