FAQ

WHY DOES MUSCLE STIFFNESS OCCUR?

When muscles are overused, blood vessels strain and stop the circulation of blood supply. This causes a lack of nutrition, which makes the muscle lose its elasticity.

SO HOW DOES MASSAGE HELP?

In general, massage encourages the circulation of blood, which helps relieve stiffness. However, a lot of people may still suffer from stiffness after a massage as muscles remain tight. To relieve the muscle tightness long term, we at Zen aim the pressure at a certain 'hot spot'. To give you a deeper understanding of the 'hot-spot', allow me to elaborate – tendon, not muscle, attaches to bone. Just imagine two different objects - one is right, the other is left, and the middle is a mixture of both. If you pull the end of the objects apart, most likely the part which will be broken is the middle as it is not consistent. In terms of muscle and tendon, this middle part is the weakest point and so of course more pain receptors exist there. Thus when you push the point, you feel a sting, causing your muscle to send a signal to your brain - "the weakest point is being pushed and if this continues it will be torn!!”. Your brain will then send a message back to your muscle so it can endure the pressure, which is what we utilize in our massage technique. That is why we are so effective.

BUT MASSAGE IS TOO PAINFUL!

When you aren't accustomed to pressure, a massage could indeed be painful as muscles recoil and tighten to protect your body from outer stimulation. However, at Zen, our motto is not to put sudden pressure on, but instead to slowly sink in to the muscles. This will allow for your body to accustom to the massage.

I SOMETIMES FEEL TIRED AND DULL AFTER HAVING A MASSAGE. WHY IS THAT SO?

This can happen one of two ways. One occurs from muscle pain caused in reaction to excess massaging. This can last for as long as two to three weeks while your body fixes and strengthens your damaged muscle fibers. The other way is what's called 'healing crisis', which lasts about two to three days. To elaborate - when tight muscles are released suddenly, they try to return back to their tight state as they consider that to be 'normal'. That is what's making you to feel tired and dull, but it's actually a good response. Rest assured, you will feel your body lighter a few days later.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I HAVE A MASSAGE?

The reality is, some people can remove their stiffness through infrequent massaging whilst others require long term, frequent massaging. It really depends upon the individual's body and condition. That in mind, we find it best to gauge the individual's body response and advise the regularity of massages from there. However, in posture and pelvic adjustment, normally you should get a massage once a week at the beginning as your body is inclined to return to it's conditions before the adjustment. In later stages, though, the intervals between massages will decrease.

I FEEL TINGLING/NUMBNESS ON THE BACK OF MY LEG.

This is often a case of a specific muscle in the backside pinching the nerve, causing numbness in the legs. To fix this ailment, we will focus the massage on your backside area, which will relieve the muscle tightness pinching the nerve.

Contrary to popular belief, lower back pain is often caused by tiny deep muscles, not the main muscle of the back. Due to that, many massage therapists focus on the back and apply pressure from the top. But that's the incorrect method as you can't reach the tiny deep muscles causing the pain. At Zen, we use the correct method, which is applying the pressure from the side. This will help alleviate any lower back pain.

This can happen one of two ways. One occurs from muscle pain caused in reaction to excess massaging. This can last for as long as two to three weeks while your body fixes and strengthens your damaged muscle fibers. The other way is what's called 'healing crisis', which lasts about two to three days. To elaborate - when tight muscles are released suddenly, they try to return back to their tight state as they consider that to be 'normal'. That is what's making you to feel tired and dull, but it's actually a good response. Rest assured, you will feel your body lighter a few days later.

The reality is, some people can remove their stiffness through infrequent massaging whilst others require long term, frequent massaging. It really depends upon the individual's body and condition. That in mind, we find it best to gauge the individual's body response and advise the regularity of massages from there. However, in posture and pelvic adjustment, normally you should get a massage once a week at the beginning as your body is inclined to return to it's conditions before the adjustment. In later stages, though, the intervals between massages will decrease.

This is a very common case due to the importance of computers. To fix the neck and shoulder stiffness, we recommend two stages. Firstly - and this is the part that most massage spas neglect – you require massaging at the front of your neck and shoulders to release the tension of shortened front neck muscles, which strain due to the centre of gravity of your head and 'forward position' utilized when operating a computer. Secondly, after that front tension is released, we recommend massaging the back of your neck and shoulder muscles, which strain due to having to prevent your head from falling forward when operating a computer. With that front/back massaging combination, we are confident that your computer related muscle strain will be released.

Nerves to your arm, hands and fingers have a number of 'tunnels' which consist of muscles, bones and other tissues. If one or some of the 'tunnels' narrow through muscle tightness or swallowing, you'll get a tingling or paralyzing sensation. If this occurs, you need the muscles relaxed by way of massage therapy. Thankfully our experienced massage therapists know where the tunnels are and which muscles are involved to help relieve the tingling/paralyzing sensation.

A large number of customers complain about dullness and heaviness in the calves. To fix this, we recommend reflexology in addition to a calf massage. This is for two reasons. Firstly, because most calf muscles extend to the feet. Secondly, because reflexology can help reach the deeper muscles in the calf area hidden behind the dominant surface muscles. Also, some calf muscles can easily stick to the shin bone. As such, we recommend them to be gently torn off the bone through massage as this condition can dull your calf muscle movement. Please note, this treatment may cause you a little pain, but we guarantee your legs will feel much lighter afterward.

You should not have a massage during 1st trimester (0 to thirteen weeks), but there should be no problem in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. However, there are a few trigger points that can lead to a risk of miscarriage. But rest assured, our experienced massage therapists know where not to push and for matters of safety and comfort, have the necessary skills to massage customers lying on the side. If you're pregnant and desire a massage, please tell us how many months your baby is and we can advise from there.

It may sound strange, but we've come across a few cases of this happening. To help the matter, don't chill your eyes when you're tired. Instead, warm up your eyes. After that, if your eye tiredness is gone but the stiffness in your neck and shoulder remains, come in to Zen and we will release the neck & shoulder tension for you.

This symptom is common amongst football players. To help, we recommend a massage of the front side of the thigh muscle, which can tighten easily through sports.

Tennis elbow happens when use of the shoulder/wrist is poor. That in mind, we recommend looking at massaging the whole arm when treating tennis elbow, not just the actual elbow itself.

Swelling is caused by long-time sitting/standing, lack of exercise/sleeping, diet and alcohol. And yes, massage can help reduce swelling. This can be done three ways - via trigger points, which can create better circulation; by lymph drainage technique, which can drain excessive water into lymph nodes; and by pelvic adjustment, which can correct the balance of your body reducing too much burden on one calf.

You could look for a new girlfriend! If that's not possible, you could try aromatherapy which alters your mood, mind and cognitive function.

WHY ARE YOUR ROOMS SMALL?

Our rooms are set up small for good reason as they countermeasure the size of our lightweight massage therapists so that they can rebound/recoil/push against the wall. That way, even the tiniest of therapists can apply firm pressure when needed, resulting in a better massage for you. 

DO YOU CARE FOR SANITIZATION?

Yes, in the name of sanitization and good hygiene, we always use fresh, clean towels for each massage. Proof of this is the whiteness of the towels on display in each room.