We all heard it, and we all thought about it, but what good will that clear stuff really do for us after a massage? “Drink lots of water after each session, it will help flush out all those toxins.” The famous words given to just about everyone who receives a massage! Drinking water is an important factor after a massage session, and will help you get the most out of your massage.

Massage is soft tissue manipulation that provides an increase of blood flow to our body. Those “feel good spots”, and an “ahh” moment happens when we increase the blood flow to a specific area that has been blocked. The blocked area is usually from muscle tightness, which comes from stress, physical activity, emotion distress or injury. We need a large amount of water after muscle manipulation occurs because these ‘spots’ are potent and toxic to our body and need the assistance of water to be flushed out.

A Toxic World

Toxins enter our muscles through many different ways.

• Physical and emotional stress
• Drinking and smoking
• A poor diet
• Your job
• Coffee
• Pills and Medications
• Sex ( lol…just kidding)

When we put medication in our body to help ease the pain or for any kind of headache or migraine symptom relief, pills leave excess toxins behind.  These toxins than are settled into our muscles causing muscle tightness and spasms. It is also not uncommon to have muscles tighten or go into spasm due to extreme muscle dehydration caused from lack of sufficient water intake.

Physical activity, stress and injuries create the muscle tissues to build-up toxins in specific areas of the body. Lactic acids, stress hormones, and dehydration are all causes of knots. Water is seen as the “liquid drano” for our bodies to flush out lactic acid and metabolic wastes that cause these knots. When a particular working muscle is dehydrated, it searches for a water source and most often clings to other muscle tissue for this water source.

How Does Massage Therapy Help?

When toxins build up in your body you will feel sluggish and pain. Muscle tissues become very dehydrate and nutrient deprived which will cause more pain and a lack of energy. Massage Therapists have to break apart these tissues which can be painful but for most individuals this is a “feels good moment” because we create more blood flow to the specific dehydrated muscles. When these are broken down and the tissue is back in its normal state, we need water to help keep the muscle tissue hydrated and healthy.

Water is an undervalued tool for the body and it has so many benefits. It helps with headaches, hunger, general hydration, organ health, and weight loss. By the way, it’s always a good idea to empty your bladder before you get started with your massage. If you metabolize quickly, you may start detoxing on the table (well your bladder will get full), and you may want to go use the restroom right after if not during the massage. Next time when you go to your massage, drink a little before your session, and a little more after. Just drink up and be merry!

How much water do I need on a daily basis?

“A simple rule is to take your weight in pounds, divide in half, and drink that number of ounces of water. So for a person how weighs 150lbs, you should be drinking 75 ounces of water. Do not over-drink, thinking that you can overcome months or years of under-drinking by drinking a lot in a few days. Drink your amount (as calculated above) daily & your body will fully re-hydrate over a long period of time.” (Dr. F. Batmanghelidj, M.D).

This article was contributed by Andrea Naugle

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As a male massage therapist, it can be very difficult establishing yourself in the massage industry. When I first started my massage career, I was afraid that I would not be able to survive and support myself. This was due to the fact that I could not find any massage job openings being a male massage therapist.

I recently came across a blog posting by fingertips called, “Keeping contact with the client” she states in her blog posting how important it is to keeping contact with your client during your massage sessions.

“As long as your hands are in contact with the client, they know where you are. This gets into the issue of trust, which, when your client knows where your hands are, facilitates relaxation”.

I firmly believe this as well, once I was able to find a massage job I made sure that my clients especially the females knew exactly where my hands were during their massage sessions. I often felt from the female clientele that frequent the Spa that I worked at, that there was a certain apprehension about them getting a massage from a male therapist.

Once I got that client on the table, I made sure that my hands never broke contact with their bodies. I intuitively knew that if my hands never left their bodies that they would be able to relax. My best guess is that the first five or ten minutes of the massage the female clients that I had, knew exactly where my hands were and paid specific attention to it. But once I built up that trust they were able to relax.

When I massaged areas of their body that did not require two hands; i.e. elbow work and trigger point therapy, just as fingertips mentioned in her blog post I would also put my free hands somewhere on their back, leg or arm just to let my female clients know that I was still there with them.

I also believe that my specialty, doing deep tissue massage has helped me to be successful as a male massage therapist. Deep tissue massage requires that you deliver precise intentional and direct pressure, to your clients. This kind of deliberate pressure felt like muscle work for my clients, not touchy-feely. So there was no mistake with what my intentions were, even when working sensitive areas like the glutes. Build trust through your massage and bodywork and be successful.

Reiki Massage is now being offered at RPM Therapy

Aeriol Ascher is a Reiki Master / Teacher trained in multiple Massage & Somatic Therapies, such as Medical Aromatherapy, Herbology, AcuTuning Forks, Crystals, Gems, Reflexology, & Hot Stone Therapy.

We at RPM Therapy in San Jose are so happy to have her part of our team, she is energetic and funny and always a delight, her integrated Reiki massage and bodywork will help facilitate: stress relief, pain management, deep energetic clearing, personal awareness & self-growth, which essential to living a life full of vitality.

What is Reiki Massage

Reiki (pronounced Ray-key) is a Japanese name consisting of 2 words Rei and Ki meaning spiritually guided life energy (commonly known as Universal Life Energy), an energy which animates us all and is found all around us. Reiki is a form of spiritual healing using “universal life energy” channeled through the practitioner to the recipient. Reiki helps to harmonize body, mind and spirit

A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.

Reiki in conjunction with therapeutic massage, hot rocks and other medical techniques can balance not only your physical and emotional well-being, but your spiritual as well.

How Reiki Massage Helps

Reiki is believed to relieve pain, boosts the immune system and relieve acute and chronic problems. This is believed because physical manifestations of pain are often linked to emotional, mental and spiritual states. Chronic illnesses may take a series of treatments, depending on the specific nature of the disease. Reiki goes beyond the symptoms to treat the root cause of the disease. When we treat only the symptoms, we do not always get to the true basis of the illness.

Reiki practitioners channel energy in a particular pattern to heal and harmonize. Unlike other healing therapies based on the premise of a human energy field, Reiki seeks to restore order to the body whose vital energy has become unbalanced.

What are the Benefits?

Reiki can be used in many ways and combined with essential oils and massage is a powerful tool. Reiki massage is great if you are suffering from stress or tension, and the many symptoms associated with stress and tension. It can also improve the quality of difficult relationships at home or work. The beneficial effects of Reiki and massage occur on many different levels. Reiki can accelerate the healing of physical problems, balance the emotions, and free us from restrictive mental attitudes. It may also provide a closer connection with our own inner wisdom.

Reiki encourages and supports positive personal change such as improving the diet, having more rest, exercise or leisure time, and may reduce the need for alcohol and tobacco. Reiki can allow us to respond more calmly to all events, and build on a more resourceful state of being. Reiki is a gentle energy and may be used safely by all ages, including the newborn, pregnant mothers, surgical patients, the frail and the elderly, regardless of their state of health. Reiki can enhance everyday life, and regular sessions help to ward-off illness and fatigue .

Over the past ten years it has become more common to find massage therapists treating athletes using massage therapy. The therapeutic advantage of massage not only eases the pain in sore muscles, but actually strengthens an athlete prior to a game or event. It is not uncommon for professional athletes to have their own personal massage therapist.

There are many different massage therapy techniques used to treat athletes. Many therapists use deep tissue massage to treat athletes who are injured. Deep tissue massage is often used as relief for injured muscles. In order to perform a deep tissue massage a therapist must use either the fingers, thumbs or even the elbows to get into the grain of the muscles. In order to practice a deep tissue massage, a therapist must be thoroughly trained as if not done properly; it can cause additional pain or injury. This type of massage is very effective as it works beneath the surface muscles and is a popular method for relieving not only injuries, but also chronic pain and even inflammation.

Implementing various different sports massage techniques and stretches to your program will greatly enhance your ability to work with athletes. Deep tissue massage is just one, some of my favorites are trigger point therapy cross fiber friction, muscle stripping techniques, active release techniques and PNF stretches. Learn these massage technques and watch your business grow.

To prepare an athlete, a massage therapist will concentrate on the muscles most often used. By using various sports massage therapy techniques, the muscles are relaxed. Being tense will make an injury worse. It is the reason why so many drunk drivers walk away from car accidents while those they hit die. It is because the driver was completely relaxed. The muscles were relaxed. It works the same way with an athlete.

An athlete who goes into a game with muscles that are relaxed and toned is in much better condition to avoid greater injury to those muscles if they are tense. This is why so many athletes use the benefits of massage treatments, such as relaxing spa treatments, prior to sporting events.

A good massage therapist can have a thriving practice in the field of sports medicine if he or she is well versed in treating athletes. They must have complete knowledge of the anatomical structure of the human body and need to know which muscles are most prone to strain and injury. They not only need to know how to relieve the pain from injury, but also to prepare an athlete so that he or she does not get a greater injury. Sports massage techniques include both deep tissue massage and a variety of relaxing massages and stretching techniques. While a physical trainer works with an athlete to improve his or her skills on the field, the therapist works with the body of the athlete to prepare the body for the exertion it will soon endure.

Treating athletes using massage therapy is very common and has been practiced for years. Without the massage techniques performed prior to the game, the athlete may not be able to sustain the beatings that some of their bodies take during a sports competition such as football. This is a growing field and very prosperous for a person who is willing to learn the proper techniques.

Chances are if you are like most Americans you have had a headache, as a matter of fact when it comes to the rate of chronic headaches in America, studies have shown that roughly 45 million Americans suffer from headaches each year. While I would suggest that seeking the service of a professional massage therapist, many times you can utilize self massage techniques. These techniques can be used for everyone who is suffering from a migraine or headache but results will vary from individual to individual.

Men suffer slightly more from headaches than females, 25 million men on average, compare to females who average about 20 million who suffer from headaches. This statistic represents roughly 1 out of every 6 Americans. Here are some more startling statistics that might be alarming to you, do you suffer from headaches or migraines?

Headache statistics according to the American Headache Society:

• Every 10 seconds, someone in the United States goes to the emergency room with a headache or migraine.

• More than $1 billion is spent on over-the-counter medications to treat headaches and Migraines.

• The lost work due to migraine disease costs more than $13 billion every year in the U.S.

I have listed here some very effective self massage techniques that are great for you if you happen to be suffering from a headache, please share these massage techniques with a friend. Follow these self massage techniques that are listed here and you will diffuse the severity of your headache or migraine, until you can see a professional massage therapist or Reiki Master.

1.    Drink plenty of water before and after doing these massage techniques (most important)

2.    Take your thumbs and press them firmly into the bridge of your nose, just underneath your forehead. Direction of pressure is in towards one another at the bridge of your nse, pressure is firm but not causing pain. Hold for 7 – 10 seconds, breathy deeply. Repeat 2 -4 times

 3.    Take your thumbs and now place them just underneath your forehead, with the pads of your thumb very close to the bridge of your nose. But this time you will press firmly upwards towards your forehead, again not causing pain but utilizing firm steady pressure. Taking deep breathes while holding this pressure. Hold for 7 – 10 seconds and repeat if necessary.

 4.    Take both hands and pinch and pull your skin tissue just below you eyebrows and hold. Direction of and pressure of pinch is away from face and pressure is firm, with a hold of about 5 -7 seconds and repeat.

 5.    Take your thumbs or your middle 3 fingers and press them firmly into the sides of your temple. You can add a slight circular motion here as well, this is very effective. Hold for 7 – 10 seconds using firm but steady pressure.

 6.    Sinus suffers can press into the sides of their nose and move fingers firmly away from their nose towards their cheekbones. Working both sides at once and working multiple points along the ridge of your nose. Direction of pressure is in towards your face and moving away towards your cheekbones.

 7.    Optional: If you have something that is firm in nature or hard plastic protected with some padding, the goal here is to get something that you can put behind your head and lay the back of your head on just underneath your skull (sub occipital area)

 
I have tried and used these massage therapy techniques many times in the past with great results; most times headaches disappear almost immediately. If you have any other techniques I would love to hear about it, thank you.

As a massage therapist it is vital to know the various parts of the human body and understand their significance. Two terms that you should know and understand are Golgi tendons and muscle spindle cells. As a massage therapist it is important to know these two sensory neuron proprioceptors and know what they do. The muscle spindle, for instance, is a proprioceptor that relays information regarding changes in the length of muscles. The Golgi tendon is a different type of proprioceptor that relays information regarding muscle tension changes. These two proprioceptors are important for stretching muscles and conditioning muscles.Together they help to protect the muscles from overstretching and becoming injured. First, though, it is important to know what each is and its particular function.

What are Sensory Neurons

Neurons are cells that work to carry messages through the body. The neurons are responsible for telling you to bend your finger or flex your foot. They also make sure that you don’t overstretch your muscle or apply too much tension to a tendon, thus avoiding injury. Every neuron is comprised of a cell body and nerve fibers. It is the nerve fibers that receive impulses from other neurons and then send that information to the cell body. The fibers then send the impulses away from the cell body to other neurons. 

The Golgi tendon organs and muscle spindle cells are both sensory neurons called proprioceptors. These sensory neurons are located in nerves and tracts but their cell bodies are found just outside of the spinal cord. They move messages from sensory organs in the tendons and muscles to the spinal cord. Some of these neuron fibers are called proprioceptive fibers. These fibers monitor the way that a muscle contracts and stretches as well as measures the tension that is in a tendon and transmit’s that information to the spinal cord so that the information can be processed. This feedback allows the body to know positions and postures of the limbs even when they cannot be seen.

What are Golgi Tendons

Golgi tendon organs are located in the collagen fibers of the tendon at the point where the tendon fibers merge with the muscle fibers.  While they function in a manner that is similar to muscle spindle cells in that they measure muscle changes, they only become activated when there is contraction of the tendon. They also monitor changes in the tension of the muscle that comes from a change of the muscle length. When the tendon or muscle is overstrained, it sends a message to the muscle which causes it to relax.  This is important for preventing injury.

What are Muscle Spindle Cells

Muscle spindle cells are located in the muscle fibers, parallel to them. Their function is to monitor and measure muscle length on a continual basis, both when the muscle is at rest and when it is stretched as well as the speed of changes in muscle length. The muscle spindle cell is located inside the muscle while the Golgi is located at the end of the muscle.

How do the Golgi Tendon Organs and Muscle Spindle Cells Work Together

The muscle spindle cells have a very effective working relationship with the Golgi tendon organs. The muscle spindle monitors the changes in length and the speed of those changes within the muscle. It sends the message to the spine to convey the information to trigger the stretch reflex. This stretch reflex, for which the Golgi tendon organs are a part, tries to stop the change of the length of the muscle. This is a protective feature of the human body that prevents injury. The more the muscle tries to stretch and the faster it tries to stretch, the more the Golgi tendon organs cause it to contract. Over time, the muscles can be trained so that the stretch reflex allows for more and more of a stretch before contracting.

As a massage therapist it is important that you understand how the Golgi tendon organs and muscle spindle cells work together to prevent injury to muscles. As you work and stretch the muscles of your client, you must pay attention to the response of their body.  Learn to detect the muscle spindle cell’s span and ability to stretch, but also learn how to detect when the Golgi tendon organs begin to work to prevent injury. Then learn how to work with that push-pull action to help lengthen the muscle and increase the muscle spindle cell’s ability to stretch the muscle until the Golgi tendon organs attempt to stop the stretch. This will help you prevent injury to your client and help them work with sports injuries.

As a massage therapist you will have customers who seek your massage services because of an injury, from playing sports, a car accident or stress induced. Their body will want to heal itself naturally, but when the body tries to heal itself it cannot re-create brand-new healthy muscle tissue. This is when the body will have to put together new fibers, but this serves as only a protective barrier around the injury, this protective barrier is not stable or suitable for strenuous activity it will not work as well as the original tissue. What you will have once it is completely healed is called scar tissue.

Most individuals think that if the muscle in their body is torn, it would be repaired with new tissue but unfortunately that doesn’t happen, it is replaced with scar tissue. People also do not realize that once the scar tissue heals, it is never going to be fully the same. This can especially be hard for athletes as they tend to injure themselves in the same spot repeatedly. This where you a massage therapist can help alleviate this cycle. The buildup of scar tissue over a period of time can cause a person serious problems.

Massage techniques such as advance deep tissue massage, active release techniques and cross-fiber friction has been proven very effective for scar tissue removal. In addition to massage therapy, you must help that individual in limiting the amount of new scar tissue that may form. By doing the R.I.C.E. program, R.I.C.E. stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. By implementing this type of regimen followed by your massage work can help to lower the chances of having a build-up of scar tissue. I recommend that this be done after every massage session; especially with scar tissue removal just in case your massage work may sometimes re-aggravate the area.

What is Scar Tissue

Scar tissue is the fibrous connective tissue which forms a scar; it can be found on any tissue on the body, including skin and internal organs, where an injury, cut, surgery or disease has taken place, and then healed. Thicker than the surrounding tissue, scar tissue is paler and denser because it has a limited blood supply; although it takes the place of damaged or destroyed tissue, it is limited in function, including movement, circulation, and sensation, that can lead to adhesion in the muscle. Other than with minor cuts and scrapes, scarring is a common result of any bodily damage. In some cases you can actually feel the scar tissue under the skin, but a professional massage therapist will definitely feel it.

One of the biggest downfalls of having scar tissue form at an injury site, is it will never be as strong as the tissue it replaced. It can also cause the flexibility of the tissue to decrease therefore it will become not as useful as it was prior to the injury. This could mean that a person such as an athlete will have a weak spot from this type of scar tissue which can easily cause further damage down the road.

Athletes and Scar Tissue?

Athletes depend on their muscles working at optimal levels to help them in their chosen sport. If they have a weak spot at the location of where past of present injuries occurred, they will not be able to perform to their fullest. They will find that they are constantly re-injuring themselves usually in the same spot. This will only make those spots with scar tissue become weaker and weaker and more of a problem. Which in turn forces all the surrounding muscles, tendons and joints to work harder, putting these areas at risk for injuries left untreated.

Also when scar tissue is present, it can limit the full ability for muscle to contract and retract as it is supposed to. This means the weakening of the tissues as well as the shortening effect of the muscles will definitely limit a person’s ability of movement in that area. This can be detrimental for athletes as well as any with anyone. Scar tissue can form from any type of injury, whether it be from a sporting events, a car accident or a plain old trip and fall.

Scar Tissue Removal

Massage therapy is only one way for removing scar tissue there are different methods to get rid of unwanted scar tissue. And here is a list of them, if I missed please let me know about it, thank you.

• Deep Tissue
• Cross-fiber friction
• Muscle stripping
• Active release
• PNF stretching
• Ultra sound

Unfortunately as a massage therapist ultra sound is prohibited, (at least the last time I checked), I outsource ultra sound work. Ultra-sound is used to heat the injured area hot but the heat doesn’t help to remove scar tissue. But the heat from the ultra-sound can make the scar tissue more pliable, massaging with deep cross fiber friction will do that.

You can have your client do self massage techniques right in your own home by yourself depending on where the injured area is, and I do recommend that you do. The only problem you might have with doing it yourself at home, is that you do not know how deep to go or what types of massage techniques to use or how to apply it correctly, but you can show them some basic massage techniques on how to do it.

Now keep in mind that when you first start working with the area it is going to be quite tender and painful. You want to start with very light strokes than gradually work up to increasing the pressure so you’re able to use firm deep strokes. The more you use the massage techniques on the area the deeper and harder you’ll be able to massage. Scar tissue removal can be a great revenue source for you, due to the fact that some many individuals suffer from it, and it is more effective to schedule massage sessions out over several session depending on how long they have had scar tissue.

Deep tissue massage is a very therapeutic method of pain relief and staying active. It can help clients feel wonderful and relaxed, but it has great health benefits as well. It is often used to treat injuries that are sports related. The depth of the massage can be used to relieve muscle strain and muscle adhesions that lie deep in the muscle tissue.

When circulation is blocked, not only does the muscle suffer, the entire body suffers. Your well being and overall health are reduced. When these circulation blocks are eliminated through the use of deep tissue massage, the body experiences enhanced circulation of blood, lymph, interstitial fluids and cerebro spinal fluids. This can, in turn, result in enhanced functioning of the body and organs as well as improved health. It also helps with the connective tissues to repair and be healed.

Deep tissue massage therapy is beneficial for all levels of massage seekers, offering an experience that is both healing and corrective. It can heal nearly every area of the body, making it function more optimally and efficiently.

What is Deep Muscle Therapy?

Deep muscle therapy is a type of massage therapy technique where the deeper layers of muscle are the primary focus. The goal is to release tension in the body with the use of deep finger pressure and slow strokes on affected areas that are contracted. It either follows the fibers of the muscles tendons and fascia, or the strokes go across the fibers. These advanced massage techniques are generally used to alleviate chronic muscle tension and fatigue.

This technique uses slower strokes and deep pressure or friction that is more direct and moves across the muscle grain as opposed to moving with the grain. It can help to break down scar tissue and eliminate it. Clients may experience soreness either immediately after or during the massage, and adequate water intake after each massage session is essential for proper recovery. If the massage is done correctly, though, the client should feel significantly better within just a couple of days.

Why is Deep Muscle Therapy Effective?

When a person is stressed neurotransmitters are overly worked and active this causes a lack of oxygen and nutrients to your muscles tissues. This blockage can lead to a build-up of toxins in the muscle tissue as well as inflammation of the muscles and tendons. Muscles can be left feeling very painful, tired and stiff. Deep tissue therapy helps to loosen those tight, inflamed muscle tissues and release the toxins. Additionally, it works to improve your overall circulation.

While all of this is happening on the inside of the body, your body will become more relaxed as the stress melts away. Deep muscle therapy works on the mind, body and spirit of a person, going far beyond the physical. It is important, though, to advise clients to drink plenty of water after a deep tissue massage. This is due to the fact that toxin are released from the muscles into the body. The water helps to flush the toxins from the body. Salt baths using Epsom salt is another very nice touch, and Epsom salt can be bought any retail store.

How is Deep Muscle Therapy Applied?

Deep muscle massage is usually focused bodywork and somewhat intense, but it is fairly easy to learn. The best way to begin is to warm up the muscles first, not going too deep, and then working your way into the deeper muscles, slowly. Gradually ease into the muscles, going deeper and deeper a little at a time, this should be done to what is tolerable for you. This is particularly important because each client will feel the pressure differently. Some people may feel that the massage is soft and gentle while other clients may perceive the handling of the muscles to be very rough. It is your job to feel out your client and work into the massage, taking your cues from them.

Another reason to ease into your deep muscle massage is because if you start too aggressive and apply pressure too rough and too frequent, the muscles may contract in an effort to protect the area. This will cause your client a great deal of discomfort as well as injure them. In fact, serious injury can come from over aggressive deep tissue therapy.

How do Massage Therapists use Deep Muscle Therapy to Help Clients?

Massage therapists use deep muscle therapy to help their clients by eliminating scar tissue, releasing nerve entrapment, relieving conditions such as muscle adhesion and carpal tunnel, and reducing stress. It releases the muscle fibers while working to help the body get rid of deeply held patterns of tension. It helps remove toxins from the muscle tissues and both soothe and relax the muscle. t can also help to alleviate headaches and overall body aches. Deep tissue muscle therapy is both therapeutic and corrective.

I wrote a blog posting on the “Top 7 Must Have Massage Equipment for Massage Therapist” recently, one of the items that I included in the list was a table heater for your massage table. This is a follow up to that blog post.

If you are a massage therapist and you are not using a heating pad for your massage table, you are missing out on making a huge impact with your massage clients. I cannot tell you how often our clients expressed how wonderfully delighted they were once they were lying on the massage table. The price of this massage heating pad is more than pays for itself after a few sessions. Utilizing a heating pad on your massage table is not only is a great perking for you clients, but it does offer many functional massage benefits as well. I am going to share with some of them here with you now, but please tell me if I missed one, thank you.

Stretching:

Let’s say for instance that you have a massage client that you have seen before and know that they have very tight hamstrings, glutes or low back muscles, what I like to do for these clients is to turn up the temperature on the heating pad prior to them coming in. Once they come in and if you do any stretching for your clients, let the table heater warm up their muscles either by working the neck and arms first or allow them to lay on the heat for about 5 minutes before you walk into the room and then go into stretching the hamstrings, glutes and low back muscles. By doing this my goal is to allow the heat to warm up their muscles to get a better stretch and to minimize the risk of causing injury, due to the increased blood flow in the area.

Chronically tight back muscles:

You can also use the massage heating pad to warm up the back muscles, starting face up first. Work the front side, once you have finished, request your clients to turn over and you find that their back muscles are more relaxed. This makes massaging tight or chronically tight back muscles much easier to work on and less physical effort on your part..

Getting clients relaxed prior to their massage

If you have a client that just came in early or just got out of traffic or had a very hard day at work and is stressed out, put them on heat for a few minutes prior to working on them, let them relax a bit with some heat on their back first. This will give your clients a chance to relax and ease them into their massage before getting started.

I’m sorry

If you are running late because you are going over on your time with another client and if you have multiple rooms, instead of having your client wait in the lobby, stick them in a room with some heat on the table. I am sure, once they feel the warmth of the table; they will forgive you, for being late.

Hot flashes

You may find that some of your female clients suffer from hot flashes, if this is the case you definitely do not want to use the table heater then. If there is one downside to having a table heater this would be it, you could let your clients know that you have a table heater and that it is on, this way if they suffer from hot flashes, they will let you know. But if you would like to keep the table heater as a surprise, just put the heat on a low setting, it can always be turned up later during the massage.

Active Release Technique (also known as ART) is an advanced massage technique specifically designed massage for muscle and muscle attachments, tendons, and the fascia surrounding the muscles, to release and relieve tension in these areas. It can relieve such “overuse” problems as carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder pain, shin splints, sciatica, plantar fascitis, knee problems and tennis elbow. These problems all occur because of overuse, and can be cured with his specific massage therapy technique, called Active Release Technique.

When overuse occurs, nerve entrapments, muscle adhesion, inflammation and scar tissue, carpal tunnel and impingement syndrome, among many other problems, can manifest. This is because overuse causes injury or other situations where the tissue actually changes detrimentally in three important ways.

• First of all, the tissue itself does not get enough oxygen, a condition also called “hypoxia.”

• Second of all, there can be an accumulation of small tears, also called a micro-trauma.

• And third of all, this can cause acute conditions, such as pulls, tears, and collisions.

No matter the cause, what happens is that these three types of changes cause the body to heal by producing tough, dense scar tissue in the area that has been injured, which replaces the healthy tissue. The scar tissue itself then binds up the surrounding tissues, so that they can no longer move freely. As more scar tissue builds up, muscles themselves can become shorter and weaker. Scar tissue in not as strong and stable as healthy tissue, there for an advanced massage therapist is needed to help break down muscle adhesions and scar tissue.

Without treatment this results in tension on tendons, which in turn causes tendonitis, and nerves can become “trapped.” This in turn can cause pain, loss of strength, and reduced range of motion. In some cases, when a nerve becomes trapped, you can also feel numbness, tingling or weakness.

A massage therapist who uses these ART techniques can help clients with these muscles adhesions and scar tissue build up, that restrict proper muscle function. When one receives ART treatment, a therapist first evaluates the tenderness, tightness and texture of underlying tissues, such as the fascia, muscles, tendons, nerves and ligaments. Then, the therapist provides specific advanced massage therapy techniques along with ART techniques.

This type of treatment is effective because a trained therapist can break up the scar tissue causing the nerve entrapment, reduced carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms, nerve impingement or muscle adhesions. The therapist directs very specific tension at the affected area usually focusing on or around muscle attachments and the patient works in tandem with the therapist by moving in specific ways to help break up the scar tissue.

There are over 500 different movements specifically in ART that is meant to break down the scar tissue, muscle tension and entrapped nerves. For example, with carpal tunnel syndrome, the median nerve is trapped in scar tissue (also known as “nerve entrapment), which has been caused by repetitive movement, a poor diet or a host of many other inflammation causing factors. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome also known as “cumulative injury,” because the injury itself (in this case, entrapment to the median nerve) occurs over a period of time. In many cases, ART can reduce or eliminate the need for surgery to correct these problems and restore function.

Impingement syndrome can also be helped with ART.

Another type of injury, impingement syndrome, occurs when those who do a lot of lifting have pain in the shoulder area. Most often, care for this problem involves having surgery to shave off a small part of the rotator cuff and make it flat, ensuring that there’s nothing to “catch” the muscle or muscle adhesion on. However, most often, the problem is in the muscle itself and not in the rotator cuff, so ART can cure this problem if the problem is indeed occurring in the muscle and not in the rotator cuff itself. This determination needs to be carefully indentified before any massage therapy or ART treatments are implemented. Be sure to seek a professional massage therapist who is certified in ART techniques and has a very firm knowledge of the human anatomy.