susan manuel • medical massage therapist

Therapeutic Massage
Therapeutic massage has an effect on muscle tone and functional disorders, promoting vascularization. Massage improves homeostatic function, sleep and elimination.
During a massage, stress hormones, especially cortisol, decrease considerably. For autoimmune and immune diseases, where the level of cortisol plays a major role, massage is of great importance.

• Some indications:
• hyper/hypo muscle tone
• stress
• muscle contractures
• aches and pains
• fibromyalgia
• premenstrual syndrome
• migraine

Therapeutic massage also has a positive effect on:

• anxiety
• depression
• post-traumatic stress disorderbulimia and anorexia

Trigger Points
According to Janet Travell and David Simons, two American doctors and author of the books “Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual”, a trigger point is an irritable local point of extreme sensitivity that is located in a palpable nodule of muscle tissue. Normally, there may be several trigger points in an affected muscle. Compression of these points can cause pain as well as referenced pain. For example, you may still have a headache that corresponds to pain referred by a trigger point on the sternocleidomastoideus muscle. If this point is eliminated, so will your headache! A trigger point appears when a muscle is chronically tense and no longer has enough oxygen or nutrients to function optimally. In addition, it will produce metabolic waste. A muscle affected by trigger points will lose its elasticity and flexibility, and may participate in a chain of dysfunction.
The elimination of trigger points is done during a massage.

Lymphatic drainage is a specialized technique of massage that works with precise and very subltle movements. The three main actions of lymphatic drainage are :

• the activation of lymph function and lymph circulation and indirect stimulation of blood throughout the body.
• stimulation of the immune system
• stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system with a direct effect on relaxation and pain.

There are numerous indications for lymphatic drainage.

A few indications :

• Eedemas of different origins
• Chronic constipation
• Regeneration of skin tissues
• Scar treatments
• Headaches, migraines
• Pre-surgery treatment to prepare the tissue for intervention
• Sprains, post-fracture, ligamentary lesions
• Fibromyalgia

TCM is a powerful reflex therapy that acts on the whole body by neurovegetative equilibration. It is a cutaneo-neuro-vegetative or cutaneous-visceral reflex technique involving the neuro-vegetative or orthosympathetic system. It has an important vascular effect in the microcirculation and also stimulates the lymphatic system. The repair process can then be set up. Depending on the lesion, it will have an effect on the desired organ or target.

It is mainly practiced on the patient’s back but also on the whole body. In the curriculum of the medical massage, the MTC is one of the most widely used techniques before reflexology and massage. It is a subtle technique that does not use a device, but requires almost daily practice. I use this technique every day and find it to be one of the most powerful.

During the session, the therapist will try, by specific techniques, to stretch the subcutaneous tissues in order to trigger neurovegetative reactions from a distance.

The slowing down of fluid exchanges in a tissue is, over time, the main cause of the installation of reversible alterations of the tissue. One of the goals of the TCM is to combat this by stimulating the vascularization of injured tissues.

The scope of application is wide. This technique brings about real changes.

Some examples of applications:
Chronic venous insufficiency, algoneurodystrophy (Sudeck), constipation, irritable bowel, hormonal disorders, orthosympathetic hyperactivity, after fracture, osteoarthritis, epicondylitis, low back pain, fibromyalgia, scars, sleep disorders, sensitivity disorders, osteoarthritis, arterial and venous insufficiency, menstrual disorders, menstrual cycle regulation, menopause disorders, etc.

Foot reflexology is a reflex technique of the feet. Among the indications:

• Improvement of sleep quality
• In case of anxiety, stress and fatigue
• To regulate digestion, in case of constipation
• Stimulation of circulatory systems
• Waste and toxin disposal
• Strengthen the immune system

As I cannot practice hydrotherapy in my office, I give advice according to the Kneipp method, a holistic approach based above all on the external use of water.

Among the treatments that can be done at home according to the indications:

• Affusions
• Washings
• Foot baths

Esogetic Colorpuncture is a painless irradiation of certain points or surfaces of the body with coloured lights. It is now known that living cells emit electromagnetic radiation, called biophotons (Fritz-Albert Popp). Cells can respond to light captured by the skin and transmitted back into the body, including the brain and organs. Peter Mandel, a German naturopath, developed esogetic medicine, of which colorpuncture is a part. It is a method that is constantly evolving.

Colorpuncture regulates our vital processes and has a balancing and harmonizing effect on health. These therapies also touch the deep consciousness and give an impulse to self-healing. There are no contraindications to these therapies. Colorpuncture is also ideal for children.

Some indications:
Allergies, headaches and migraines, pain, chronic diseases, stress, burnout, sleep disorders, neurovegetative imbalance, menopausal disorders, colds, cystitis, ear infections, angina, hyperactivity, trauma and immune system weakness

The Neuro-Structural Integration Technique or NST is a holistic therapy that focuses on the fascias, muscles and subtle energies of the human being. Without any contraindications, it is effective on acute or chronic pain in the elderly as well as in newborns and on any state of tension in general.

It is a dynamic technique that offers the possibility of rediscovering a state of harmony and balance, allowing the body’s innate wisdom to express itself.

The treatment is carried out in the form of manoeuvres on the muscle fibres called Pri-moves (Proprioreceptive Rolling Impulse Movements), on ligaments and tendons, at key points in the body, following specific sequences interrupted by rest periods, to allow the body time to respond to the stimulation. It begins with the spine and continues with the sacrum and coccyx, pelvis, jaw, legs and arms depending on the symptoms. These sequences result in the self-regulation of the spine, which extends throughout the body with recalibration of the neuromuscular system and the autonomic nervous system.

The applications of the NST are vast. Here are some indications:

• Drainage of emotional tensions
• Cranial and temporomandibular joint problems
• Cervical pain and headaches
• Vertebral disorders
• Sports injuries (acute or chronic)
• Frozen shoulder, epicondylitis, carpal tunnel, neuralgia, polyarthritis
• Hip, knees, ankles, sciatica
• Stress, fatigue
• Dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome
• Functional visceral disorders
• General detoxification
• Depressive state
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic pain
• Relaxation, relaxation

Leopold Renner has been a Heilpraktiker for 40 years and has developed this method after more than 20 years of research in the fields of osteopathy, Chinese medicine (TCM) and humoral pathology.

Health depends on the flexibility of our internal asymmetries. In other words, it depends on the harmonious coordination of all bones and organs. It is the basis of our balance of body and mind and can be seen as a key factor that decides between well-being and illness, between balance of mind and disharmony and between vitality and passivity.

This empirical method consists of two parts: either HMT (Holistic Manual Therapy) or HBP (Human Based Proceeding) to eliminate problems and ADIY (Asymmetropathy do-it-yourself), a program of movements that the patient does himself and that he can continue to do at home to maintain his health.

Both techniques use asymmetric and gentle movements that influence the vegetative nervous system. It is about using these movements to inform the body and remind it of its health.

I use the asymmetric movements in my work.

Training

The medical massage therapist with Swiss federal license has received 1500 hours of training and at least 9 months of internship in a medical environment. He/she must take continuing education courses every year.

Training is in the following techniques:
classical massage, trigger point treatment, lymphatic drainage, complex decongestive therapy, connective tissue massage, hydrotherapy, plantar reflexology, thermotherapy, cryotherapy, as well as in the following fields: physiology, anatomy, palpatory anatomy, pathology and physiopathology.

In addition, her training also includes the psycho-relational aspects of the therapeutic relationship. His activities are based on passive techniques of which he is the specialist.

He is therefore able to understand the diagnoses and prescriptions established by the medical profession.

His services are reimbursed by complementary insurances if the therapist is registered with the RME, ASCA or ART.

The medical massage therapist also works in “Wellness” with a view to prevention and health promotion.

Treatment Prices :

60 minutes : CHF 105.-
45 minutes : CHF 80.-
30 minutes : CHF 60.-