The Best of Ask the Massage Therapist

By Alice on Sat, 09/21/2013 - 5:13pm

Sometimes an individual who has read one of my articles or stumbled across this blog is interested in reading more. I'm listing here the entries that I think are the most useful or the most representative. They aren't always the ones that have gotten the most reads, which you can find under the category of "Most Popular." (Who knew that so many people google "swelling after massage"? Certainly not me!)

So, if you are looking for what I consider to be the "meat" of what's been written here, this is it. You won't have to scroll through announcements for classes and gift certificate specials. Bear in mind, over time I've learned new things and my understanding has changed. There are some things I'd express a little differently now. However, I think this is the best this blog has to offer so far. Feel free to scroll through everything else, too. You many find something not on this list that's of particular interest to you. 

Some articles were written primarily for clients, some for practitioners, and some were written for both. They are not in a particular order. 

Thanks for stopping by and if you find something you really like, please share it with your friends. 

[updated 3/16/15]

For Everyone:

Book Review: Explain Pain by David Butler and Lorimer Moseley

Why Pain Hurts: Lorimer Moseley Explains

Nociception and pain: What is the difference and why does it matter?

Using Pain Science to Make a Difference in Your Life

Using Graded Exposure to Manage Chronic Pain

Benefits of Massage Therapy for Anxiety and Depression

A Gentle Approach to Alleviating Neck Pain

Self-Help for the Neck Through Novel Movements

Gentle Treatment for TMJ Dysfunction

Herniated Discs, MRIs, and Low Back Pain: Part 1

Running and Fatigue: Dr. Timothy Noakes Explains the Central Governor Model

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Pregnancy and Massage

Massage Therapy and Multiple Sclerosis

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Addiction, and Gay Men

For Clients:

Does Massage Remove Lactic Acid? (For clients)

Does Massage Reduce Stress Hormones? (For clients)

For Practitioners:

My most-read article, If We Cannot Stretch Fascia, What Are We Doing?

Pushing Into Muscle: Are We Really Doing What We Think We Are Doing?

Massage Therapy, Integrating Research and Practice, edited by Trish Dryden and Christopher Moyer

Resources for Science-Based Massage Therapists

What Do We Know For Sure, Really?

Confronting Confirmation Bias

Shifting away from nociception and mesodermalism and towards "yesciception," neurocentrism, and pain science.

A Reader Question About Cranial-Sacral Therapy

What is Energy Work: Some Thoughts from an Evidence-Based Massage Therapist

More Thoughts on Energy Work: Massage as Ritual

Response to a Question Regarding What Do We Know For Sure?

Does Massage Lower Stress Hormones? (For therapists)

Magical Thinking, Deepities, and Massage Therapists

Professor Moyer Discusses Reiki Research

Bringing Neuroscience and the Interactor/Operator Model to Therapeutic Massage

Neurocentrism: A Unified Field Theory?

Introduction to the Principles of Russian Massage

Russian Massage Basic Stroke: Continuous Flat Effleurage

Basic Russian Massage Strokes: Heel of the Hand Circular Friction

Basic Russian Massage Strokes: Continuous Vibration on the Back

Great list of articles. All the articles are very informative. Massage therapy is really good to treat different types of diseases. I liked the article ' Benefits of Massage Therapy for Anxiety and Depression '. Many people are now facing these problems and I think that massage therapy is the best option for it. The article provides the in-depth information about it.

 Thanks for your kind words.

I recently watched a video, a documentary on stress and what is known about the effects on the body. It's even worse than I realized! It's a fascinating, engaging, and education program that aired in 2008. I recommend it highly. While it does not directly mention massage, there are many shot of baboons and monkeys grooming each other. Check it out.