Nightingale Facial

It would be great if the facial is referring to that great nurse, but this spa treatment refers to Nightingale poo. Yes, your face would get rubbed by bird excrement. According to the proponents of this facial, there's a substance in Nightingale poo that would make your skin glow.

Fish Exfoliation

Being fish food always have had negative connotations in the movies, but for this spa treatment, it's all good. Leave it to the "doctor fish", a small species of carp to eat away the dead skin cells from your body. The treatment goes like this: you sit in a pool with all of these fish in it. These little aquatic exfoliants would then feed on the dead skin. The downside: it can be very ticklish.

Gold Facial

Glow like gold--literally--with this facial. By applying strips of 24-karat gold on your skin, it is believed that your skin would be moisturized and your wrinkles lessened. This facial gives a new meaning to looking and feeling like a million bucks.

Horseback Reiki

Reiki is the application of ki or life energy on the body's pressure points to promote body harmony and balance. But this treatment claims that through reiki on horseback, the reiki treatment would be more effective. Surely, they would have appreciated this back when the Wild, Wild, West was still in full saddle.

Sake and Wine Bath

You've got to hand it to the Japanese for being innovative. This spa treatment is found at the Hakone hot springs in Japan. You would get to soak in a hot bath of sake or wine during their stay. But it's not just about being drunk: the amino acids in the alcohol are said to have moisturizing properties.

Choco Facial

Since chocolates are praised for their anti-oxidizing properties, chocolate facial spas claim that applying chocolate directly on your face can make your skin absorb those anti-oxidants. This, spas say, leaves the skin rejuvenated and looking younger.

Caviar Foot Spa

You may not be high-class enough to appreciate the taste caviar, but the promoters of the Caviar foot spa says that your feet would at least feel rich. According to these spas, fish eggs contain marine collagen that gives nutrients lacking in the skin.

And there are lots more strange spa treatments out there. You can find facial for your buttocks and being massaged by snakes. During these occasions, you really have to be amazed at the human imagination. But do these spa treatments really work? There's no guarantee. They may be interesting, but you shouldn't just take the spa operators' word for it. These new treatments are maybe more for the experience rather than for an actual treatment.

Infection
One major concern about spas is the possibility of infection. Since the spa environment is usually warm and moist, it becomes a good breeding ground for bacteria and other microorganisms. The risk becomes especially high in saunas, hot tubs, and communal treatment pools. Though spas do their best to keep these pools sanitized, it's not possible to get rid of all the bacteria. What you should do to prevent possible infection is to not swallow any of the liquid from the pools, and wash yourself thoroughly before and after each session.

You should also watch out for open wounds or skin irritations. If you have these, you should avoid getting into spas to prevent possible infection.

Worsened Pre-existing Conditions
The heat and moisture in the spa can also bring about problems for people with existing medical conditions. The steam and temperature in the sauna can cause asthmatics to breathe harder and suffer an attack. Hot baths also cause people with cardiac problems and hypertension to have spikes in blood pressure. It is best for people with current ailments to inform spa employees of their condition so that they could be warned against spa treatments that may trigger a negative response.

Hazards to Pregnancy
Heat is still the issue for pregnant women. This increase in body temperature can be dangerous for the infant. Chemicals used in spas can also be toxic for pregnant women. Light facials should be fine, but pregnant women should stay away from spa treatments that involve the use of heavy chemicals such as bleaching, exfoliation, and aromatherapy. But this doesn't mean expecting moms are banned from spas. Spas usually have treatments specially created to cater to pregnant women. But even so, one should take care.

Allergic Reactions
Allergic reactions are also some of the possible hazards in spas. You should ask about the oils and lotions that they use in treatments to determine if you may possibly allergic to them. This is true also for the essential oils used in aromatherapy. Some spas also use food items, like chocolate and caviar, for their treatments, so people with allergies to these food would be at risk. You should stay away from treatments which you know you have an allergy to. You should also inform the spa of your existing allergies so that they can use alternative materials for the treatment. Properly communicating your existing allergies is essential if you don't want to suffer an allergic attack later on.
Hazards may be the last things that you'll associate with spas, but the truth is that spas do present some dangers. But as with most hazards, avoiding them is easy once you know what they are. So, keep these in mind. This ensures that your spa treatment stays relaxing, and on the safe side.

Prenatal massage is different from other massages in the sense that it targets pregnant women and the conditions that they encounter. Here are some conditions that prenatal massage improves:

Improved mood and disposition during pregnancy is easier attained. Mood swings and hormonal changes are considered normal during pregnancy, and prenatal massage helps ease and control these changes. Studies show that massage help increase dopamine and serotonin which improves the general mood and outlook. The stress hormone cortisol is also reduced through prenatal massage.

Swelling of the joints is also reduced since the massage helps blood circulation. Due to the increased weight of the uterus, the blood vessels are overworked leading to poor blood supply. When circulation is improved through prenatal massage, the swelling is also lessened.

Body pain is also addressed by prenatal massage. Back and leg pains can be expected due to the added weight of the baby. Through massage, these parts of the body can be relaxed and the pain from them lessened. Any stressed muscle or joint can be stimulated to become flexible and relaxed through a massage.

Due to improved blood circulation and reduced stress, prenatal massage also helps control blood pressure during pregnancy. For women at risk (not yet diagnosed) for Pregnancy Induced Hypertension, prenatal massage can allow them to keep their blood pressure rates in check.

Of course, there are counterindications to prenatal massage. Women who have diabetes, preeclempsia, abdominal pain, water and bloody discharge, and high blood pressure are generally advised against undergoing prenatal massage. The reason is that any massage or stimulation to the body can cause the conditions to worsen and endanger the mother and child. If you have the conditions mentioned above, better consult your doctor first before engaging in prenatal massage. Your physician should know best as to whether a prenatal massage is helpful or detrimental to your condition.

If you plan to get a prenatal massage, most spas and massage centers offer this service. Health providers and physical therapists can also offer prenatal massage. Just be sure that you check for the necessary certification and that the massage procedure is explained to you clearly. Be sure to communicate with the therapist any excessive pain, especially if it's within the area of the uterus and pelvis. To be safe, you can ask your doctor for recommendations on where you get your prenatal massage.

Though generally considered a blessed event. pregnancy can still be a stressful time for women. Due to all the physical and emotional changes that the infant brings to the woman's body, pregnancy can also be a tough time for women. A good way for women to deal with all these events would be to get a prenatal massage. A prenatal massage helps a woman feel relaxed, refreshed, and at ease. This leads to the uplifting of the mood and spirits, which also leads to better health for both the mother and child.

Relaxation

If we get relaxed from a massage, a baby is no different. When a baby is relaxed and free from stress, it improves the baby's mood, making him or her easier to handle. Aside from that, absence and reduction of stress is good for overall health. Since relaxation also improves blood circulation, the child also benefits from better immune response and digestion. Even if not for all of those, you're giving the baby a good and pleasant time with a simple massage.

Physical and Cognitive Development

As mentioned, there are studies that show infant massage can help your child develop physically, mentally, and emotionally. Due to constant tactile touch, motor development is improved, and so is the skin condition. Because of the nurturing aspect of massages, children who enjoyed massages during infancy showed notable mental development. Massage also helps infants feel safe and secure in their new surroundings, which is good for the child's mind to wander and develop.

Bonding

Massaging and touching the baby form an important moment for bonding. As touch can transcend words, the massage is also an important tool for communication. The massage session becomes an avenue for the parent and child to share a few moments to connect and communicate. This helps the baby be assured and for parents to enjoy fully the quick, passing moments of their child's infancy. This makes the massage emotionally rewarding for both the parents and child.

It would seem that performing the massage is left to the mother by default, but fathers and other members of the family can do infant massage as well. Not only can the infant massage be a good bonding moment between mother and child, it could also be an excellent bonding opportunity for all members of the family.

Pain Relief

Infant massage therapists also note that massaging a child can ease the pain as well, if not better, than medication. Of course, the effectiveness may vary depending on the medical condition, but through the reassuring touch of a massage, a child usually calms down and show signs of relaxation. This doesn't mean you should forego medical consultation, but you can use massage as a form of first aid for a baby's cries of pain. Giving relief to pain, even temporary, is no less valuable than the actual medical cure itself. Aside from calming the baby, it may even be more beneficial for calming the frantic parent as well.

These are the many benefits of infant massage. Taking the time to massage your newborn child bring lots of advantages, not only for the child, but to all of the family as well. There are several centers that teach how to do infant massage, and it won't hurt for you to try them.

How it works
The same with every other massage, myofascial release massage aims to relax the body through physical stimulation through the use of hands, knuckles, and elbows. The target of myofascial release is the relaxation and elongation fascia through the application of pressure. The idea is that through the constant application of pressure, the fascial tissues would become relaxed and elongated, leading to pain and stress alleviation. This results to more flexibility, freedom of movement, and unwinding of the fascial tissues. This what is meant by the word "release".

The sessions usually last for an hour or more. During this period, your massage therapist would continuously work on the fascial tissues to get the desired effect. The session could be light or intense, depending on whether the treatment applied is direct or indirect myofascial release. Usually, the massage is done without the use of oils, lotions, and powder. This is to allow the therapist to have a better feel for the fascia for better targeting and manipulation.

Where to get the treatment
The good thing is that getting myofascial release massage is easy. Most spas and massage centers offer it as one of their services. You can also get it from physical therapists as they also offer it as one their treatments. As with all massages, competent therapists should have completed the necessary training and education to offer the massage.

You also have to note that this massage can involve some physical pain. The explanation is that the action of relaxing fascial tissues would be met with resistance from the body. But as the session goes, you can expect the body to adapt to the treatment performed and eventually relax. One can also expect some numbing of the muscles after the massage is over, but this would last for only a few minutes. .

Does it work?
If you're looking for solid medical evidence, unfortunately, there's none. The best are just anecdotal evidence. Some studies noted that people reported pain and stress relief after treatment. Other studies noted improved circulation and a more relaxed physique. Though not considered a medical cure, myofascial release is an effective method of pain management and relief.

If you're after pain relief from sore muscles, and a relaxing massage, myofascial release massage is a good option. It's effect on the body as a relaxing procedure has some merits, and it does work for many. Just do remember that it still cannot beat standard medical treatment when it comes to an effective treatment. But for relaxation purposes, myofascial release massage is as good, if not better, than any other massage out there.

Neuromuscular therapy is based on how skeletal muscles work and the neural effects of their manipulation. Central to neuromuscular massage is the knowledge of trigger points, which are also referred to as myofascial points. These point are considered as tissues that are strained and stressed, and the goal of the massage is to stimulate these points sufficiently with the aim of relaxing them. This is how pain is managed and taken away.

Myofascial trigger points can be caused by injury, trauma, and ischemia, or the lack of supply of oxygen. Neuromuscular therapy works by applying perpendicular pressure to these points in regular intervals. This is the unique feature to this form of massage. It does not apply pressure or stimulation directly to the trigger point, but to surrounding areas or to areas that affect it. This is why knowledge of the human anatomy and skeletal muscle structure is essential. By knowing on which points are causing pain, the neuromuscular therapist can then know which areas of the body to work on to treat the trigger points. This is also why neuromuscular massage is considered holistic in its approach at pain management and relief.

Neuromuscular therapy uses the hands, fingers, and thumbs. Should the situation warrant it, the elbows are also sometimes used. As to the sensation, people often report some level of pain associated with the massage. But as with any other massage, you would have to give the treatment some time to feel the effect. Usually, the calming effect can be felt within the therapy or at the end of it. Some patients are also perplexed at why the therapist would focus on areas that seem to be unrelated to the painful areas. As mentioned earlier, neuromuscular therapy works by addressing the areas that are affecting the trigger point, and these may not be located at the painful area itself.

Some of the conditions that neuromuscular massage can address are postural distortion, ischemia, tight joints and muscles, adhesions in the tissues, and sore muscles. It can also lead to stress relief if the source of stress is physical exhaustion or muscle fatigue.

You can get neuromuscular massage from physical therapists and other health professionals. Since the practice of neuromuscular massage requires ample knowledge of the human body, it requires training and education to be qualified to practice it. You should look for certification should you want to try neuromuscular therapy yourself.

What's different about neuromuscular therapy is that it takes a more scientific approach at massage by basing it on the human physique. Through the manipulation of myofascial trigger points, this massage aims to relieve pain and stress on the muscles and tissues. If you prefer a massage that is more grounded on how the body works, then you could give neuromuscular therapy a try.

First, you should know the spa requirements in your area. One issue with spas is that there's no comprehensive legislation dealing with their practice. Legislation and requirements are usually left to the state or local governments. You should know whether your area requires spas to have licenses and other safety and health requirements for practice. Once you know these, you can then look for those when considering a spa.

You should also ask whether a spa is a member of any spa association or organization. For example, there's the International Spa Association (ISPA), and the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) in the US. You can ask a spa if they are members of these organizations, or any similar association. Though these organizations are not government entities, they do have guidelines for quality and safe practice that members subscribe to.

Next is to ask about the competencies of their staff. You can also look up local regulations for any licenses required for a particular service. Usually, government entities require at least 500 hours of training for a license. Reputable spas would not hesitate about showing their credentials as these inspire confidence in their potential clients.

Due to the loose legislation that governs spas, insurance is not something that's strictly enforced to all spas. Though it would awkward to ask, it would be good to know that the spa that you go to has some insurance should things go wrong.

Reputation and recommendation are also good sources of information. People who have tried the services of a spa can provide you with a first-hand account of how the spa treatments went. You can also look at online and magazine reviews for good spas to try. Blogs and forums can also provide information about praises for or complaints against certain spas.

You need to know these things because almost anyone can open up a spa. Not being sure about the spa's qualification can leave you regretting ever getting their service. For some people, it has even led to injury and lawsuits. Why should you let yourself become a victim? The main reason why you go to a spa is to relax and improve your health; the last thing you would want is to get injured.

Indeed, not all spas are the same, especially when it comes to upholding accepted standards on health and expertise. It is because of this that you need to ensure that the spa that you go to has high standards of quality. Not only will that guarantee a relaxing time at the spa, it will also ensure that you'll get safe and effective spa treatments.

We all know how great a bath feels. That can be made even better by the addition of essential oil to your bath water. There are several ways that you can do this. You can place five to 10 drops of oil directly to the water, or you can mix the same amount of essential oils with carrier oil and pour it over the water. You can also mix the oil with milk and other oils before adding them to the bath. For best effects, you shouldn't let the solution sit too long and should be applied just right before the bath. One thing though, you have to watch out for possible skin irritation if you enjoy your bath too long.

You can also use essential oils for facial steam. Use about five drops of essential oil on hot water then cover your head with a towel. Facial steams can alleviate blocked sinuses, headaches, and is also good for your skin. Just be careful since prolonged inhalation can cause dizziness and nausea.

Direct inhalation is another way that you can enjoy aromatherapy. You can place a drop or two of essential oil on your palm, rub them together and inhale the scents directly. It is important that you don't exceed the dose since essential oil is highly concentrated and can be toxic if applied in large amounts. It may also result to skin irritations and rashes depending on the oil used.

You can also enhance the healing and comforting effects of a compress through aromatherapy. Just place five drops of oil on a basin of water, and then dip the compress. A compress with aroma therapy is good for bruises and body pains, and it also helps one relax and be calm.

The most popular application would be with massages. Essential oil mixed with carrier oil helps make the massage session more relaxing while also providing lubrication needed for massages. Essential oils can also be good for the skin and act as moisturizers that prevent dryness during the massage.

Another of the popular application of aromatherapy is through diffusers. You can use either candle diffusers or electronic ones for your session. Diffusers work by heating up the oil mixture to give out the relaxing aroma of these oils. The only thing you need to watch out for is that too much of these scents can be dizzying. And if you're using candle diffusers, oil can combust easily so take care to prevent fire from breaking out.

These are the several methods that can make aromatherapy work for you. What's great is that you don't need to have special equipment to engage in aromatherapy. So long as you have essential oils and the right knowhow, you can easily enjoy all the benefits of aroma therapy through the methods mentioned here.

Most of the medical conditions that massage therapy are meant to address have a lot to do with relieving stress physically and mentally. As a stress reliever, massage can help ease out anxiety, and some studies have shown massage helps in cases of clinical depression.

On the physical level, massage can help ease stiffness, injuries from sports activities, and chronic pain in the body. And since stress is lessened, it's also noted that it can help lower blood pressure and prevent its complications. Improving immune response is also considered as one of the benefits of massages. Due to the improved circulation that massage brings, it can also help boost the immune system.

Before selecting a massage therapy as an alternative treatment, please consult your doctor first about it. This is because there are conditions where massage can do more harm than good. For example, massage is not recommended for those with rheumatoid arthritis. Massage may help ease the pain, but it is not a treatment for the condition. Other conditions such as advanced osteoporosis and pregnancy also would not benefit from a massage. Just to be on the safe side, you should ask your physician about getting massages for your medical condition.

When looking for a massage therapist, it is important that you go to one with the proper certification. In the US, states require therapists finish the years of training and pass certification exams before being allowed to practice massaging as a profession. Physical therapists and other medical workers have also added massaging to their list of services. You can also ask your doctor for recommendations. Suggestions from friends and family are also good sources for massage therapists. There should be not much problem in this regard as a most massage centers would display their certification for all to see. But still, it wouldn't hurt to ask the center for its certification and the massages that it offers.

One thing to note is that these benefits have not been conclusively proven by medical studies. You can't expect a doctor to prescribe shiatsu as a cure for the common cold just yet in a manner of speaking. There are studies that show support of the medical benefits of massage therapy, but these are not enough to bring massage in the level of an actual cure for medical conditions. Though there may be not enough studies to back massage therapy up as a medical procedure for curing illnesses, the benefits that one can get is difficult to deny. Even if not for medical conditions, a good massage is good for the mind and body.

Acupressure is the stimulation of pressure points in the body to promote relaxation and restore the balance in the body. Acupressure is based on acupuncture, the difference is that acupuncture uses needles, while acupressure use the fingers and knuckles to apply stimulation. The theory is the pressure points in the body are like the valves that control meridians, which are in turn the pathways of Qi, or the life force that all living beings have. In humans, any irregularity or blockage in the passage of Qi results to illnesses and medical conditions. Through the manipulation and stimulation of these pressure points, the smooth and natural flow of Qi is restored, thus bringing back balance and health to the body.

But even if you don't buy the Qi theory, acupressure has concrete benefits. It helps relax the body, similar to a massage. It also helps promote blood circulation and improves flexibility in the areas targeted. And most important, it also helps relieve pain and stress. At least this is what the survey of the studies on alternative treatment and chronic back pain has found out.

The study was conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration and it compared different alternative medicine treatments and their effects on chronic back pain. The respondents of the study reported decreased pain, improved mobility, and increased flexibility especially with acupressure. Of course, the review did qualify that these are just initial findings and that there's more evidence needed to establish a solid connection. And so, it can't be said conclusively that the improved conditions are because of acupressure alone. Though that may be the case, the improvement from acupressure was better compared with other forms of alternative treatments such as massage and acupuncture. And that says something about the effectiveness of acupressure.

As what the study would suggest, there are benefits, but acupressure is not the cure. What acupressure can do is help in pain relief, increase relaxation, and improve flexibility. But it is not meant that it can make the back pain go away as a medical condition. Acupressure is still alternative medicine and is complementary at best. You can't substitute it for the medical expertise of your doctor.

But, so long as you know the extent acupressure can help your back pain, then you have the right mindset. You can't deny that acupressure can ease you of pain in your back, but don't expect it to be the magic pill, so to speak. Anyway, with back pain or without, the relaxation, improved blood circulation, and stress reduction that acupressure brings are still good enough reasons for you to try acupressure yourself.