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Opening Hours - by appointment

Open Massage Appointments this week due to cancelled Massage Convention in Florida!

Our Massage Therapist Larry was scheduled to attend an AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association) conference this week (August 24th-28th). The conference in Florida was cancelled last minute due to COVID and therefore left this week without massage appointments for him. Therefore, Larry would like to extend an offer to all existing and potential massage clients to book and take a 60- or 90 minute massage with him any time between 10AM-3PM at 30% off the list price ($56/60minutes or $84/90minutes massage). This offer is valid for massage bookings Tuesday through Saturday (August 24th-28th, 2021) and reservations need to be made by calling 401-615-2355 or via email (no online bookings available at this time for this special). Our standard cancellation policies apply, not combinable with any other offers.

End of May Special on Personal Training

New and existing clients can enjoy a 10% discount on our 3-month and 6-month contracts when they sign-up between May 24th through May 31st, 2021. Covid has taken such a toll on our mind and body that it is about time to rethink our strategies to become stronger. If a gym membership has not been working for you and you are looking for a more private and individualized solution, please come in and see us. 

We want everybody to be able to benefit from this offer. Even though we are considering to start accepting ‘walk-ins’ toward the end of this month (based on updated COVID guidelines), we encourage new clients to call ahead and possibly make an appointment (can also be booked on-line free of charge). Let’s get back to a somewhat sense of normal and focus again on the wellness of our bodies. We are looking forward to seeing you.

‘Last Minute Massage Deals’

$60 last minute one hour massages with Larry will start week of March 8th. For a limited time Unique Fitness & Massage Therapy will offer weekly specials for people to book limited ‘last minute’ massage appointments with our massage therapist Larry for the upcoming week (Tue-Fri). Available day/time slots for this offer will vary from week to week and be posted on our website weekly on every Sunday for the upcoming week. Details for this offer and weekly updates can be viewed by visiting the following link:

Offer Details

“Certainly One of the Best”

Quoting Stephen Tamborelli from the RI Dept. of Business Regulation as it relates to Covid-19 Compliance of Health Clubs. As Rhode Island opened Phase II of re-opening Rhode Island businesses beginning of June, State Inspectors from the RI Department of Business Regulation have been assigned by the governor to conduct “Compliance Checks” on businesses and Health Clubs based on at least 16 check-points. Unique Fitness & Massage Therapy was inspected un-announced on Friday June 19th and again on September 8th. After a thorough walk-thru and top-to-bottom review of cleaning and sanitizing procedures in place as well as check-in and screening procedures we passed all 16 categories checked. Happy to announce that our business is 100% compliant with RI Covid-19 Regulations.

Our intent is to keep our clients, potential clients (and ourselves) as save as possible and have everybody feel save. We will continue our part.

Open Again as of June 1st

It is with great pleasure to welcome everybody back.

We hope that everybody stayed healthy during the past two months. As we are going forward there will be a number of changes in office policies and client interaction instituted until COVID-19 is hopefully completely a threat of the past. Your well-being is important to us, so we are working diligently to enhance your fitness and massage therapy experience in response to COVID-19. Some of the instituted measures include:

COVID-19 Disclaimer: You will have to sign an informed consent form that states: “I understand that close contact with people increases the risk of infection from COVID-19. By signing this form, I acknowledge that I am aware of the risks involved and give consent to receive Massage Therapy and/or Personal Training and/or participate in semi-private classes.”

Personal Protective Equipment
As of June 1st, 2020, we will begin to distribute sanitizing wipes or gel to clients (as supplies allow) to use during their sessions and will ask everybody entering the building to wear a cloth mask or similar mouth/nose protection . Our Personal Trainers and Massage Therapists will be required to wear face masks during training and massage therapy as of June 1st. until further notice.

Enhanced Cleaning Program
In the weeks ahead, we are expanding our cleaning program by wiping down customer high-touch surfaces (gym-equipment, cardio-equipment, barbells, dumbels, doorknobs, etc). Plus, we’re implementing enhanced cleaning in our team member areas (front desk, changing rooms).

Massage Online-bookings will resume by June 1st. As of June 1st you will be able to book massage appointments online again. Hours may be limited due to enhanced cleaning procedures. Please feel free to call us anytime to schedule an appointment. COVID-19 Notice: All clients entering the building will need to wear a face mask while you are in the building, and during your massage. You will have to sign an informed consent form that states: “I understand that close contact with people increases the risk of infection from COVID-19. By signing this form, I acknowledge that I am aware of the risks involved and give consent to receive massage therapy.”

Classes
Classes will start on Monday June 8th. In order to keep social distancing at 6 feet, some classes may be split-up and may be held at different times. Class participants will be contacted individually within the next few days to possibly arrange for an alternative day/time.

Cancellations Amid the ongoing uncertainty of COVID-19, we have modified our cancellation policy to offer greater flexibility to all our clients. We hope this will alleviate any stress and hesitation you have about an upcoming appointment. If you need to reschedule for any reason, and especially if you are not feeling well, we understand and request for you to contact us as soon as possible to reschedule. Massage or Personal Training is not appropriate care for infectious or contagious illness. Please cancel your appointment as soon as you are aware of an infectious or contagious condition. To further support you, there will be no penalties for cancellations at this time.

We’re here for you and want to ensure that you have peace of mind when you train with us or have a massage with us.

Senior Weight Training Class

Starting in May we will offer 4-week senior weight training classes at Unique Fitness & Massage. The cost for four weekly classes is $89 and classes will be held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 11.30AM.

Alternative Treatments to Relieve Back Pain

Core-strengthening, massage therapy and yoga to relieve back pain.

About 24 million people a year visit a doctor because of lower back problems (1) and it remains the leading cause of job disability in the world (3). According to a study in 2013, the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the prescription of powerful narcotic pain meds increased by 51 percent since 1991.
Epidemiologic studies show that there are several risk factors associated with lower back problems such as sedentary and driving occupations, sitting for hours, lifting, carrying, pushing, sports, stressful events, bending, twisting and pulling and smoking (2).
Other causes include overstretched or injured muscles, tendons or ligaments resulting from poor posture, throwing a ball or weeding a garden. Aging can cause degenerative changes that lead to a decrease of the disk between the vertebrae. Another reason can be a herniated disk that causes sciatica pain down the leg. Furthermore, spinal stenosis is also an age related condition whereby the spinal canal narrows due to bone spurs and thickened ligaments. Finally, spinal instability, which results from weak support of the spinal column may allow a vertebra to slide forward causing a condition called spondyolethesis (1).
The prescription of opioids is a common practice but has serious side effects including addiction, overdose, constipation, drowsiness, headaches and nausea.  The American Medical Association found that in 7,300 patients, opioids did not provide significant relief for people with chronic back pain (1).
So what works?
According to new guidelines of the American College of Physicians (published in the February 2017 Annals of Internal Medicine) alternative treatments such as acupuncture, massage, yoga and physical therapy should be considered as a first approach of treatment.
Massage Therapy 
In a study published in Pain Medicine, more than 50% out of 104 people who received massage therapy as a treatment reported improvement in their back pain. After three months of not receiving a massage 75% still felt improvement. Some research suggests that massage therapy directly reduces the inflammation in muscles (3).Furthermore, massage therapy relaxes tense muscles and increases blood flow to injured areas.
Yoga
NIH (2011) published an article that suggests that yoga or stretching eases low back pain (4). Yoga typically includes a combination of physical postures, breathing techniques and meditation or relaxation which all seem to be beneficial for people with lower back problems. In one of their studies people in a yoga or stretching group felt better after 6 weeks, compared to a self-care group whose participants reported an improvement after 3-6 months. The study suggested that the physical aspect of yoga and stretching appears to be more important than the mental aspect of yoga (4).
Exercise
Lying down may temporarily ease back pain but after a day or two can actually prevent healing. In contrast, active forms of back exercises are necessary to rehabilitate the spine and release back pain (5). Active back exercises should be performed gradually, progressively and in a controlled manner to relieve back pain and strengthen the spine. Regular back exercises will reduce the recurrences of lower back pain. Exercises distribute nutrients into the disc space and keep discs, muscles, ligaments and joints healthy5. A poll done on WebMD indicated that exercise showed the best treatment results for lower back pain (6).
Where to go?
Unique Fitness & Massage Therapy offers massage treatments and back exercises for people with chronic back pain, post-rehab and prevention. The “Stretch & Flex” and “Yoga” classes are beneficial.  Personalized training and massage therapy is most effective and individualized based on your condition.

References:
1. Carr, Teresa. Consumer Reports. “Real Relief from Back Pain. June 2017.
2. Frymoyer,JW, Pope, MH, Costanze e.t. “Epidemiologic studies of low-back pain. http:// NIOSHTIC-2Publications Search—00185851—Epidemiologic Studies of low-back pain.
3. MacMillian, Amanda. “Massage Can help treat lower back pain”  TIME Health. 4/6/2017.
4.http://nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/yoga-or-stretching-eases-low-back-pain
5. http;//swww.spine-health.com/wellness/exercise/exercise-and-back-pain
6. http://www.wedmed.com/back-pain/lower-back-pain-10/back-pain-treatment-poll