SERVICES
MetaTouch caters to the individual. Our services are designed to help everyone from the weekend warrior with a sports injury, to the workaholic in desperate need of some relaxation.
Acupuncture/Acupressure
Acupuncture, an ancient study that has been practiced for thousands of years and originated in China, uses a method of inserting extremely thin needles into strategic points (acupuncture points) in the body. Acupressure, also an ancient healing art, uses the fingers to press key points on the surface of the skin to stimulate the body’s natural self-curative abilities. Acupuncture and acupressure use the same points, but acupuncture employs needles, while acupressure uses the gentle but firm pressure of hands (and even feet).
According to traditional Chinese theory, these practices balance the flow of energy or life force (chi) believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles or pressure to specific points along these meridians, your energy flow will re-balance. The Western view is that the points serve as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue, which appears to boost the activity of the body’s natural painkillers and increases blood flow.
In acupuncture and acupressure, local symptoms are considered an expression of the condition of the body as a whole, and the focus is on relieving pain and discomfort as well as on responding to tension before it does further damage.
The MetaTouch 4-Stage Therapeutic Massage
The MetaTouch treatment philosophy addresses the root cause of physical and medical problems, treating the body as a whole instead of individual parts, through a signature four-stage treatment process.
- Stage One: The Interview – In this first visit, the MetaTouch therapist will take a history and evaluate five main factors that help determine the root cause of the problem – gait, range of motion, posture, physical status, and emotional condition. Once the problem’s origins are determined, treatment will begin to lessen or eliminate pain as quickly as possible.
- Stage Two: Pain Control – During this treatment, an evaluation is done to see what parts of the prior session were effective and how the body is adapting to the change. With this knowledge the therapist can then adapt their treatment to address the new information while removing any lingering pain and working on the core issues.
- Stage Three: The Core – By focusing almost completely on the core issue, this allows change to occur in the body, breaking down bad patterns and moving toward a more stable, strong and pain-free body. Specialized exercises are recommended to act as the “glue” that keeps the body in balance.
- Stage Four: Clean Up – In this last treatment, the therapist again evaluates the client’s condition and checks for changes that occurred since the initial treatment. Any hot spots that remain are addressed and exercise modifications are given. Further treatments are given on an as needed basis or as maintenance to keep the body working at peak performance.
Personalized therapeutic treatment plans are created for each client, and often combine traditional massage, like deep tissue and Swedish, with alternative treatments such as acupuncture and craniosacral therapy.
Sports Specific Therapy
Sports-specific massage can help athletes prepare their bodies for optimal performance, recover after a big event, or function well during training, and sports massage emphasizes prevention and healing of injuries to the muscles and tendons. By stimulating circulation of blood and lymph fluids, as well as using trigger point therapy to break down knots in the muscles, sports massage can heal and increase range of motion.
Whether it’s pre-event, post-event, restorative, or rehabilitative sports massage, MetaTouch customizes each therapeutic evaluation and designs a treatment program using manual therapy techniques and individualized exercise programs to help athletes perform at their full potential.
MetaTouch has worked with the USC football, basketball, swimming, and volleyball teams, as well as members of the Italian Olympic volleyball team.
Corporate On-Site Massage
n the workplace, MetaTouch can do more for employees than offer relaxation and a sign-on perk –treatments can improve health, morale and overall productivity, as well as help prevent and treat the beginning stages of Carpal-Tunnel syndrome, low back pain, sciatica, neck pain, and many other work-related conditions that can lead to lost days at work if not treated or prevented. MetaTouch offers on-site ergonomics consultations, stress management training, self-massage and nutritional education, yoga breathing, stretching exercises, and more, and is a favorite among companies and office settings in Southern California, such as AT&T, KIA Motors, Shopzilla.com, and Culver City High School.
MetaTouch has been working within the entertainment industry since its inception, and in addition to Sony and Paramount, have provided their services – a massage at the end of the day to incentivize staffers or a weekly treatment for an injured star – to commercial production companies such as Mad Films, Epoch, Zoic, and MJZ, as well as to individual motion pictures, daily television, and pre and post production houses.
In addition, MetaTouch offers Convention Massage services. MetaTouch can help increase exposure to your business and traffic to your booth, as well as upping the time people spend at your booth from seconds to minutes. MetaTouch can also set up our own massage booth and provide seated massages to all of the event’s patrons, and can cater to crowds ranging from 100 to 10,000.
Pregnancy Massage
Carrying a baby inside you changes your center of gravity and puts a lot of stress on the back, neck, abdominal muscles, and shoulders, as well as relaxing your ligaments and making pelvic joints less stable. And the extra weight often causes an aching lower back.
Prenatal massage shares many of the goals of regular massage — to relax tense muscles, ease sore spots, improve circulation and mobility, and just raise your overall mood. Our trained therapists can assist through every stage of pregnancy, beginning with basic stress relief massage or to relieve low back pain and headaches, or to treat more serious conditions such as sciatica, numbness in the hands, or swelling of the extremities.
Throughout the entire pregnancy, the MetaTouch specially-designed tables allow women to comfortably position themselves face down during their massage.
CranioSacral Therapy
Craniosacral therapy involves the manipulation of the skull bones (the cranium) and the sacrum (a bone between the lumbar vertebrae and tail vertebrae) to relieve pain and a variety of other ailments. Invented by William G. Sutherland in the 1930s, this therapy emphasizes energy, harmony, balance, rhythm and flow.
Craniosacral therapists detect a “rhythm” in the cranium, sacrum, cerebrospinal fluid, and the membranes that envelop the craniosacral system. By restoring the balance and flow of this rhythm, the restrictions of nerve passages are eased, the movement of cerebrospinal fluid through the spinal cord is optimized, and misaligned bones can be restored to their proper position.
Craniosacral therapists use the therapy to treat mental stress, neck and back pain, migraines, TMJ Syndrome, and for chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia.
Myofacial Release
Fascia, a continuous covering on every muscle, bone, nerve, artery, and vein, as well as all internal organs, that connects each part of the body, can become restricted by trauma, inflammatory responses, and/or surgical procedures, and can produce intense pressure and pain.
Myofascial Release is a form of soft tissue therapy that involves applying gentle, sustained pressure into the Myofascial connective tissue restrictions to eliminate pain and restore motion.
The gentle pressure applied slowly helps relax contracted muscles, increasing circulation and venous and lymphatic drainage, and stimulates the stretch reflex of muscles and overlying fascia.
Tuina (Tui Na)
Originating in China more than 2,000 years ago, Tuina is a bodywork therapy that seeks to establish a more harmonious flow of chi through pathways (meridians) in the body.
Tuina methods include the use of hand techniques to massage the soft tissue (muscles and tendons) of the body, such as rolling, one-finger pushing, and energy generation exercises, as well as acupressure techniques to directly affect the flow of chi, and manipulation techniques to realign the musculoskeletal and ligamentous relationships (bone-setting). External herbal poultices, compresses, liniments, and salves are also often used to enhance the other therapeutic methods.
Children Massages
Children suffer from pain similar to adults. With a gentle touch and our therapists’ knowledge of the body, children too can find relief from aches and pains due to sports or everyday activities.
All our treatments with children are done with parental supervision.
