Neuromuscular Massage Schools

Neuromuscular schools or neuromuscular therapy schools are institutions that impart training in neuromuscular therapy. This therapy is essentially based on body massages. A therapist should also have the knowledge of the functions of nerves, muscles and the relationship between them.

The word neuromuscular refers to the set of muscles and associated nerves in any animal including human beings. Nerves control the muscles, and make the muscles feel and react to various sensations. There are voluntary as well as involuntary muscles in every body. Voluntary muscles are those that are put to use as per choice of the person and thus has control over them. Involuntary muscles perform functions automatically without the intention of the person who has virtually no control over them. Neuromuscular disorders generally relate to voluntary muscles. These disorders affect the nerves related to these voluntary muscles. However, there are several other neuromuscular diseases that can lead to severe conditions like Parkinson's disease, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, etc. While each of these diseases require a different type of treatment, neuromuscular massage can help in reducing chronic pain associated with such disorders and diseases and may even bring down the intensity of such diseases.

Neuromuscular massage therapy revisits the techniques that are more traditional in nature like the acupressure, acupuncture, and kundalini massage. The concept is that the entire muscle is not affected by any stimulus, whether such stimulus comes from within the body, or from outside the body. Rather there are trigger points in the body that capture the stimulus and transmit it to brain. There is a specific mechanism in here. The blood flow comes down at these trigger points, effectively increasing the lactic acid concentration. This lactic acid is responsible for making the person feel sore at the trigger point and the muscles that come under its jurisdiction because of increase in speed of transmission through the nerves. Therefore, if the blood flow to this point could be corrected or improved, the pain experienced by the person could be alleviated considerably. Apart from reducing pain, such massages can improve the activity levels of the person, effectively improving the quality of life.

Neuromuscular problems could be due to musculoskeletal system as well as nervous system. So the first step in any neuromuscular massage is to loosen up the muscles, connecting tissue, and tendons that are involved in sending the messages to the central nervous system. Warming these muscles gives greater access to the embedded trigger point. There are neuromuscular tools and equipments that are used for this. Some of these are simply mechanical tools, while others are more sophisticated. There are neuromuscular therapy bars, which the professional uses at specific locations on the body to achieve the objective. These may be T shaped or L-shaped. These bars whether L shaped or T shaped come in different sizes and thickness. Similar to this is a massaging tool for massaging the back and other parts of the body. Massaging tools resembling a thick brush are also used in Neuromuscular Therapy. There are electrical equipments used to warm the muscles. In addition to these there are examination tables on which the patient is allowed to lie down while the treatment is on. These are special type of tables that give the therapist an access to various trigger points. The patient can relax while the treatment is in progress.

Obviously, knowledge about human anatomy, musculoskeletal system, nervous system, and circulatory system is essential for this type of massage. There are schools across the United States imparting neuromuscular massage training. The list of neuromuscular massage training schools includes Southeastern School of Neuromuscular Massage, Western Institute of Neuromuscular Therapy School, Colorado School of Healing arts and massages therapies, and The Edmund Morgan School of Neuromuscular and massage therapy.