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.

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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.

Do you run 26 miles just to improve your previous time? Do you go on century bike rides just to hang with the boys? Or would we find you at the local Country Club working on your golf stroke? How about any 12 year old female world Gymnastic championship potentials out there? If so, we invite you to come in for a professional consultation with John Dodson. He will certainly make sure that you continue with your “high output” training schedule with minimum down time due to recurring injuries.

Or would you be an individual who has a past injury that did not heal right? Maybe you have been in a car accident from which you suffer from constant migraines and headaches? If so, we still like to invite you to come in for a professional consultation with John Dodson.

RPM Therapy of San Jose, Ca. is happy to announce for 2008, that John Dodson, our in house deep tissue massage specialist, has joined our growing team of professional bodyworkers. John brings with him a pool of talent and skills that only a small percentage of massage therapist in this industry have. I have been in the industry well over 11 years now, and can personally vouch for that. We are pleased to have him on board and so will you. His pressure is deep and intense, so you must like or have gotten this type of massage work done previously.

John prides himself as an individual who takes a holistic approach to promoting health and well-being through his bodywork. His ultimate happiness is take an individual at any stage of health who seek his services and help them through massage therapy to identify any postural imbalances and develop a systematic plan for correction. When stress is managed effectively and human performance is improved, for both, at work and in athletics, a MIND-BODY Connection is felt like no other. Post rehabilitation, personal training and nutritional counseling are all part of what makes John so unique. “Dedicate 2 visits a week for 6 weeks and I can correct most any problems your body is suffering from,” promises John.

Book Your Massage Online Now

John is also an A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer and Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant. In addition to training individuals of all shapes, sizes, and ages to reach their own fitness goals, he specializes in Sport-Specific Training emphasizing proper progression and development of all sports performance factors. In combination with his personal training and mind-body connection consulting, he helps overweight individuals lose weight and lead healthier lifestyles through a simple but comprehensive Weight Management Program.

Hours Of Operation ( for John )

Every Tuesday and Thursday 10 am - 8 pm

And some Saturday’s

Book Your Appointment with John Online:

www.rpm-therapy.com

Do you get up in the morning and find it harder to move your arms, legs, and back than you used to? Do you feel more tired when taking long walks in the park, at amusement parks, or shopping in the mall? Do you find yourself having more aches and pains than you ever did before, and just knock it up to old age? Well, unless you are an elderly person feeling old like this due to aches and pains in your body is not normal—at all. If you are feeling old, it could be due to old scar tissue and muscle adhesions in the tissues of your body that are causing you to feel this way; luckily a massage therapist can do something about it.

What are Muscle Adhesions?

The concept of muscle adhesions is pretty advanced but in laymen’s terms, muscle adhesions are your body’s way of repairing damaged muscle tissue in your body. If you have ever pulled or even torn a muscle, hurt your knee, hurt your back, or severely injured some other important muscular group in your body chances are that you have muscle adhesions in that area of your body underneath your skin and inside your muscle tissue. Since it is your body’s natural muscular band-aid, muscle adhesions are not a bad thing but they can cause pain and discomfort as your body gets older and more worn, and that can be what has you feeling so old. Along with other scar tissue under your skin, muscle adhesions can be a nasty culprit for something that once did your body such good.

The Problem with Muscle Adhesions

There is some problem with muscle adhesions, even for those who have not yet reached the point where it can make them feel older and stiffer. Muscle adhesions are like bandages that can lie across the muscles and tendons and hinder the way that they are able to stretch and move. This normally is not a problem, but a serious athlete who takes pride in being strong and flexible will find that although they may feel more powerful, they are less flexible.

What to Do About Scar Tissue and Muscle Adhesions

Muscle adhesions and scar tissue in your muscles can be a nasty problem for an athlete, and a nasty problem for a person who is just beginning to feel their age—or older than it. It can reduce the quality of life for an active person, and outside surgery it can seem like there is nothing to be done about this painful problem. There is one way of treating this issue, and it is an issue that many people fail to consider when they have an ache or a pain in their body. Soft tissue massages are great for helping to ease out muscle adhesions and bring back strength and flexibility to a pained area! Trained professionals that are licensed and have their massage therapy certifications know everything about the muscles that there is to know, including how to repair and ease the pain of scar tissue and muscle adhesions in the body.

RPM-Therapy Can Help You

If you are starting to feel your age and you aren’t sure what to do about it, it could be those muscle adhesions calling your name and punishing you for years of football, track, softball, swimming, or whatever it is that you did to stay healthy and have fun. They can certainly prevent you from having fun now, but not if you do something about it. Our licensed massage therapist are trained to take care of this problem, and we have the power to help you overcome the obstacles that muscle adhesions can put in your path.