ABOUT MICHAEL

Michael Croes formed Crow’s Massage in 2013 to help with sports injuries, pre/post natal care, muscular and joint dysfunction, and life’s general stress.

Drawing on over a decade of teaching and practicing massage, Michael believes in approaching massage in a different way: treating clients’ specific therapeutic needs while building holistic treatment plans.

Before forming Crow’s Massage, Michael was the program director at the Institute for Therapeutic Massage. There, Michael wrote curricula for the oncology and massage programs, oversaw Eastern Massage, and lectured on Chinese medicine and Shiatsu. Michael has been a guest lecturer and educator at Rutgers.

Michael received his certifications from the Shiatsu Clinic & School (Shiatsu and Chinese medicine focus) and The Institute for Therapeutic Massage (a focus on anatomy and pathology). Since 2007, Michael has been licensed and practicing in New York.

MASSAGE FOR ATHLETES

The primary focus for athletes is to increase recovery and speed up restoration using Chinese medicine and Shiatsu massage techniques.  I teach recovery exercises and develop a treatment plan specific to each athlete’s sport. Treatment plans are designed to improve performance and increase endurance with a focus on safely leading to recovery.

  • Increase Recovery

  • Recovery Exercises

  • Treatment Plan

MASSAGE TECHNIQUES

Cupping – The use of glass or silicone cups to create suction on the skin over specific areas of pain, tension or stiffness. Cupping increases blood flow to the area and allows for excess fluid to drain in cases of swelling. Cupping does leave small circular bruising on the skin for about a week, but it is relatively painless.

Gua Sha (scrapping) – The use of bone or ceramic tools to rub the surface of the skin to increase blood flow to the area and break up connective tissue, blood stagnation or restrictions in movement. There is slight bruising after the treatment that usually goes away in about a week.

CONTINUING EDUCATION CLASSES

Crow’s Massage is partnering with Troy City Acupuncture under the name Okina Kawa to offer classes for continuing education for current massage therapists.

The goals of the Okina Kawa Continuing Education Program are for competent massage therapists to remain up-to-date on changes in the field of massage and with a regard to medical treatments for injury and healing. We feel that every therapist should follow these basic principles:

  • All therapists should engage in lifelong learning.

  • Continuing education must be effective and flexible to meet therapists’ needs.

  • Continuing education should offer useful skills to enhance students practice yet be priced at a competitive rate to make education available to all therapists.

  • Continuing education should advance the field of massage therapy as a whole.

  • Continuing education must be current and reflect changes in the field.