What is the difference between a hot stone and a cold stone massage? What stone is used in this type of massage? Which one is more useful? How often can you use these types of massages? You may have heard the name of stone massage and you are interested in what exactly happens during this massage. Stay with Niloofare Abi to know more about the difference.
What is stone massage?
In stone massage, special stones are used to relieve muscle cramps and reduce deep tensions. This type of massage using cold and hot stones creates many physiological and psychological benefits in the body.
Stone massage is one of the most deeply relaxing massages available. The combination of hot stone massage using basalt stones that have a lot of iron and retain heat for a long time and cold stone massage using marble stones has many benefits for the body.
What is hot stone massage?
A hot stone massage is a type of massage therapy used to help relieve muscle spasms and deeply heal damaged soft tissues throughout the body. This type of massage is done using a hot stone. stones are usually basalt, a type of volcanic rock that retains heat. The heat of the basalt stones penetrates deeper into the tissues than conventional massage therapy, thus allowing for more effective treatment.
A hot stone massage also provides comfort and relaxation to the person receiving the massage. During a hot stone massage, smooth, warm stones are placed on specific parts of your body.
What is cold stone massage?
In cold stone massage using marble stones, it leads to a reduction of inflammation and improvement of the treated area. In this type of massage, the nervous system is stimulated and when used in combination with hot stones, it creates a tangible effect on the body.
This type of massage has an anti-pain effect and causes the release of prostaglandin in the body, which allows deeper work to be done around the problem areas. This type of massage also reduces the amount of histamine in the body, which irritates stressed muscles. As a result, it will lead to more effective treatment by relaxing the muscles.
Benefits of a hot and a cold stone massage
- Helping to treat chronic pain, healing effect
- Reducing stress and anxiety
- Improvement of back pain
- invigorating
- Deep peace
- Help with insomnia
- Improve blood circulation
- Help to dispose of waste materials
- Strengthening the immune system
What happens during a stone massage?
During this type of massage, the stones used can be placed in different parts of the body, such as along the spine, on the stomach, chest, face, palms, etc. The therapist can hold hot stones and massage the body using Swedish massage techniques such as long strokes, circular movements, kneading, etc.
Sometimes cold stones are also used in hot stone massage. Cold stones are used after hot stones to relax swollen blood vessels and soothe the skin.
A hot stone massage vs. a cold stone massage
Massage using cold and hot stones is an advanced therapeutic massage technique that uses the simultaneous applications of the two. This highly popular treatment combines traditional and age-old remedies to deeply relax, rejuvenate and soothe muscles. Cold and hot stones have many advantages over traditional hot stones and conventional massage therapy methods. Hot stone massage provides people with deep relaxation, positivity, balance, and healing.
Meanwhile, the coldness of the stones is both refreshing and soothing. It boosts energy levels and blood circulation. It reduces inflammation and improves range of motion and flexibility by reducing pain. Cold stones relieve pressure and sinus pain.
Combination of hot stone and cold stone massage
Hot and cold stone massages each have their benefits. The combination of these two massages can have many benefits for the body. If you are considering this type of massage, you can use it once or twice a week. It is always our recommendation to have a massage at a reputable massage center.