Short-Term Care, Long-Term Solutions by Dreyson Smith LMT, M1, BT-C
Welcome friends! My name is Dreyson Smith and this is my mobile massage service! I have a very clinical background in massage as well as a long history of strength and conditioning and rehab, but I have experience in a spa setting as well. I consider myself well-rounded and able to meet the needs of the vast majority.
My interest in massage therapy sparked from my desire to maintain an injury-free powerlifting career. Indiana
State University is the only college in the country that teaches
Muskuloskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT), a form of structural
integration that works on organizing the body's fascia (which encases
everything: muscles, bones, organs, etc...) so that patients can move
more freely with less effort.
MAT looks like
assisted yoga with a lot of movement and stretching. This deep
stretching coupled with mild muscle contractions against resistance along with
facilitated breathing is actually the best way to break up tension and
even trigger points! Manhandling a trigger point with deep concentrated
pressure causes micro-trauma to the fibers and breaks them down. However, if
the patient cannot/does not move through the entire muscle's range of
motion to realign the fibers, that little adhesion can return to exactly
how it was or even worse!
MAT was the foundation of my teachings, but I also received training and certificates in several other forms of modalities:
- Swedish - lotion based massage that flows, light to moderate pressure, stress and tension relief
- Trigger Point Release - only used for TP's that have radiating pain
- Kinesio-Taping - the final task of every session, an extremely adhesive tape that decompresses the skin and superficial fascia away from the deep fascia = more blood flow and faster recovery
- Blood Flow Restriction Therapy - thick, elastic band used to compress a joint or muscle along with manipulation can "unstick" the area and allow tissues to slide more fluidly = more mobility, less pain
- IASTM - Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization uses some sort of tool to create a more effective active release therapy such as pin-and-stretch, Graston, or Body Tempering to increase mobility, decrease tension, and reduce pain
- Body Tempering
- heavy weighted rollers used to "knead" the body's dysfunctions from
trigger points to nerve entrapments to fascial restrictions (one of three certified practitioners in Colorado)
- Graston
- a technique called scraping that uses light to moderate pressure with
a beveled edge tool to align fascial fibers, which can greatly reduce
pain and soreness in joints and muscles
- Percussion Therapy
- a handheld device that creates relaxing vibrations to the muscles to
stimulate blood flow, increase range of motion, and enhance performance
- Deep Tissue - lotion-based massage that goes to your desired level of pressure from firm to VERY deep
- Myofascial Release
- a slow, lotion-based massage that involves a lot of pushing in two
different directions that stretch the muscles, connective tissues, and
joints for ultimate tension release
- Cupping
- silicon cups using negative pressure to pull, lift, open and expand
the body’s soft tissues through blood flow. Its main use is to speed up
recovery and stop achy muscles
- Sports Massage - a faster paced massage to increase blood flow to achy muscles along with facilitated stretching to make sure all the joints have proper ranges of motion
Some of these techniques can encompass an entire session, but I use the above techniques because
their treatment times are fast and can be implemented into a regular
massage/manual therapy session. I have every single thing I need to run as
an independent contractor. Indiana State provided me with a portable
massage table, so you have options of booking a session at my home
(hopefully you're not allergic to my loving, chubby cat, Hamburger) or I
can travel to you with all my equipment so that you can receive
bodywork in your own home!
Even
if you book a "traveling" service, you
do still have the option of receiving services at my home, as well. I am
able to travel with all services aside from body tempering, which must
be performed in my home. Address
will be provided once the appointment is booked. This is a cash only business.
Any appointments outside of my home in Longmont will add a travel fee based upon
miles.
My undeniable level of compassion makes
me different from other therapists. The intention of my work can be
very powerful by focusing on working with the client versus on the
client. Working at a slower pace maximizes palpating dysfunctions in
the body for a better treatment plan. It cooperates with the body's
natural physiology for releasing tension with firm to deep pressure. The
basic rule of thumb is the more pressure, the slower the pace. If deep
tissue was performed at a faster pace, the body would recognize it as
trauma and send out pain signals. This does far more harm than good and,
sadly, is something I see with many therapists who are very heavy with
trigger point therapy. Each session also ends with some Kinesio-tape
which can stay on for 2-7 days post session and BioFreeze for aches and
pain, free of charge.