Your Therapy Session Options
Before each massage therapy session, Dr. Hudgins will ask you about your aches and pains and how your current self-care plan is progressing. This 10-minute inquiry is very important because it provides the initial feedback that Dr. Hudgins needs to proceed with your therapy session. Expect another 10-minutes of inquiry after the therapy session to discuss the muscle issues you noticed during the session, so your observations can be compared with those made by Dr. Hudgins. These pre-session and post-session discussions, along with notes taken on previous sessions, allow you and Dr. Hudgins to evaluate how the therapy is progressing, so the therapy plan can be adjusted if necessary. This approach is part of his "evidence based" approach to therapy.
The notes taken during these discussions and your therapy sessions form the database for the scientific approach to Dr. Hudgins' massage therapy work. These notes are also the basis for "technical reports" he can write for you upon request. These reports are helpful in sharing your therapy information with a physician, physical therapist, or an insurance company. In general, these reports are requested when a person's therapy is covered by Worker's Compensation, or when a person is about to discuss a health issue with their physician.
Types of Massage Therapy Sessions
Medical/Rehabilitation Massages: Dr. Hudgins has become known in Central Alabama for helping people with a variety of medical issues. These include pediatric scoliosis, stroke rehabilitation, fibromyalgia, MS, arthritis, neuropathy, and post-surgery recovery. Given the particular issues a client presents, a unique variety of techniques are employed during a session to improve a person's health status and mobility.
Sports and Performance-Artist Massages: Dr. Hudgins has had a great deal of success in his work with runners and cyclists, golfers, triathlon contenders, college and professional athletes, and performers (dancers, stage actors, and musicians). His first work in sports massage was in 1999 with the track and field members of the British Olympic Team while they were in training in Tallahassee, FL.
Pregnancy Massages: For various reasons, pre-natal and post-natal massage is normally the purview of female therapists. However, Dr. Hudgins has been very fortunate to work with a variety of expectant mothers who prefer his therapy style. Whether you are experiencing foot pain, low back pain, fluid accumulation in the legs, or just need a relaxing massage...Dr. Hudgins will be honored if you choose him as your therapist during this important time.
Deep-Tissue Massages: Deep tissue massage does not mean "brute force"; it more correctly involves carefully applied, targeted force that is directed at specific muscle areas. Dr. Hudgins only provides these sessions after a client has had a series of progressively deeper sessions. His deep tissue sessions are based on his background in CORE Myofascial work and sports massage.
It may require weeks or months of preparatory sessions before a true deep tissue session can be accomplished without you experiencing unnecessary discomfort or pain. The bodywork known as "structural integration" (by Dr. Ida Rolf) honors how profoundly difficult and painful deep work can be by typically scheduling one deep tissue session every four weeks.
Relaxation Massages and Stillness Therapy: Dr. Hudgins designs these sessions to cause the body's parasympathetic nervous system to activate and create a relaxation response. The desired outcome of a relaxation session is a feeling of well-being, that is, feeling centered and whole. This feeling is accompanied by lower heart rate, reduced blood pressure, and slower breath rate. The hands-on work in these sessions is typically lighter than a normal massage.
