STRETCHING GUIDE

We are committed to continuing to offer the therapeutic care that so many of our clients rely on, while keeping our clients and our staff safe. Please read our Health + Safety Guidelines for more detailed information.

First, you need to know what you are looking for. If you seek a massage to deal with body pain, discomfort, insomnia, headaches, muscle soreness, sports massage, injury repair or that simply provides deep bodywork and relaxation, then Psoas is the right place for you. Unlike most traditional spa experiences, Psoas Massage + Bodywork maintains the highest standards in massage therapy, requiring our therapists to have over 700 hours of education, a city license for practicing and a minimum of 500 hours of client experience. Most of our therapists far exceed these requirements, and they are equipped with extensive clinical experience and thousands of practice hours on their resume. Psoas is also therapist-owned and operated, ensuring that the business is centered on providing you with the most knowledgeable massage therapy available. Please check out our Client Reviews, as well client testimonials about Psoas on Citysearch.com and Yelp.com.

Massage is a healthcare practice in which a skilled therapist addresses physical dysfunction by manipulating the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and fascia of the body. Bodywork is a term that includes massage, but which can also include assisted or passive stretching, resistance tests, diagnostic work, and heat/cold therapy. At Psoas, we are also health educators and believe that learning more about the way your body works can vastly improve how you care for your physical health.

Psoas therapists customize each massage depending on the needs of their clients. We are trained in over 10 modalities, or massage techniques, and we combine these techniques to provide the right type of massage to each client. Please see our Treatments page for more information.

You should be prepared to fill out a brief intake form detailing your physical health and history. If possible, bring some comfortable clothes (such as yoga pants, tops, running shorts, etc) in the event that your therapist would like to do some involved stretching or do off-table checks for range of motion improvements. Most importantly, look forward to having a therapist listen to your needs and form educated opinions about your health questions. Get ready for the possibility of a life changing bodywork experience. It happens all the time at Psoas.

If you are not sure exactly what you need to have addressed in your session, please don’t worry. Put your trust in an experienced Psoas Massage Therapist. We welcome both clients who are new to massage and may not know what they need, as well as massage connoisseurs. This is what we do daily and we love it. Massage is one of the greatest tools you can use to learn more about your needs in health and physical well-being. Our therapists will ask you questions regarding your areas of tension, your general stress level and your lifestyle, and then formulate a session based on these needs and on your individual massage preferences.

For your first appointment, we ask that you arrive a few minutes early in order to fill out our brief intake form detailing your physical health and history. After that, your therapist will talk with you about your expectations for the session and what types of massage work you’re interested in. Depending on your reason for coming in, the intake communication may last from 5-30 minutes on your first session. Your therapist will then leave the room and return once you are comfortably settled on the table. After your bodywork session, our therapists will give you their assessment of the work that was done and give you helpful self-care suggestions to take home with you. More often than not, they will recommend additional sessions with a strategic plan for getting the results that you are looking for, whether you are interested in running a faster race, eliminating tension in your neck or hoping to recover quickly from injury.

After your massage, you may experience greater relaxation, improved ranges of motion, reduced pain and a better sense of your own body. It is a good idea to drink lots of water after massage and to take the rest of the day a bit easier than you normally would so that your body can take advantage of the improved circulation that massage brings and adjust to the improvements in muscle function. Depending on your body issues, your therapist may need to break up scar tissue and adhesions. Sometimes this causes some minor soreness. You might feel some discomfort from your session, but it should last 24-48 hours at most. Please feel free to call Psoas at 415.227.0331 if you have any questions or concerns after your session.

When you call for your first appointment, we will ask you questions to determine your particular needs and then match you with the most appropriate therapist available. Please let us know your reasons for seeking massage and any injuries or health concerns you have so that we can book you with the right practitioner. We also encourage you to read our staff’s bios to get an idea of what modalities are available and the different specializations in which our therapists are trained. Each therapist incorporates multiple modalities in their session and might use different techniques to reach your goal.

If you need to cancel your appointment, please call Psoas as soon as possible. If at least 24 hours of notice is provided, we are happy to change or cancel your appointment. If you have to change your appointment within 24 hours before your scheduled arrival, we maintain a firm policy of charging in full for the missed appointment. This applies to appointments made same-day, as well. If you have an emergency, please let us know so that we can treat your specific situation with personal attention.

We reserve your session time specifically for you. Without 24 hours notice of cancellation, it is unlikely that we’ll be able to rebook that session time. When you provide 24 hours notice (or more), we’re usually able to fill your spot. Because our goal is to accommodate as many clients as possible, and because we usually have a waiting list, it is important that we fill all available slots and your providing adequate notice of cancellation helps us do that. Also, as our therapists are the best in the industry, they require appropriate pay. The therapists practice a maximum of 4-5 sessions a day so that you can get high quality treatment, and so they can stay healthy and injury-free. One missed appointment out of 4 appointments has a significant financial impact.

Check with your insurance company to see if your policy covers massage therapy, and under what conditions. Often, you will need a prescription from your primary medical provider in order to get reimbursed for our massage therapy. Most people can receive coverage for automobile accidents – check with your insurance company. If your insurance company does cover massage, then we will provide you with detailed invoices and session notes required to collect the reimbursement. We do not do in-house insurance billing at Psoas.

Check with your Human Resources personnel to understand if your flex pay account can be used for massage therapy. In most cases, massage therapy is an acceptable treatment for Flexible Spending. We can provide you with detailed invoices to submit for reimbursement. If you’re interested in using massage therapy as a complimentary health care service, flex pay programs can be a great way to make it more affordable.

Psoas can help with almost any injury, however, success rates may depend on the phase of the injury, your body, your participation (through rest, stretching, strengthening) and work with other health professionals. Massage therapists do not diagnose injuries, yet we can work off of a medical diagnosis or make hypotheses of our own based on our extensive experience. Specific injuries that we work with – and have much success with – are: Plantar fasciitis Achilles tendonitis Ankle sprain/strain Shin splints Calf strain Pre/post knee surgery Hamstring pull Iliotibial band strain Groin pull (adductor strain) Hip flexor strain Gluteal strains Back strain Back pain, knots in the back Repetitive strains Jammed fingers Wrist sprain/strain Carpal tunnel syndrome Frozen Shoulder Rotator Cuff injury Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Neck strains TMJ disorder (jaw pain) Rehabilitation for muscles And many more

When you have a new injury, it’s important to take care of it right away so that you don’t let a new pattern in your body set in around that injury. Your first action should be to get a medical diagnosis before treating the injury. When using massage for treatment, Psoas has the most success when we work immediately with injuries to help prevent the soft tissue surrounding the injury from initiating a detrimental pattern. Of course, we will apply the appropriate techniques depending on the inflammation, pain level, phase of injury, and your needs. As sports massage therapists, our goal is to help you through your injury and hopefully decrease the recovery time. Discuss your situation with us – call today at 415.227.0331.

You can continue the same massage schedule you might have already been receiving, or start massage while pregnant. Yet, as with all medical conditions, please discuss massage therapy with your physician before seeking treatment. Pregnancy can cause muscular changes in your body which might lead to different aches and pains than you have experienced before. Pregnant women often experience calf cramps, carpal tunnel syndrome, lower back pain, gluteal/hip tension, swollen legs and feet, or they endure more stress than usual. Prenatal massage therapy can help manage these uncomfortable changes and help you relax. Please always let the Psoas receptionist and your therapist know exactly where you are in your pregnancy so that we can plan your treatment accordingly.

This will depend on the regularity of your massage visits. Please call Psoas at 415.227.0331 to discuss your specific situation. If you’re an athlete who is receiving sports massage on a regular basis (every-other-week or more), then your body is accustomed to massage as part of your training, and you may not need to be as cautious about your massage timing; we can see you at any time. If you’re someone that does not get massage regularly, you should not likely have a Deep Tissue massage 48 hours before a big workout or event because the introduction of massage to your body may cause you to perform differently while in training. For those newer to massage, it is most beneficial to allow time to let the benefits of massage take place in your body. If you exercise after a massage, we recommend you focus on hydrating, stretch, and then do a lighter workout as opposed to a longer one. Keep in mind, every body is different so we can never know for sure how your body is going to react to a massage. We are as cautious as possible and we will educate you about your options.