Pain Series: Part 1 of 6

The majority of my clients make an appointment because of pain; chronic pain, acute pain, injury pain, stress pain, or life pain. Why is massage an effective pain management tool? Because massage is directly getting at the source of the pain. You complain of arm pain and slight shoulder tightness. I work on your shoulder muscles to alleviate the restriction on the nerves and blood vessels going down to your arm effecting those muscles. Sure pain medication helps A LOT, but it is simply masking the pain not getting at the root of it. Am I against popping a pill to get thru the day or to sleep well? Of course not! It is just not a permanent fix. There are thousands of studies that have proven massage is a useful tool in dealing with pain in all walks of life and health.

When Do I Stretch?

There are many different forms of stretching that work for different body types. Studies show that it is imperative to warm up prior to working out, but not necessarily stretching. Though I know many people that are in pain the next day if they do not stretch between the warm up and the workout. There are those that stretch all throughout the workout. Then there are those, like me, that just stretch at the end of the workout. You need to figure out or work with a professional to figure out what is best for your body and workout regimine.

Is Yoga Enough?

Many clients assume because they are taking Yoga classes they do not have to stretch any other time. Yoga is a wonderful stretching session, but mostly it is a strengthening workout. It does not replace the daily stretching we all need to maintain our busy and physical lifestyles. You can take those poses wher eyou feel a good stretch and apply that to your daily routine.

Are you stretching enough?

Every client that walks thru my door gets asked how often they stretch. It is usually not enough, if at all. If you think of every prolonged activity as a workout, youc an then set those same standards. If you are going to be sitting at your desk for 9 hours, warm up your upper body and take multiple breaks a day to stretch your upper body. Nothing serious and long, simply a few minutes here and few minutes here. Standing on your feet all day? Take a brisk walk or do some jumping jacks. Take a break, lift your feet up and then stretch your low back, hips and legs. Can't find the time or get lost in your work? Set your appointment reminder son your computer so you don't have to remember.

I surrender!

For those that know me, know that I heartily dislike running.  If you can do it safely, wonderful.  Good for you!   But I cannot do it.  I don't like it and I never felt good about it.  If I am running it is b/c there is a ball being kicked in front of me, or a masked gunman is chasing me thru the park.  It was nighttime after a long stressful day and I had my workout looming ahead of me.  I had the urge to just go somewhere, anywhere.  So I decided to put on my sneakers and hightail it outta there at 9pm.  I jogged on and off for about 30 minutes.  I felt amazing for about 10 minutes, then I felt old and hurt all over the rest of the night.  I was so confused:  How come I can do Insanity and P90X just fine and not this? 

The next day I woke up and felt amazing.  You know that chronic back pain I told you about last week?   It was 100% gone the next day.  There is no way it can be from running.  So I tried it again a few days later.  I did not feel like I drank half a bottle of red wine afterwards and the next day my back felt amazing! 

There are 2 reasons for this:
1. Since I am not used to this type of workout, I am sure I am stretching a lot more afterwards than I usually do.
2. I think the running motion is actually stretching and loosening up some of those hard to reach back muscles.

I will continue to try running here and there for the above reasons and let's face it, We could all use a little more aerobic activity.  Here's to trying something new!!

I Get It.

All my clients think I float thru life without an ache nor pain.  That I simply could not understand what they are going thru.  But I do.  I don't usually like to talk about it as I thought it was bad for business.  Though now I think it is important that you know that I do understand how you feel and do know what it is like.  I tore muscular attachments and sprained some muscles 2 years ago, all in the lower back area.  With raising a bigger child and the work I do, there is simply no time to rest.  I do all of the important core exercises, stretch whenever I can and of course utilize proper body mechanics as much as possible.  There are some days it is just not enough or.... I forget.  Yes, even I sometimes forget these things as well. 

So you buck up, do your acute anti-inflammatory regime and move on.  I just wanted you to know that I do understand where you are coming from and hopefully that comes across in my delivery of advice.

Spa Wages

I recently found out that some spas pay their massage therapist an hourly wage.  Some may think this is a good idea, as there are slow days where a comission based pay would leave the MT empty handed.  An hourly wage is very uncommon in the massage industry.  It is because it is a service based industry.  You get paid for the actual service you provide.  There are 2 things wrong with this.  The most obvious one is total income.  An hourly pay is good if the MT has a slow day and hardly works.  They at least know they are getting something for their time.  What happens when they have a busy day and provide 5 massages at over a $100 each?  Then the MT is working quite hard and making small fraction of what the spa is receiving.  The other problem is quality.  if a MT is not getting paid for the service they provide, they don't need to work as hard, as well nor worry about retention.  If they are not getting paid for what they do, why do it well?  So not only are they not getting paid fairly, but the type of MT's drawn to this structure are interns, those right out of school, or slackers (every profession has them).  There are exceptions to the rule.  There are some MT's that work in spas that are decent and some spas pay alright, just know what you are actually paying for.  An expensive massage at a spa is most likely a swedish massage but with a nice robe, tea, munchies, and a beautiful lounge to wait in.  It's the ambiance you are paying for, not the quality of massage work.

Resolutions?

Why not?  My resolution has been the same for the last 3 years.  Diet? Certainly not.  Exercise? No Stress less?  Kinda....   For the last 3 years I have resolved to watch movies and not question them.  Movies are for entertainment, they are not real.  So none of this:
She would never do that.
That would never happen.
That is impossible with the laws of physics.
He would not get THAT girl
How did that happen?
Wait, I don;t get it.  That detail must have been left in the pages of the book.

You get it......  Just sit back, watch the movie, and enjoy. not only do I get a better cinematic experience, but my husband does as well. :)

Factory Massage Therapists

I am becoming more and more aware of the quality of massage therapists that the local schools are turning out.  Granted, I went to school in Pittsburgh with a completely different focus.  But one should still expect quality.  I hear way too many stories of MT's that do a basic Swedish massage with zero focus on any needs of the client.  No specific work is being done, and no clients are feeling better.  This upsets me b/c A. People pay a lot of money for massages. B. When you pay for a service you should receive it. Most importantly, C. It makes us all look bad.  Too many clients come in with an accusatory laundry list of items to address before I even get to speak.  This is from unsatisfactory past massages.  Whether a massage's pressure is light or deep, it is to be therapeutic.  If the population is not getting this, then something needs to be done about the quality of education these students are receiving. 

t 's a shame for you as the consumer, but I guess it is good for my business.  I love what I do, I am good at it, and I know exactly what I am doing and what I can do for you.  This makes for a good massage.

Do You Know What You Are Doing?

Of course!!! It's my job!  Yes, I know where all of your muscles are.  Yes, I can tell if they are tight or not.  Yes, I can tell if the are relaxing.   These are, in fact, my basic job requirements.  I am amazed by how many people wonder this!  I can only assume it is from previous massages where the therapist was not knowledgeable.  If a massage therapist cannot talk to you about your muscles, stop, get off the table, and leave without paying.  Too many clients are impressed by my education level and understanding of the muscular-skeletal system.  This disturbs me as it is the fundamental information ALL massage therapists should have.  Yes, I am more into troubleshooting massage so this makes me more focused on the specifics.  This does not, however, give another MT who doe snot do this type of work the excuse to not know what they are doing.