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Writer's pictureCoastal Massage & Wellness

What is our New Functional Massage?

In Motion with Morrison Blog

Written by Aubrey Morrison 

MS Sports Medicine, CSCS, Licensed Massage Therapist #16763


What is our new Functional Massage?


We have the Mobility Maker, and now we have the Functional Massage!


What is it??


What does “functional massage” even mean… no, we didn’t just make it sound fancy for the sake of sounding fancy. This treatment is functional because it is specific to what your body needs to *function* properly as you do what you do every day, or to reverse effects of the toll your body may take on a daily basis. AND it includes prescribed stretches/exercises for you to do at home to make long term changes to your body so you are pain free and mobile always!






In short, it is massage work (which also is a bit of an assessment) followed by a

tailored program of a few stretches, mobility work, and/or exercises for you to do at


home between sessions. The program can be made more advanced as your results progress. It could be a series of exercises to relieve that pain between your shoulder blades that is always there; or a little accessory work to do on squat day at the gym to help reach better depth without groin pain; or to strengthen and mobilize an ankle that was sprained 4 years ago and has never been the same. It is tailored to you and your needs, symptoms, history, daily life, and goals.



Why did we create yet another treatment?


We pay attention to anything we feel is missing, or to anything that can be improved

for our clients. We get a lot of clients who deal with chronic dysfunction and pain that

is greatly improved by massage work, but may come back after a few days or so because it is a result of everyday activity. For example, if someone works in construction and works overhead a lot every day and has neck and shoulder tightness and pain, they may feel great the week after a massage but the pain soon returns because the demands of the job don’t change. Or, a runner who is marathon training fights knee pain that subsides after quad-focused massage work, but it gradually returns and they are counting down the minutes for the next massage and pain relief!


Basically, there are instances where the daily demands we make of our bodies create such imbalance that even a routine monthly massage or two may not be enough to even things out in the long term, although they will help with many things on a short term basis. Not everyone falls into this category! But if you do, and you are tired of the same returning pain and tightness from work, life, or athletics; then you know it and you need to keep reading.





We created this treatment to provide long term relief from tension, pain, imbalance,

muscle weakness, and immobility. Of course we would love to see you multiple times

a week because we love seeing you – but we also know that’s not in your best interest

and no one could sustain that! This session will give you instruction as to what to do

between massage treatments to extend periods of relief and to reverse the problem for

good.



Who is this for, and who is this not for?


There is such a broad spectrum of who this is for! Especially right now with so much

work being from home and laptops – raise your hand if you suddenly work at your

kitchen counter, or have gone from moving around a workplace to zoom meetings on

your laptop. Neck, shoulder, and back pain are at an all-time high this year, so this is for you! This is for new mothers who are holding and feeding babies in positions they aren’t used to, someone who had 3 shoulder surgeries and just wants to feel upper body mobility again, weighlifters

who can’t quite lock their arm out at the top of a press, triathletes with constant mid- and low- back pain, individuals with tension headaches for reasons they can’t identify… and many many others!!


This is for you.




Who is this not for??


This is not for someone currently in a prescribed physical therapy program who is under the direction of a doctor who has a plan in action already. This is not meant to be rehabilitation from a new injury or surgery. This is not meant to treat something to be operated on in the future, such as a herniated disc or hip replacement (although regular massage sessions will certainly help relieve these things!! Just no prescribed exercises from us.). You get the idea – this doesn’t take the place of

what your doctor says. It is for correction and rebalance, not rehabilitation that needs to be under the instruction of a doctor. If you aren’t sure if it is for you or not, just call and ask! We are happy to chat about it!


What does a session look like?



The session for this treatment is a 45-minute massage followed by a 20-minute tutorial of your corrective exercise program. The massage is for a little assessment, as well as to treat the sources of pain and loosen up for the active section of the session. Afterwards, you will be emailed a series of short instructional videos of the prescribed stretches/exercises to make sure you remember what to do! Equipment such as bands and lacrosse balls will likely be involved, and we have most of it available for purchase if you don’t already have them at home.


How can a massage therapist be authorized to prescribe exercises?


Aubrey Morrison, the massage therapist who provides this service, is also personal trainer who is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with a substantial educational background in sports medicine. She is within her scope of practice to assign exercise homework! Scheduling this session will involve a phone consultation with Aubrey. Call with any questions! Don’t settle for chronic pain. We can help!

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