To make an appointment with Melissa Cathcart, L.Ac. call 612.735.9993

Manual Therapies & Manual Lymph Drainage

Manual Lymph Drainage

This is the most studied manual therapy in history. Manual Lymph Drainage is well validated and used in hospitals and physical therapy clinics around the world for such conditions as scar tissue management, wound healing, swelling, detox, lipodema, as well as post-surgical, post-chemo, and post-radiation rehabilitation. It’s a very gentle, rhythmic stretching of the skin that improves lymph flow and superficial blood circulation, providing deep relaxation and a boost to your immune system.

Melissa is certified in the Vodder Method of Manual Lymph Drainage (2020).

Dynamic Body Balancing

Dynamic Body Balancing is a very gentle, rhythmic system of bodywork that combines cranio-sacral and myo-fascial therapies. It involves passive movement, tapping into your body’s internal physiological rhythms, in order to unwind the tension and trauma in the body. Patients experience a deep relaxation, resetting and balancing their nervous systems. While focusing mostly on the cranium and sacrum, it may be used to address the whole body’s structural relationships and emotions. This is truly powerful work.

Melissa is certified in Dynamic Body Balancing (2006).

Visceral Manipulation

Visceral Manipulation evaluates and treats the dynamics of motion and suspension in relation to organs, membranes, fascia, and ligaments and increases the body’s awareness between structures thereby relieving symptoms of pain and dysfunction.

Strains in the connective tissue of the viscera can result from surgical scars, adhesions, illness, posture, or injury. Tension patterns form through the fascial network deep within the body, creating a cascade of effects far from their sources, for which the body will have to compensate. This creates fixed, abnormal points of tension that the body must move around, and this chronic irritation gives way to functional and structural problems.

Visceral Manipulation is used to locate and solve these problems throughout the body, including musculoskeletal, vascular, nervous, urogenital, respiratory, digestive, and lymphatic dysfunction. It encourages your own natural mechanisms to improve the functioning of your organs, dissipate the negative effects of stress, enhance mobility of the musculoskeletal system through the connective tissue attachments, and influence general metabolism.

Melissa has completed six levels of Visceral Manipulation (2003-2016).

Chi Nei Tsang Abdominal Massage

Chi Nei Tsang is a Chinese phrase for an internal organ Chi massage which helps release stress and promotes healing by using massage techniques directly over the navel and surrounding abdominal area. It is essential to keep the “second brain”—where stress, tension, and negative emotions accumulate and congest—in optimal condition in order to even out hormone levels and optimize digestion.

The ancient Taoists realized that negative emotions cause serious damage to one’s health, impairing physical, emotional, and spiritual functions. They developed the art of Chi Nei Tsang to transform negative energies that obstruct the internal organs and to clear the toxins, bad emotions, and heat that cause the organs to malfunction.

Melissa certified in Chi Nei Tsang Abdominal Massage, Qi-Gong meditation, and Tao Yin with GrandMaster Mantak Chia of Tao Garden (2008) after more than two years of study with a local teacher.

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF)/

Muscle Energy Technique (MET)/Active Isolated Stretching

These are all variants on a theme of stretching techniques that improve musculoskeletal and joint function and relieves pain. Most known for use in sports medicine, these techniques are important in injury rehab as well as physical therapy.

Melissa took a 15-week course at CenterPoint Massage & Shiatsu Therapy School (2019) after years of working with these techniques.

Fascial Movement Taping

Kinesiology taping works to enhance the effects of manual therapies by allowing greater lymph flow under the tape through a physical/mechanical lift of the skin at the site of injury and through a greater neurological awareness of the area under and around the tape. It uses the neurological system to obtain greater advantage in healing.

Melissa is certified in Fascial Movement Taping I and II (2015).

Other Trainings

Melissa is certified in Prenatal Massage (Kate Jordan, 2008) and as an Infant Massage Trainer (International Association of Infant Massage, 2006).

Trainings include: Dr. Perry Nicholson’s “Stop Chasing Pain” program; Nancy Keenan Smith’s scar tissue management (2018); Douglas Nelson’s Precision Neural Mobilization (2015); and Reginald Prince’s Motivational Interviewing (2010-2014).

Having developed an original curriculum, Melissa taught “Food As Medicine”, a core curriculum class for the Integrative Health and Healing Program at Anoka Ramsey Community College in spring semesters 2011 and 2012.

Melissa taught “Bladder and Pelvic Floor Health”, a pre-conference workshop, at the Midwives’ Alliance of North America National Conference  Oct. 2009  in Monterey, CA. She has also taught continuing education classes on Chi Nei Tsang Abdominal Massage and Bladder and Pelvic Floor Health for Practitioners to massage therapists, acupuncturists, midwives, and doulas.