While the use of Hot Stones in massage therapy is traditionally reserved for cooler months there are some advantages to receiving a Hot Stone massage at any time of the year.
The stones are used while massaging and can be placed in areas of tightness to increase the warmth. This is useful at times when you are too sore or stiff to receive deep tissue work and can also be a more expedient way of warming deep layers of muscle fibres.
The heat from the stones increase blood flow, the vessel such as arteries and vein undergo vasodilation which is the widening of the vessel to accommodate the increased blood, which means more nutrition to the muscles and greater amount of waste removal at the same time. Blood is clever like that!
The effect is that the muscle will lengthen or relax taking away the discomfort you were experiencing and at the same time increases your range of movement. The stones in our studio are heated using hot cabinets or oil heaters.
All of the obvious exclusions exist pertaining to your skin health such as open wounds or rashes etc but there are some unique to the use of heated stones. You should avoid Hot Stones if you have a history of blood clots, as the combination of increased blood circulation, massage and heat may dislodge plaque in the veins or arteries. If you have a bone fracture, severe osteoporosis or diabetes stones should only be used when your Dr has said it is OK.