Rates vary by location and length of session. Please contact specific information. Additional details may be found at www.robzlmt.com.

This modality is typically referred to as Classic Massage or Relaxation Massage. It is a both a relaxing and therapeutic experience for the client.

A combination of massage strokes, alternating pressure and passive muscle stretches are used to ease tension, relieve pain, improve overall mobility, increase wellness and muscle tone.

Another goal of this type of session is to affect the Autonomic Nervous System and bring the client into a parasympathetic state (better known as "rest and digest") where the body can heal itself and move towards homeostatic balance.

While this is a full body massage, the work is always client centered. It is important to not only focus on the body as a whole, but to address specific areas that need more of helping hand.

The process of deep tissue massage, the pressure and tools used and the techniques used to reach your therapeutic goals vary according to the client. Deep tissue work is a matter of moving through superficial tissue with greater pressure in order to access muscles living deeper within the body.

Typically, the tissue is warmed and prepared with a variety of strokes before beginning deeper work. Depending upon your needs and preferences, techniques such as deep compression, friction, muscle stripping and myofascial release can be used throughout the entire treatment and more precise work can be performed on specific muscle groups or individual muscles.

The overall goal is to access muscles on a more then superficial level, reform muscle and connective tissue and break up adhesions.

Sports Massage is a type of massage designed for highly active people who engage in athletics. Engaging in sports is harsh on the body and can often lead to injuries in both the short and long term. Sports Massage enhances performance and prolongs a sports career by helping to prevent injury, reduce pains and swelling in the body, relax the mind, increase flexibility, and dramatically improve recovery rates. Sports Massage is also highly effective in aiding the rapid recovery of an athlete from an injury by encouraging greater kinesthetic awareness and in turn promoting the body's natural immune function.

In addition to the well known benefits of stress reduction, relaxation and overall wellness, massage is increasingly being offered along with standard treatment for a wide range of medical conditions and situations.

Massage can be a helpful therapeutic option for issues including arthritis, anxiety, neuropathies, digestive disorders, fibromyalgia, headaches, insomnia related to stress, myofascial pain syndrome, paresthesias and nerve pain, soft tissue strains or injuries, recovery from assorted traumatic injuries, sports injuries, temporomandibular joint pain and an assortment of other illnesses and injuries.

Postural/Respiratory Drainage massage techniques are employed for those living with Cystic Fibrosis, for example. There are techniques to assist with circulation and address plantar fasciitis in diabetics and others suffering with neuropathies. There are many techniques to help alleviate swelling resulting from an injury, range of motion techniques to address mobility and cross fiber friction to help reduce adhesions during the recovery process, just to name a very limited few.

The proper modalities and strokes, adhering to medical advice and being mindful of any cautions and contraindications are all a part of taking the right road to healing. I am happy to partner with you and your doctor to create a long term treatment plan if the situation calls for it. In some cases, I may ask for permission to contact your doctor or for a doctors note/release form prior to treatment.

Rob Zukowski is a Certified Medical Massage Therapist.

Hot stone massage is a natural massage therapy modality in which warmed, smooth stones are used to perform the massage strokes to maximize the therapeutic benefit. The stones that are typically used are a form of river rocks or some other very smooth surfaced stones made of basalt. The stones come in a variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate larger areas such as your back and upper legs, small stones for detailed foot work and an assortment of sizes in between to use on a variety of muscles and surfaces. These stones are heated in water or a steamer before use to an ideal temperature of between 120 and 140 degrees. It is the high iron content in basalt helps the stones retain heat during the massage. During your session, the massage therapist will often flip the stone during strokes to ensure the heat sufficiently gets into your muscle tissue from both sides of the stone.

The heat of the stones combined with the therapists pressure can help your muscles to relax, allowing the massage therapist to manipulate tissues more effectively. Certainly, all types of massage can help ease pain resulting from tense muscles, stiff joints or injuries, but hot stone work may very well provide a heightened level of relief. Some clients have noted, that because the application of heat allows the massage therapist to penetrate deeper, that the affects are akin to deep tissue work, without the additional pressure.

Hot Stone sessions are only available in the Astoria location.

*As with any therapeutic or complementary or alternative medicine treatment, it is recommended that you speak with your doctor before having a session. In the case of hot stone massage, there are certain cautions and contraindications that must be observed, such as, high blood pressure, arrhythmia's and other cardiac issues and diabetes, to name a few. Your massage therapist should also do a health intake prior to your session.

Passive Range of Motion (PROM) is an assessment tool used to ascertain soft tissue and joint mobility, flexibility and extensibility, but as a treatment option, has numerous benefits.

By passively moving your muscles, joints and limbs into the actions they are intended to do, we can:

- improve mobility of joints
- lubricate joint capsules
- stretch muscles
- break up knots and adhesions
- relax muscle tissue on a neuromuscular level
- help break harmful patterns of movement

Combined with massage therapy, PROM is a relaxing and therapeutic experience. It is an appropriate treatment for a variety stress, muscle tension, post work out pain, issues with range of motion and flexibility and a variety of pathologies.