Early on in my massage career I cut my massage teeth in chiropractors’ offices. Over the years, chiros have become colleagues, and I’ve learned two very important things from them: 1. Don’t be afraid to work the muscles/ligaments on and around the spine, 2. Palpate the spine (and around the spine) for tight and tender [...]
As students, we need to be sponges in order to master a skill or concept. But the sponge mindset becomes a problem when what we’ve learned, accepted and practice actually hurts us. This is when beliefs can end a career. Personally, I’ve had belief-ending-career encounters. My massage specialty is neuromuscular massage therapy (NMT). Though I’m [...]
One of the great things about relaxation massage is that you can go on automatic pilot. And when you’re on automatic pilot, you can still do a good job even though you’re thinking about other things. Not so long ago, I discovered another benefit when I’m on automatic pilot: I can work on my posture. [...]
Research has shown that most people diagnosed with conditions like plantar fasciitis actually don’t have inflammation (-itis) anymore. Instead they have a condition (-osis), like tissue degeneration. The medical treatments for tissue inflammation and degeneration are different and may negatively impact treatment outcomes if misapplied. By understanding the difference between the two diagnoses, you can [...]
