Pediatric Massage
Boise, ID
Massage therapy for healthy development in growing kids and teens
Pediatric Massage with Gwen
30 Minutes: $60
45 Minutes: $90
Yes, kids can benefit from getting a massage, too! Pediatric massage can help with common childhood issues like growing pains and sports injuries. It can also help promote healthy digestion, improve sleep and immune function, and decrease anxiety, among other benefits.
Children today carry a remarkable amount of stress in their bodies and spend more time sitting in front of screens than ever before. We see many kids today complaining of neck and back pain, headaches, and even things like trigger finger. Massage can help address these specific issues, while also hopefully giving kids holistic tools, like breathing and stretches, to deal with stress and physical discomfort. Our goal is to encourage natural pain relief and a healthy lifestyle.
For children under 14, sessions will generally be 30-45 minutes and a parent or guardian will be present in the room during treatment. For kids 14 and older, we recommend a regular 60-minute therapeutic massage session. For young children under five, they will often come in with their parent while the parent gets a massage and then get a 15-minute session of their own afterward. Please ask us about these options!
Children's Unique Developmental Needs
Children are not simply “mini adults.” Their bones, muscles, connective tissue, brains, and nervous systems are all still developing and not fully mature. Their bones and connective tissue tend to be softer and more malleable, which means that children are both more prone to certain injuries, like joint dislocations, and also can recover more easily from most injuries than adults.
Their spinal cords are more compressed than an adult spinal cord, meaning they have the same number of nerves packed into a sometimes much smaller amount of space. This is why children are often more sensitive to their surroundings and sensory inputs than adults; the nerve signals literally have a shorter distance to travel and those signals can sometimes become mixed up or misinterpreted because the nerves may be so close together. Children’s nervous systems also tend to not yet be fully regulated or may go through periods of dis-regulation as they grow and develop. Things like massage, breathing exercises, and meditation can help to regulate children’s developing nervous systems.
The bones, brain, and nervous system are actually still developing until the age of 25 in most people, especially women. In the medical field, young adults under age 25 will often still be treated under the umbrella of pediatrics. In the field of massage, it bears noting that young adults can still be more sensitive to heat, sound, touch, and pressure than older adults and also that their tastes and preferences may still be evolving.
Benefits of Pediatric Massage
Pediatric massage can help prevent chronic musculoskeletal/postural issues by addressing tension patterns and fascial restrictions early on. Massage helps alleviate muscle pain and tension, improves joint mobility and muscle tone, and promotes deep relaxation. It can also help improve digestive function, sleep patterns, respiratory function, circulation, and immune function.
Massage has been shown to have numerous emotional, psychological, and behavioral benefits for children, as well. It can reduce anxiety, insomnia, and depression. It can improve focus and attention span, as well as long-range emotional and cognitive development. It can also help reduce touch hypersensitivity.
Healthy, therapeutic touch in the form of massage therapy can help children to release tension and feel more comfortable and at-home in their bodies. It can lead to an increased sense of healthy boundaries and ability to apply self-care, improved body image and self-esteem, increased body awareness, and a better ability to communicate how they or their body are feeling.
Lymph Drainage Therapy is also great for kids and can help with things like allergies, skin irritations, headaches, frequent colds or sinus infections, and digestive issues.