5 Cold, Hard Facts About Cold Stone Massages

Do you prefer hot or cold things? Throughout our everyday lives, we have several options that involve hot and cold varieties of things. There is hot tea and iced tea. There is a hot compress and a cold compress. There is even piping-hot pizza and chilled-from-the-night-before leftover pizza. When selecting between hot and cold varieties of things, it is important to consider the situation. Iced coffee is certainly more refreshing on those summer days when a thermometer's mercury climbs towards its apex. Similarly, here are some facts to consider regarding cold stone massages:

1. Cold stone massages provide more options
Obtaining a massage kit can simply provide therapists with more services. For instance, some patients may simply prefer the feel of cold stones against their bodies, as compared to heated stones.

2. Cold stone massages are sometimes medically preferable
In some cases, a patient should undergo a cold stone massage, rather than a hot stone massage. That includes cases in which the patient's muscles are sore, or the muscle tissue has become damaged. In both cases, the heat from the heated basalt stone could further aggravate the soreness or damage, and increase the pain that the patient feels.

3. Marble stones are outstanding for reducing swelling
People acquire muscle swelling through a variety of activities, which could be related to work, sports, or everyday accidents. Muscle swelling is one of the conditions for which hot stone massages should never be an option. In fact, the heat could indeed worsen the swelling and the subsequent pain that the patient feels. Marble, on the other hand, helps to spread the swelling throughout the circulatory system of the patient. It serves as a means for reducing the swelling and quickening the healing process.

4. Cold stone massages can help to revitalize body parts
Cold stone massages can help to rejuvenate patients. Some applications include:

o Reducing puffy eyes
o Relieving tired eyes
o Lowering sinus pressure

It is important to place a protective cloth underneath the stone, before placing cold stones atop a client's face.

5. Marble stones retain coldness well
Basalt is the most common type of stone that therapists use to give hot stone massages. Basalt stones are ideal, as they have smooth surfaces and retain heat very well. When giving a hot stone massage, the basalt stones remain on the patient for roughly 20 minutes. Thus, the more effective the stone is at retaining heat, the more effective the massage will be.

However, in the case of cold stone massages, marble is the most popular stone of choice. What is so special about marble? Marble retains coldness as well as basalt retains warmth. Thus, the substance is perfect for treating patients with sore or damaged muscles.

Hot stone massages are effective, but they are not for everyone. When patients have sore muscles or injured muscles, or simply dislike the sensation of heated stones-consider a cold stone massage. While "a rolling stone gather no moss," a cold stone can gather adoration from your massage patients.