We massage therapists love our helpers, be they oils, warm stones or essential oils. Lately I’ve come to totally enjoy something I at first thought would be a bust. Massage on silk is a method of gliding the hands across skin or clothes without the use of oil. Silks provide glide, like oil, but without … Continue reading Have you tried giving a massage using silk instead of oil?
The day after the Fourth of July I took time off from massage to see the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The museum is a living testimony – every day a survivor of a death camp speaks to visitors. Pictures, old films and recordings bring those times alive. I was not thinking about massage, … Continue reading Field Trips, Diaries and Memoirs
Debates roar among massage therapists about which are the best oils, the best draping, and the most effective techniques. Yet never have so many argued so passionately about this question: whether to start clients in the supine or prone position. O the polarity! So many have crusaded with passionate arguments about breath patterns, face-cradle wrinkles, … Continue reading A Massage Therapist’s Top Ten
Massage therapists know that many clients need to be listened to – really listened to – when they come in for therapy. But during the session there is something else that clients crave – the ability to be distracted away from their focus and relax. I often use distraction in massage sessions, oddly enough in … Continue reading Massage with Attention and Distraction
A massage therapist starting to practice has quite a few challenges, not the least of which is finding the right place to practice. Options are multiple: gyms, tennis clubs, spas, medical offices, chiropractic, acupuncture or p.t. clinics, clients’ homes, business conference rooms, hotels, chains, etc. Each has its advantages and drawbacks. Sometimes the best option … Continue reading Finding Your Best Massage Venue
Clients seek massage therapy for many reasons, and one of the most challenging for a therapist is chronic pain following surgery. It’s a tough spot – here we are dealing with tissues that have had a direct surgical intervention – moved, touched, cut or compressed. We also are dealing with structures altered when the body’s … Continue reading Providing Post-Surgery massage to clients
A new massage client had a request: eight months after an outbreak of shingles, she still had a strip of weird-feeling and painful skin. “I call it my shingles ghost,” she said. “It’s haunting me still.” What she described sounded like post-herpetic neuralgia, a sensation that an area afflicted by herpes “chickenpox” virus is still … Continue reading Massage for Shingles ‘Ghost’
As mysterious as the workings of the human body is, we massage therapists have learned a few tricks to bring errant, dysfunctional muscles back to working order. I continue to be impressed by the methods of active release, also known as myofascial release, in reviving elements of structure and function to certain muscles. I recently … Continue reading Tips for Bringing Muscles Back to Life
Smart phones have created an endless employment opportunity for massage therapists – we can relieve the head and neck aches they foster and show clients how to reduce their sting. At best the glare-y screens will make a users neck stiff and tight to flexion on the side holding the phone. So many people peer … Continue reading Smart Phones and the Rectus Gang
Massage therapists will often have clients ask about foot or finger pain, or a strip of tightness around the knees or hips, but when is this a symptom of something gone wrong? As we rub away with our talented hands, we may have an opportunity to assess if a nerve root or disc has been … Continue reading Massage Finger Maps Helps Reduce Numbness