Tech Neck?

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I am sharing this because I could not have stated it better! All the following is lifted from another blog . . . scroll down to see whose!

Survive a Hectic Lifestyle

“It wasn’t that long ago when massage therapy was only enjoyed by very wealthy individuals or others that were considered health nuts,” Bates said. “Today, more and more people are aware of the health benefits of a regular massage.”

The people Bates sees at his Hands on Healing Massage Center in Gainesville, Georgia, don’t book appointments for massage because they want to be pampered, he said. “They come because massage provides them the ability to perform at their best—whether that be in the corporate setting or to just survive the stresses of a hectic lifestyle.”

Anyone who uses a smartphone, pad, joystick, laptop or desktop computer does not need to wait until the cumulative effects of digital device use explodes into a stiff neck, painful hands or emotional stress. Regular massage therapy can defuse those effects and keep one’s mind and body ready for the next challenge—or device—of the digital age.

Karen MenehanKaren Menehan is MASSAGE Magazine’s editor in chief. She has also served as MASSAGE Magazine’s editorial assistant, managing editor and editor. Menehan has reported and edited for additional publications and organizations, including Imagine Magazine, the Sacramento Bee newspaper and the LIVESTRONG Foundation.

– See more at: http://www.massagemag.com/the-text-neck-explosion-32654/?utm_source=Massage+Magazine&utm_campaign=fd51cbcc75-Sept+2015+Products+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_16e004de85-fd51cbcc75-100911489#sthash.1JjPTLwt.dpuf

Breathing Your Way to Relaxation

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Sometimes you just can’t turn off that mental chatter and go to sleep or even receive a good massage. The thinking is not productive and is actually keeping you from the relaxation you need! One way to shut it off and allow your body to relax is to focus on your breathing. Just notice it. Are you breathing through the nose, mouth, or both? Are you using your entire lung capacity or just the abdomen or upper chest area? Sometimes just observing your breath is enough to stop the mind from churning. If not, begin filling your lungs from the bottom to the top on inhalation and emptying your lungs from the top to the bottom on exhalation. Really draw your abdomen in at the end of the exhale and push it out at the beginning of the inhale. Repeat this breath cycle at least three times and then go back to just observing. Still no? Then try using a patterned breathing cycle such as the following:

1. Breath in through the nose for a count of 4

2. Hold the breath in for a count of 2

3. Breath out through the nose for a count of 4

4. Hold the breath out for a count of 2

Repeat this pattern at least 12 times or at least until you feel your body relaxing.

These three levels of breathing control are useful any time you need to stop the mind from racing and allow your body to rest.

Did My Massage Therapist Give Me DOMS?

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(D)elayed (O)nset (M)uslce (S)oreness . . . that achy, flu-like feeling in muscles that have been worked harder than usual. DOMS is a combination of by products of tissue damage and metabolites left over from cell function that has built up in the muscle faster than your blood and lymphatic systems can flush it out. Intense and unaccustomed exercise increases cell metabolism and therefor waste metabolites in the muscles. That type of exercise can also cause little micro tears in the muscle tissue that trigger your nervous system to trigger your endocrine system to send in a little inflammation (flood of nutrient bearing lymphatic fluid and increased oxygen bearing blood circulation) to heal the damage. Result? DOMS. A regular massage that does not break up fibrotic hypertonic tissue will not cause DOMS unless you are already dehydrated, malnourished, or full of waste metabolites. If you are one of those then a good massage can turn loose enough waste metabolites to create DOMS. However, when structural body work is done to release fascia that has become fibrotic and caused restrictions in circulation of blood and/or lymph or maybe decreased range of motion . . . then the massage therapist can accidentally cause micro tears in muscle fiber walls if he or she is not careful or skilled enough. Result? DOMS. So, yes. Your massage therapist could have given you DOMS. However, before you get upset with that person, ask yourself if you are in good physical shape, are drinking enough fluids, eating well, and getting enough rest. This is one reason why most body work establishments have a policy of recommending that clients drink plenty of water after a session and do some gentle stretching of the area worked to increase circulation of blood and lymph.

How Often Should I Get a Massage?

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Well, Bob Hope got a massage every day! Too bad we can’t all do that. The benefits of massage can be cumulative at an interval of as long as five weeks. Ideal is once per week. Average for truly stressed out folks is once every two weeks. (They just don’t have time to come in more often!) Injury or surgery rehab and pre-hab massage can be two to three times per week or up to once a month. It is really up to you, your schedule, and your budget. If your favorite therapist is not available as often as you would like then ask them to recommend a therapist whose work would benefit you.   

Body Mechanics? What is that?

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People who work on the outer shells of cars and trucks, right?  Actually, body mechanics is the way one uses the body to complete a task. Your body mechanics (we all have them!) either serve your intentions well or not so much. The young mother with several children, dinner on the stove, carrying a baby in a sling, talking on the phone, watching a TV show and playing kickball with the toddler all at the same time may or may not be using good body mechanics. Is she using a headset or speaker with the phone? Are the stove, TV and toddler all lined up in one direction? Is the baby sling balanced in her center of gravity? If so, then she may have her body aligned in good poise. Now imagine that phone wedged between a shoulder and an ear. The baby sling adjusted over the leg she likes to stand on. The TV is off to one side, the toddler to the other side. Can you see her body torqued to accommodate these activities? She is young and able to do this for days on end. Then one day the timer goes off on the stove and the timer in her body goes off too! As she reaches to turn the burner off from an odd angle an over used muscle goes into spasm. Or an over stressed vertebra goes out of alignment. Her body mechanics have not served her intentions.  Image

I am not telling anyone to avoid multi-tasking. It is recommended but not always possible. What I am saying is to please be mindful of how you are using your body to do the things you do everyday. How can you make life easier for your physical self so the tasks you want to complete do not wipe you out before your timer goes off?  Ask your massage therapist to help you connect the dots between your activities of daily living and the aches and pains in your body. Massage can relieve the physical stresses and then you can make simple changes to stop perpetuating or exacerbating your discomforts. Life happens! Let’s work with it for the best possible outcome.  

Good Relaxation, or Bad Client Feedback?

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A few years ago a client announced that she had just consumed a couple beers to help her relax during her massage. Sound good? Not really!  Alcohol, even one drink, can interfere with a client’s ability to correctly perceive how their body is responding to massage treatments. They may not realize that pressure is too much or that pain sensations are changing or even occurring! In addition, alcohol causes the body to pull hydration out of tissue cells to increase available fluid for the kidneys to flush out the “toxin.”  Combined with the metabolites that massage releases from muscles and fascia this can make the client want to throw up. Alcohol is NOT good to mix with massage! Sadly, we had to reschedule.

Hot and Cold Contrast Packs

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Contrasting hot and cold packs works better than using just one or the other.

(Avoid using hot packs on swelling or inflammation!)

Timing:

20 minutes cold

10 minutes hot

20 minutes cold

Tips for effective treatment:

Use a timer to make it easier

Switch fast so the contrast is working

Use moist heat packs to avoid pulling hydration out of the body

Wrap packs in fresh, thin towels for comfort and cleanliness when reusing or sharing packs

Tie packs on with scarves or straps to go on with daily activities

One of my go-to treatments for stiff and/or sore muscles! I used this to beat a case of tennis elbow…the leading cause of massage therapist burn out. Ask for details!