Getting to Know the Filosofi team- Judy Ariagno, RMT

I have been working as a Massage Therapist since November 2006.  It is very rewarding to be able to help people cope with and recover from various painful and dibilitatiing conditions.  In particular, I enjoy working with headache sufferers.  A good part of the reason I am a Massage Therapist is because of the positive results Massage Therapy had on my chronic tension headaches.  I was experiencing daily headaches, largely due to stress and bad posture.  The pain originally started in my shoulder girdle and eventually made its way up to neck pain and headaches.  I remember leaving work early one day to go have a message because the pain was so bad I couldn't function at work.  It was hard for me, at the time, to believe that one massage could alleviate that much pain.  Now, with regular care, I experience far fewer headaches.
 
The term headache or migraine is and umbrella term which encompasses many types and causes.  Headaches and migranes are primarily catagorized by their triggers with digestion, sinus, hormonal, and stress being the most common.  Massage therapy can help reduce the frequency, and severity of symptoms involved with all of these types of headaches.  Most often, in my practise I see people with stress or tension related headaches. 
 
Tension headaches occure as a result of trigger points or knots in the muscles of the shoulder, neck and jaw regions.  These trigger points, when active, refer pain into the head.  As a Massage Therapist I have many tools at hand that can help alliviate symptoms associated with tension headaches.  Trigger Point Therapy and Manual Lymphatic Drainage(MLD) are the most common techniques I use.  Trigger Point Therapy is a compressive force on the affected area along with the use of heat and stretching.  Manual Lymphatic Drainage is a very light, repetitive pumping technique used to enhance the body`s own method of flushing out an area.  In particular, MLD, when used in conjunction with traditional massge techniques can be very successful.  This type of massage can help supress the `fight or flight` response of the nervous system which is brought on by stress and activate its `rest and digest` response.  It can help induce sleep and bring postural awareness to the forefront. 

If you would like to try massage therapy as an alternative method of care please book an appointment with me online or call the office at 613-225-1127.

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