Equine Bodywork

Every session with Inline equine is tailored to your horse and their individual needs.

From supporting the performance athlete to rehabilitating your best friend so they can regain their full range of motion, treatments draw from a variety of modalities to get your horse back on track.

 

What is Equine Bodywork?

Equine body work consists of static and dynamic observations and palpations to identify abnormalities, a full body massage to relax the muscles but also feel for any areas of tension, checking trigger and stress points along the way. A session is concluded with a series of joint mobility and stretching exercises to improve range of motion and lengthen muscles.

Regular body work sessions assist to maintain healthy muscles and tissues to ensure your equine partner is performing at his optimum. Body work can also be beneficial in early detection of issues to catch them before they become a big issue and also for rehabilitate work to ensure your equine gets back on track as soon as possible.

Massage

Equine massage uses the hands, fingers and arms of the body worker. During the massage, the soft tissue is manipulated with the goal of loosening tight muscles, joints, tendons, scar tissue and edema; increasing blood flow and lymphatic activity; and reducing stress. Equine massage is used in exercise warm-up and post-injury or surgery rehabilitation.

Equine massage is beneficial for:

  • Reducing or eliminating pain
  • Improving joint mobility
  • Improving circulation
  • Improving immune system functioning
  • Increasing lymphatic drainage
  • Reducing depression and anxiety
  • Reducing tension within muscles
  • Increasing body awareness

Each body work consultation begins with a full body massage checking insertion termination and trigger points of muscle groups.

Myofascial release

Fascia is the soft tissue component of the connective tissue that provides support and protection for most structures within the body, including muscle. Osteopathic theory proposes that this soft tissue can become restricted due overuse, trauma, infectious agents, or inactivity, often resulting in pain, muscle tension, and corresponding diminished blood flow. Although fascia and its corresponding muscle are the main targets of myofascial release, other tissue may be addressed as well, including other connective tissue.

Myofascial release engages the myofascial tissue “restrictive barrier” (tension). The tissue is loaded with a constant gentle pressre until release occurs. Body workers use their hands to slowly stretch the restricted fascia by applying gentle pressure. Myofascial release is an attempt to bring about changes in the myofascial structures by stretching or elongation of fascia, or mobilizing adhesive tissues.

Myofascial release techniques are practices throughout the massage as required.

Photonic Red Light

Photonic therapy is an advanced form of traditional complementary medicine using light to stimulate recognised acupuncture points. No needles are used.   Photonic Therapy involves safe, low frequency red light (not laser) which supports the healing of conditions and injuries in people and animals. The wound bank is also applied directly to wounds and injury sites to aid healing.

Red light may be applied in any area of the massage where it may be beneficial

Stretching regimes

Stretching is the deliberate lengthening of muscles in order to increase muscle flexibility and joint range of motion. Stretching activities are an important part of any exercise or rehabilitation program. They help warm the body up prior to activity thus decreasing the risk of injury as well as muscle soreness.

The benefits of stretching are many and have been proven through various studies over time. Stretching benefits people of all ages, and is intended for the young as well as the elderly population.

The benefits of stretching include:

  • Increased flexibility and joint range of motion
  • Improved circulation
  • Better posture
  • Stress relief
  • Enhanced coordination

 

Joint Mobility

By engaging every joint in your horses body correctly you drastically decrease the chance of injury. With full joint mobility, there is very little of the “out of position” awkwardness that’s at the heart of many injuries. Too often, injuries occur because sudden incorrect movement due to lack of joint mobility.

 

Equissage

The Equissage back pad and hand units run on Cycloidal Vibration Technology (CVT). This is a non-invasive mechanical massage therapy that employs a specialized motor to generate non-percussive vibrations at its surface in three orthogonal directions. This type of three-dimensional (3D)cycloidal vibration (CV) has been shown to increase blood circulation and lymphatic drainage by stimulating deep muscle activity and is used to

Conventional massage products typically operate in a singular plane, either delivering percussive impacts, or orbital oscillations. The standard vibrations produced are high amplitude, high acceleration and have a high fundamental frequency that can damage tissues, especially during wound healing. Conversely, Cycloidal Vibration Technology is faster at relaxing muscles by virtue of the extra dimensions of action, has deeper penetration, promotes wound healing and has no known side effects.

The use of Equissage assist the following:

  • Muscular-skeletal range of motion and suppleness
  • Blood Circulation
  • Lymphatic Circulation
  • Respiratory System
  • Wound Healing

An Equissage treatment takes approximately 30 minutes and is available upon request.

Like more information, or to make a booking? Contact Naomi today!