Ask the Massage Therapist

Recently, I wrote about the emergence of what has come to be called science based or evidence based massage therapy. At the end of the article, I listed a few online resources for massage therapists interested in keeping up with relevant research. However, there are many, many more resources available. Some are directly devoted to massage therapy. Some are related to massage therapy and other manual therapies. Still others are devoted to pain research, brain research, science, or medicine and may be of interest to massage therapists. In this article, I would like to start a list of what I think are good resources for massage therapists. This list is far from complete and will be updated periodically as I learn of other resources. Please feel free to submit your own favorite internet resources.

Clients will often remark after a massage, "I feel taller!" Turns out, it actually may be true.

Two psychology students at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Kim Goral and Meghan Burkett, found that their subjects consistently stood about a half inch taller after massage. (story here) They were conducting a small research project investigating whether there might be a relationship between posture and anxiety.  After massage, the subjects felt less anxious and had improved posture. Although the study only involved two subjects, the results were very consistent. Their advisor,  Christopher Moyer, Ph.D., remarked, "The results are very strongly consistent with the hypothesis that massage therapy reduces anxiety by first altering the recipient’s posture. This would generate neural feedback from the body that would be incompatible with the emotion of anxiety. By standing taller, and having a body that is physically looser, a person's body would actually be telling their mind that 'you can't be anxious because your body is relaxed.'"

NPR (National Public Radio) recently ran a story, "Got Low Back Pain? Massage Therapy May Rub It Out." The story points out that after colds, low back pain is one of the most common complaints seen by doctors. It causes lost time at work and brings misery into many people's lives. A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that therapeutic massage may be more effective than conventional treatment for low back pain.

A more detailed analysis of the study written in laymen's terms is available at Pain-Topics.org. Of note is that both Swedish massage and structural massage were both effective, with very little difference between them.

A reader asks,

I sprained my ankle several times over the years, the worst being about 12 years ago going down a step and landing on the outside of my foot with ankle turned in. It still bothers me with tenderness and discomfort from side of my leg above the ankle, radiating up to behind the knee. I am considering sports massage for relief.

A good sports massage therapist or one trained in injury rehabilitation might be able to help you out. When an ankle is sprained, not only the ligaments of the joints are affected. The muscles of the lower leg may be strained and continue to cause pain and weakness long after the initial injury has healed.  I have often found trigger points or tender areas in the muscles of the side of the lower leg - the peroneals - or the muscle in the front along the shin - the tibialis anterior - that may linger for years after an ankle sprain. Sometimes the muscle in the lower calf - the soleus - may be involved. Often, when these muscles are treated and the trigger points addressed, the persistent pain and weakness will begin to clear up.

My Russian Massage teacher, Zhenya Kurashova Wine, passed away recently. She'd been ill for awhile and so the news was expected. Still, I felt very sad. Another time, I will write more about her. For now, I find myself thinking about all the good times we had together. Zhenya was a remarkable woman, both professionally and personally, and she loved having a good time. She was fun to be with.

In 1997 she took a group of massage therapists to Moscow to see how massage is used in hospitals and clinics there. Although the time spent there was not long, it had a great impact on me. We spent the mornings and early afternoons at an orthopedic/sports medicine clinic. In the later afternoon and evenings, we did all sorts of fun things.

One of my friends publishes a small magazine and asked me to write up one of my experiences. It originally ran under the title "Alice In Banialand" and was accompanied by a lovely illustration of Alice in Wonderland and a character, a woman with a push broom, who appears in the story. I later published the story on a small website I had for a few years.

You know your Dad probably wouldn't do it for himself and could probably use a good massage.

Give Dad a massage gift certificate for Father's Day and get a special discount. On orders of $100 or more, you'll get a 10% discount. Even better, if you sign up first on our FaceBook page, you can receive an extra 5% off orders of any amount.

To get the Facebook discount, "Like" us on the Massage St. Louis FaceBook page. You will see a recent entry that will give you a promotion code. Use this code when placing your order for gift certificates of any amount and you will receive a 5% discount on your order. If your order totals $100 or more, an additional 10% will be discounted.

I'll be offering specials through FaceBook for my FaceBook fans, so be sure to stay signed up! Tell your friends and pass the savings on to them!

 

Are you looking for a last minute gift for Mother's Day? You can buy massage gift certificates online right now! During the month of May, you can get a Mother's Day discount of 10% on any package over $100. The discount will be deducted from your purchase automatically. You will be able to print out your massage gift certificate instantly on your computer.

You know your Mom deserves a massage! And you can also purchase one for yourself or any other special person in your life.

It's very easy. Go to this page and click on the icon "Buy Gift Certificate Now." You will be taken to a page with various options. Or use the link on the top right corner of this page or the home page. If there is a combination you'd like to purchase and don't see offered, contact me directly by phone or email and I'll do my best to accommodate you. It can take up to 24 hours to respond to individual requests so please keep that in mind.

If you'd like to be informed of future promotions, sign up on my FaceBook page.

Happy Mother's Day!

Self-massage is a great self-help technique for common aches. However, sometimes it's hard to reach the places you want to massage or it's difficult to relax while trying to massage yourself. This is where tools can make a great difference.