I went for my first-ever massage at Resolution and it was somewhere between A-OK and Yay! Rounding up because I probably didn't express clearly enough my needs since I didn't quite know what to expect.
GOOD:
+ A very nice, welcoming therapist
+ A warm, cozy space you wouldn't expect with its utilitarian office location
+ Consultation and dressing doesn't count toward your massage time
+ Music was not too ridiculously new agey
+ I did feel a good bit of relief for the problem I came in with
+ Good signage to get me to the office once inside the building
+ Online booking
NEUTRAL
+/- The bathroom is a little bizarre but it was clean - lock the main door behind you
+/- The confirmation email told me to check in with the secretary on the first floor after parking to let them know you were in a visitor spot but you enter a small, empty lobby and then head downstairs to Resolution - I'm not sure if I was supposed to wander further into the building first but I just shrugged it off and hoped to come out to a ticket-free car (I did)
COULD IMPROVE
- I probably should have started getting massages years ago for how messed up my back is, but it's not the most affordable treatment as it's not covered by my insurance. In any case, I came in with a huge knot in my shoulder that was causing a significant amount of pain, loss of motion, and headaches for weeks. When I did my intake I let my therapist know what was going on and confirmed I had scheduled a therapeutic massage.
The therapist did massage from head to toe, which was nice and relaxing, but she didn't concentrate on my problem area until the last 5-10 minutes of the massage (it felt like two or three minutes, but massage time flies by so it's hard to say exactly how long it was). She seemed surprised at the size and stubbornness of the knot, commenting along the lines of "oh wow, you ARE really tight there!" Yep!
She did make some headway and I could feel relief. It did take about three or four more days for the knot to completely loosen, though.
I was also disappointed that while she hit a lot of very tender and painful points at the beginning (running down each side of my spine, running along the outside of my legs from hip to ankle) none of these spots were concentrated on. I had expressed that I have a lot of knots in back but none of them were touched, save the shoulder I had complained more specifically about. My lower back (where I have ropy bands of muscle) was never touched.
Overall I felt like I had received a relaxation massage - it was pleasant and calming but for $85 with tip for one hour I was hoping for more.
I have since tried another massage facility (I had another horrible knot crop up about a week later on the other side that didn't allow me to turn my head and was causing spasms that would jerk my head - pretty cool!). When I went in there I was better about saying "here's what's bothering me, I understand things are connected and you won't spend all your time there, but you can skip the nice hand massage, legs, etc. unless you think it will help relieve the problem." I ended up getting about 25 minutes of the massage devoted to fully working out the knot, and the rest was concentrated on connected muscles. For me, it was a more fulfilling experience.
I may return to Resolution because it's in my neighborhood, but this time I'll have to be more vocal about my needs. My therapist didn't make any recommendations about what type of treatment would be most beneficial upon return (they recommend scheduling a therapeutic massage your first time to get a sense of what you would benefit from) but maybe I can call next time to chat with someone before scheduling. read more