In a previous blog, we did talk about heat packs, now it is time to talk about the Ice Pack. Ice pack application, in the last few years, is a practice that got reviewed. What Ice Pack is about? An Ice pack, as the name says, is a cold (icy) bag. As better explained in this study an ice pack is something that can be applied to an acute injury, to prevent swelling and reduce pain, but it can’t be used for too long. As per the heat pack, an Ice Pack burn the skin, and that’s one reason why its usage has to be short (10 to 15mins at a time). In addition, extended exposure to icy temperatures, would reduce the blood flow around the injured tissue and can also damage nerves. Ice Pack usage recommendation: You have a new injury or aggravation of an existing condition, and the pain is above 7 out of 10. Where you want to minimize swelling to keep you mobile later. There are different types of Ice packs: Home-made one, ice from the freezer wrapped in a towel. Gel pack Ice Bag (as per the photo) Instant one – most of the time found in the first aid kit. Snap it and a chemical reaction would occur in the bag and freeze the bag. Those last ones are efficient as you can store them anywhere safely and use them as you need them. The cold lasts for about 20 minutes. Not to be used if they are broken. On the other hand, if you running out of ideas of what to use as a Cold pack, you can even use a bag of frozen food. Still would do the work. We have the ice bath and the cold show related to this topic. I did experience cold showers myself, most of the time not of my choice, but because of a limited supply of hot water, and I have to say that even on this topic, there are a series of debates on how that works and if it’s beneficial. So far, a cold shower, compared to a hot shower, is better for dry skin. This is because the heat of the water combined with soap can wash away the good oils of the skin. Then the benefit of an Ice bath can be more of a placebo effect. But again, I haven’t done much digging about myself, so I would stay out of any comment regarding it. Ice pack after a Massage? Well, as mentioned above, the usage of Ice Pack is suggested after an acute injury. So, either after a Remedial Massage or a Thai Massage, firstly there should be no acute injury, secondly, you want the blood flow along the worked area to stay active and not restricted. That’s why a heat pack would be more recommended. If you find this helpful information and need a massage, book your next session here.
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Apr
Plantar Fasciitis is a foot condition that can cause severe pain when walking or standing. Pain may be more intense in the morning when you step out of bed. If you ever had plantar fasciitis you will well know, that is not a fun thing to deal with. How to fix plantar fasciitis? In most cases, corrective exercises are the best way to retrain the foot and heal it once and for all from this condition. In this blog post, I talk more in detail about exercises for plantar fasciitis. How does Plantar Fasciitis manifest itself? Plantar Fasciitis manifest itself when the load of the foot is predominately put on the outside of the foot or on the back of the foot. It is the case we talk about an over-inverted foot, indeed a foot that is overloaded on its lateral portion. By doing so, the big toes flexor, the muscles that connect the big toes to the heel, get inflamed. As per consequence, pain does manifest below the heel. “It feels like if I got glass under my feet” someone that offers this condition would say. Plantar fasciitis demographic. People who spend a long time standing up/walking (waiters) Runners (who run with a heel strike) Pregnant women (due to the abundance of weight) The foot is a complex body part. Indeed, the foot contains 29 muscles, 26 bones and 30 joints. Therefore if not loaded correctly, the consequence can lead to major body musculoskeletal dysfunctions and unbalance. As already mentioned during the blog about the Fascia line, unbalanced feet can reproduce tension up to the back and shoulders. Plantar fasciitis functional test. A simple test that we do as massage therapists is to passively extend the big toes. (Windlass Test) If pain is reproduced on the heel, the test is positive. Therefore, this test tells us that the big toes, which most luckily would not even extend to their full range (65°), are not used when standing and or walking. That’s why is weak and tight. How can massage help reduce plantar fasciitis pain? At Melbourne Massage and Treatment, Myotherapy, Remedial Massage or Thai Massage can help reduce the tension along with the foot’s supinator muscles, which are responsible for over-invert the foot. That’s one of the reasons why the body weight gets overloaded on the lateral side of the foot. Regarding MLD, it can be most beneficial to reduce the inflammation within the plantar of the foot and help manage the pain. But as previously mentioned, massage can help in reducing the symptoms, and improve mobility. Where for full recovery, corrective exercises are essential. Was this post helpful? If you are suffering from Plantar Fascitis and would like to find a way out of the pain, book now your next appointment with Melbourne Thai Treatment. Here on the right side, is an example of a pair of shoes, for someone who suffers from plantar fasciitis. As you may notice, the lateral portion of the show is completely worn out, where the medial portion, is nearly touched, especially at the big toes area. So back to the fact, that the big toes are what should drive the foot along the strike motion if that shoe area is untouched, it means that person is not loading any weight on there. Footwear examination can be also used to identify weight balance in the foot area.
Apr
A Scap-Off Load is a special test or functional test that we use to evaluate the implication of Lev Scapular and Up. Trap in Cercival Rotation. As previously mentioned, in cervical rotation, we got a fair bit of muscle working towards this action. As many clients come in with cervical pain, it’s time to explain in more detail what’s going on there. Cervical Rotation. How does it happen? So, when we rotate our head, either right or left, the muscle on the same side of the rotation movement is contracting. If a muscle along those is weak, we may reproduce pain in rotation along the same side. To thin down which muscle is responsible for the limited ROM, we have to safely deactivate some of them to see if the left behind one can deliver the expected movement. Here is an example of how scap offload works. If a client comes in with 30° Cervical rotation on the R and pain on top of the scapula, that could be an indication that its levator scapulae is the muscle to target. To confirm this hypothesis, I would ask the client to shrug their shoulders and flex their elbow (the client is sitting on a stool). After that, I will make my way behind the client, and I will support their shoulder weight with my forearm and hands. As the client relieves the shoulder tension, that lev scapulae and up. Traps. are now deactivated. The next thing would be to ask the client to perform the cervical rotation. Ideally, I would like to see the client have a full range of motion (80° to 90°). If this post talks to you, book your next massage session by clicking here. That would tell me that the only muscles that are limiting the cervical rotation are the lev scap. and up trap. On the other hand, what could happen, is that the cervical rotation is, yes improved, but still limited, compared to the ROM expected. In this case, the muscles involved in the stiff range of motions are not only lev scap. and or upper trap. In fact, what is causing the limitation is the cervical occipital muscles. And yes, spending long hours at the computer or looking at the phone doesn’t help. After this test, to narrow down even more which other muscles are involved in the stiffness of the cervical area, I do run another series of tests. Those tests would look into joint areas like C0-C1, which would refer to Obliquus Capitis Superior muscle, and the C1-C2 test, which would look at tension for Obliquus Capitis Inferior. Furthermore, for the other facet joints that make up the lower cervical region (C3 to C8), I would analyze each facet joint individually. These series of tests are indeed part of my Myotherapy training. Last would be then the usage of the joint mobilisation technique. In this case, we would look into what joint has lost mobility or which one has an excess of it. Strengthening the cervical. In order to improve the presentation, massage on its own is not enough. As per any condition so far, the strengthening of the muscle, in this case, the cervical and upper thoracic one, would allow to prevent further pain and discomfort. The work that the cervical muscle has to do daily is considerably high, giving the natural weight of the skull. So exercising a chin tag in a supine position can help. Ideally, we would do these exercises in the supine position (lying down face up) so that we have gravity to fight back as we train our deep flexors. To further improve the strengthening, once the chin tag is not enough, we can start using a soft rubber band to create resistance. Said so, be mindful that the cervical area is a delicate area to work on too, and those exercises are best practice under the supervision of an expert trainer or massage therapist.
Apr
First Massage Appointment. At Melbourne Thai Treatment, a first massage appointment session does last a bit longer than a regular appointment. Indeed, if you go on the booking page, you may notice that the first appointment lasted 75mins. Why so?! Well, within the first appointment, as a therapist my aim is to track down your Clinical History. For doing so there is initially a form to fill in and in a second stage few subjective questions that I am going to ask. Questions are like: “What do you do for work?” “What sports activity do you do or did?” “On what side do you sleep?” “Are you Right or Left Handed?” Ext… These and other questions, relevant always to the presentation that you come in with, are for me therapist essential to understand how you end up having the pain or discomfort that I have to remove or reduce. Obviously, those questions asked during the first massage appointment can take a bit of time to be answered Occasionally an answer gives space to a new question. Said so, the more specific are the answer more I can narrow down the clinical situation. If this post is talking to you, book your next massage session by clicking here. As per result, will be easier to find a path to alleviate pain and discomfort. On the other hand, as the session last longer than a regular visit, as a therapist I charge a bit more. For a Remedial Massage and a Thai Massage a first appointment session would last 75mins. About MLD a first Massage session would last 60 minutes. Indeed, with this post, I would like to share and explain to any clients that the first appointment is not more expensive because I am greedy. Is through, the time we spend doing the massage itself is per usual the same time that we would spend during a general consultation. But, that initial time that we spend working out your Clinical History, will save time after actually treating the condition. In conclusion, I would not see the first appointment as an extra expense, but as an investment in your health. Before we find out what’s the cause of your pain, and discomfort before I can create a proper treatment for it.
Mar
Range of Motion is the movement of a joint within a 3-dimensional space. For each joint, we expect a minimum and a maximum degree of movement. When to use a range of motion evaluation. Before performing a Myotherapy, Remedial Massage, or a Thai massage session, we check for a Range of Motion, also know as ROM. Checking for ROM is to establish the functionality of the joint and the muscles that surround it. For example, when a client walks in complaining of cervical pain, the first thing we look in too after the postural assessment is the ROM. A postural assessment is an evaluation of the skeletal structure. After that, we ask the client to do specific movements with their head. Like, Rotation side to side, flexion, extension, and lateral flexion. Indeed, these are the basic range of motion for the cervical area. What this range of motion can tell us? Well, depending on the essential mobility of the person, we expect a minimum and maximum range. Let’s say that the client has average mobility; we expect the range of motion of their cervical to be: Flexion (able to flex the head forward and leave a gap of 3cm between the chin and the sternum) Extension, we look in too 70° of movement Lateral Rotation we look in too 80° of rotation (the chin is nearly in line with the shoulder) Lateral Flexion we look in too 45°. If this post talks to you, book your next massage session by clicking here. Are the range of motion movements the same for everyone? A person with a hypermobile joint range may have a 10° about less ROM than this. Indeed, a person that has a hypermobile joint range can reach 10° furthermore. That’s why every person needs his evaluation. Moving forward, if the range of motion is limited, it could be a muscle tightness or a joint mobilization issue. The best approach for improving joint mobilisation is the Myotherapy treatment or Thai Massage. Both techniques relieve muscle tension and improve muscle tone and joint mobility. The release of tension from the muscle would improve the ROM. On the other hand, when we ask a client to do a ROM, we don’t look only for the length of movement. Quality of movement. For the quality of movement, we refer to how smooth the movement is. Is the client trying to compensate for the cervical rotation by flexing the head? Is the client compensating for the flexion by shrugging the shoulder? Indeed, the movement of a joint is the key to understanding what muscle is responsible for the pain, discomfort or limited ROM. Once we individualise the key muscle/s, we can address the issue. Different types of ROM. In conclusion, the ROM can be active, passive and resisted. The client itself does active ROM. Passive are ROM done by the therapist with no assistance in controlling the movement by the client. Reisted is ROM active done by the client, with a resistance force applied by the therapist again the client’s movement. Each of this ROM can tell us something different about the joint. Active is about muscle lengthening. Passive is about joint mobility (ligament and tendon) Resisted is about the strength of the muscle. We can’t use the Resisted if Active or Passive reproduces pain. That would not be safe. Regarding the Resisted ROM, the resistance is applied in 3 different levels. When the pain gets reproduced, we stop the test. Occasionally, an orthopaedic test can be performed too. Orthopaedic tests are specific tests to evaluate in specific the muscle involved in the limited ROM.
Feb
Neck Pain. Neck pain is something that we all did experience at some point in life and is not fun. Neck pain can manifest for very different reasons, it can be chronic, it can come and go and can debilitate our day. How we can prevent neck pain to happen? And, if I am in pain, what I can do? Firstly we should have an understanding of the neck anatomy. The neck is made from the cervical vertebrae that run from C0 to C7. The first 3, so C0, C1, C2 are a bit unique. Due to their position and to the muscle that they connect, they can be considered the upper portion of the neck. Along those 3 vertebrae, we find the Occipital Muscle Group, which we did talk about in this blog post. From C3 to C7, indeed we have the lower portion of the neck. Along those vertebrae, we find different muscle groups. Some of those connect cervical vertebrae to the thoracic one, like Splenius Cervicis. Others connect the vertebrae to the scapula or to the skull, like Levator Scapulae, and Splenius Capitis. As of last we then have the upper portion of the Erector Spinae group, which connects the rib cage to the Cervical and Skull area. Like, Longissimus Capitis, Longissimus Cervis, Illiocostalis Cervis and Semispinalis Capitis. Now that we are a bit more aware of what is where, we can start to understand that neck pain can be for many, many, and many reasons. So, what to do then? Well, a massage therapist can be the one that thanks to orthopaedic tests and Range of Motion analysis can tell you what’s going on and where. For booking now your next appointment with Melbourne Massage and Treatment click here. Indeed, neck pain can be present because of the rounding of the shoulders. Or even because of a flat foot instead. “And what about the wrong pillow?!” Yes, the pillow can influence the neck life, that’s for sure. But maybe is the way that you sleep, and not the pillow only. Said so, with either a Remedial massage or a Thai Massage neck pain can be healed and cured. Both those techniques can address the issue and help in preventing the flare-up of the pain. In regards to the Remedial Massage, it can be applied in a prone, supine or seated position, using hands and elbow mainly. When it comes to Thai Massage then, there is more fun. Well, at least for the therapist. In the Thai Massage that I offer here at Melbourne Thai Treatment, I can use my hands, elbow, or even my feet to work on the neck. Obviously, I did train for it. And let me tell you, not because I use my foot it means is a stronger work. Actually, it is a more delicate and accurate touch than what you may expect. If then the person presents with a bulging disk in the cervical area, then things get a bit more complicated. To receive a massage there, I would request the clearance of the GP, and I may proceed by using MLD only. MLD can be a fabulous technique to work on to the neck. It can help in reducing swelling and speed up the recovery of the building disk too. In conclusion, to avoid neck pain is good to take some precautions. Like, spending less time on the phone, moving the neck with gentle movement and stretching, taking regular breaks from the computer if working too many hours at the PC, make your deep flexor stronger (see the blog post about the Front Head Carriage).
Jan
Water after a massage. Have you ever noticed that after a massage you feel thirsty and depending on the treatment you may have an urgency to go to the toilet? Well, massages are diuretics, that’s why. Indeed, independently of the type of treatment that you receive, whether is MLD, Remedial Massage, or Thai Massage, the body fluid gets pushed and pumped around the all body. As per consequence, all these substances moved around need to find their way out. So, after any session, you wanna make sure to rehydrate your body. Drink water after a massage. Why water and not orange juice? Or an energy drink? Or coffee? Water is what is recommended after a massage because it’s what can at the best re-oxygenate the muscle and re-hydrate the body. Drinking a sugary drink, or a really acid beverage as it can be coffee will just dry off the body even more. Furthermore, water is quicker to be absorbed and can help the stomach to keep its natural PH balance. If this post is talking to you, book your next massage session by clicking here. Another effect of the massage can be the deep relaxation of the body, which can affect the stomach and abdominal feeling. Indeed, adding sugar or other substances to the PH of a stomach that feels so relaxed, may not work at the best. What about the water temperature then? Cold or warm? Well, let’s take down the myth that cold water makes you feel fresher. Sorry, it doesn’t. Drinking cold water brings the body temperature down, increasing then the difference in temperature between within the body and outside the body. That will make you feel even hotter. But I do understand that hot water unless is herbal tea, doesn’t feel so nice. Even though, warm water would be ideal, as its temperature would be the same as one of our inner organs. So, temperature-wise just drinks water at room temperature if you can’t stand hot water.
Jan
Massage and music at Melbourne Massage and Treatment Studio. Music is such an important part of receiving and giving a massage. As our body gets stimulated from the touch of the practitioner, music can tune in with the healing touch and create a different atmosphere. Said so, I never found it too hard to choose what music to play. Lately, I did decide to step away from platforms such as Spotify or Youtube. Why? Well, starting with YouTube, there is way too much publicity, and I don’t really use it as much that I would need an account for it. In regards to Spotify, I just can’t stand their politics. The artists get paid nothing for each time we listen to their music, and I found it really unfair. So, more recently, I discover a really nice French Radio called FIP. FIP stands for France Inter Paris. The concept behind FIP has scarcely changed since its founding: commercial-free music interrupted only by occasional announcements about forthcoming cultural events. Why did I choose FIP? If this post is talking to you, book your next massage session by clicking here. I choose Fip as it has a broad range of music styles and is commercial-free The last thing you want to hear during a massage is publicity, isn’t it? Furthermore, I use it all day long in the house, it has a really massive range of music choices. During the treatments, I mostly play Jazz music as is the one that best suits the environment. In regards to MLD, though, I don’t play music during those sessions. Why? Well, MLD is a light touch treatment that doesn’t have to follow a bit. In fact, having music, for us MLD therapists can be distractive. Along with the MLD treatment, I have to be so focused that I can’t get distracted by the music’s rhythm. That would change the rhythmic of my touch and massage speed, interrupting the healing purpose of MLD. In conclusion, I never received a complaint about the Music choice, so I guess your customers appreciate the choice and respect the idea that under pay an artist, is just not fair.
Jan
Massage History. Massage history dates back many centuries ago. The association between touch and healing is longer than what you may expect. In fact, the history of massage goes back to 5000 years ago. As per the result of the first finding, the first appearance of massage as a healing technique is founded in India. Is the Ayurveda history then that can be pushed so far. Along the millennia and centuries, this healing technique gets spread all around. Firstly the massage approach spreads to China ( 2700BCE ) and is here that the technique starts to be mixed with martial arts and spiritual yoga. Indeed, this will create the base for Chinese Medicine. From China then, the massage techniques and knowledge moved to Japan, and that’s when Shiatsu was born. Shiatsu is a technique that regulates and strengthens organs by moving energy levels through the stimulation of pressure points aiming to bring natural resistance to illness. If this post is talking to you, book your next massage session by clicking here. Along with the eastern culture, let’s not forget the Thai Massage. About this specific technique, I did dedicate a full blog post. In regards to the western culture were Egyptians the first who start practising massage then influence the Greeks and the Romans (800BCE). As per result, the Greeks put the base for western medicine. Thanks to the passion and devotion to sports (Olympics game) figures like Hippocrates start to associate facts with time in nature, music, rest, good food, and massage as a good practice for the body and essential for healing. Hippocrates can be considered the father of modern medicine. In regards to the Romans, made massage was a popular practice. The reach people could get a massage as a private service, whereas, everybody else would have a massage at the public bath. The Roman public bath is the precursor of the modern SPA. Timepass by and massage lose its popularity, especially in the western world. We have to wait till the 19th century. Is then when a Swedish doctor Per Henrik Ling, developed the base for the Sweedish massage or better known as relaxation massage. From this time onward than all the modern medicine techniques start developing. Remedial Massage (19th century) Myotherapy (1970) Osteopathy (1874) MLD (1930) In conclusion, several are the technique of massage available today. There is a massage that works better than others? Possibly yes, like some massage techniques can work more deeply than others. Said so, depending on the need of the person and the body conditions that may a specific technique is recommended more than others.
Dec
Different ways of using a Cup. The cup usage is a gentle way to dissolve body tensions, and as already mentioned in the previous post cupping is a fabulous way of working on the body. Indeed, let’s not forget, that when I talk about cupping on this blog, I don’t refer to any practice that involves blood extraction or skin cuts. The usage of cupping for me, starts and stop to do work on the skin and fascia. Cups can be made of plastic, glass or bamboo. Depending on the type of cup in use differents are the methodology used to create the suctions. When glass cups are in use, in order to create a vacuum, heat is applied to the cup. In fact, the heat will burn out the oxygen in the cup, creating the vacuum effect. On the other hand, when the cup is made of plastic, fire is not in use. To create the vacuum with the plastic one is used a pump. So, when plastic ones are in use, the cup gets placed on the body of the receiver and with the pump, the air is pulled out. As per result, the therapist is to be aware of the type of skin she/he is dealing with. Paler skin is keener to bruise. Furthermore, the skin of an older client may be keener to break. So again, when a manual massage is given, not all the clients can receive the same type of treatment. If this post is talking to you, and you are in need of a massage, book your next session by clicking here. Moving forward, once the cup is applied to the skin, and the vacuum is created, the cup can be moved. This type of cupping is called dynamic cupping. Moving the cups around allows the skin to be pulled, and can create a change in a full fascia area. Furthermore, is by observing the client’s skin elasticity that the therapist can decide in which direction to apply the cupping. In fact, the aim would be to drug the cup in a direction in which the skin doesn’t move so easily. Said so, not let’s forget that, before applying the cup, on the client’s body will be applied cream or oil. This will allow reducing the frictions between the cups and the skin. In conclusion, to make the cupping even more effective, when the cup gets drugged around, the client can also move the joints which are in control of that skin section. For example, if we are doing cupping on the quods, we can ask the client to flex the knee. That would create extra skin pulling.
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