Category Archives: Massage tips

Massage oils……which is the best?

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trick question!!

If your a Massage Therapist your better off in the long run using a massage lotion. Why? Today’s high quality  lotions provide for a better overall massage experience for the client and therapist alike. Oils are much more…..oily, u know greasy. When your session is complete you spend more time removing the oily residue from your customer. Some oil will stay attached to your massage recipient’s body causing a unwanted sticky feeling and perhaps will be transferred to their clothes. These are not good outcomes. No matter how proficient a therapist you are a certain amount of oil will land on you and the carpet staining both.  The oil left on your towels and linens, or sheets will not all be laundered out completely. The remaining oil will become rancid, and the sheets, etc. will begin to smell and feel dank. You will be buying new sheets much sooner than you want….cutting into massage profits.

Lotions do mostly the opposite, because many are water based. Much less damage. The client leaves feeling much cleaner, silky smooth, and impressed.

 

Don’t use a knife when you could use a massage…carpal tunnel

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Sometimes I chat with people on the street. Being a massage therapist your always watching people, the quality of their movement and their general posture. If your good, just by keen observation, you know where the person is feeling pain, even the source of their problem. Nevertheless, I don’t like to jump to conclusions. So when I work with a client I start from scratch and try not to make to many assumptions. Not everyone is that careful.

I’m not a doctor, so I don’t presume to diagnose diseases or disorders. It’s not my place. When it comes to the diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel sometimes the doctor misses the boat, so  to speak. It can be confused with other problems based up higher in the arm or shoulder area, even the neck, as my Chiropractor reminded me. See what this doctor has to say about carpal tunnel misdiagnosis.

So when I see a person I don,t know wearing a splint I wonder what they have been told is wrong with them. If they have the wrong diagnosis, surgery will not help them get better and they could be much worse off. Even when the diagnosis was presumably correct this study demonstrated improvement in the condition with the use of massage. In this case, self massage. Maybe you need a cannon, but maybe you only need a pop gun to solve your malady.

 

 

 

 

 

How to become more flexible people

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One of the best ways to get that flexible feeling is by getting regular message work. If you have received massage before think back to how you felt right afterword. Probably you felt wonderful. Maybe you noticed that you seemed to be able to move in ways you could not, without restriction. Is that a real effect? Yes it is.

Sometimes that benefit is lost, or forgotten about. Some times the day after the massage you feel really sore. After that very common experience many people give up on massage wrongly thinking that they were hurt by the massage. Not so, The soreness passes after a day or so then your feeling fine. If you receive regular massage you don’t even have the soreness after. That’s your body muscles responding positively to being worked on. 

 Contrast massage to starting up an exercise program at the gym after a long period of non activity. Injury is a real possibility because your putting a real demand on your muscles when they likely are not ready, or flexible enough to lift that weight or do those high impact aerobic classes . Massage before starting up at a gym could actually reduce your chances of being hurt by improving your flexibility. 

 

Hurts so good……..real massage is not fluff

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Today my shoulders were real tight, stiff, and in pain.I needed to do something.

For a moment some images, like the one above flashed before me. I imagined being pampered, hot stones, body wraps, manicures, being fed grapes, all manner of luxuries being lavished upon me. I was fading fast.

Suddenly, I flinched, eyes wide open, the pressure from the tennis balls placed between my shoulder blades and the floor below was taking it’s toll. ouch that hurt. That hurt so good. I use tennis balls in a pinch.

Like many times before, the willingness to accept a little bit of discomfort yields beneficial results. Results that last longer than the stereotypical massage, or the kind of massage your likely to receive from one of those chain massage companies. Real massage is not a luxury, it’s not fluff either.

How good is massage envy….?

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In a article, “Massage envy affordable…….” at About Spas.com, author Anita Brown reviews massage envy’s service. As it turns out Anita was happy with her result. Of coarse she insisted on having an experienced therapist   do her massage. She was able to book a therapist with 10 years experience. As she pointed out, Massage Envy has a reputation for mostly hiring therapists fresh out of school therapists. There are only so many experienced therapists to go around.

What the author did not point was why so many fledgling therapists? The answer is, to replace the “old” ones leaving the company. In my opinion, massage envy is a real turn style operation.You know, high turnover.

So what kinda of massage will you receive. I don’t know. But your therapist will likely be fresh out of school. Not everyone will be able to book the experienced therapist. Like musical chairs.

Massage for Cancer Patients?

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The prospect of having cancer is not a pleasant one. Our standard treatments while offering some hope for recovery  seemingly have a long way to go. The war on cancer started back in the 60′s when Richard Nixon was our president. Progress has been slow.

While we wait for the cure to work many cancer patients seek relief from all the stresses associated with being sick. Many have turned to massage for some help.

Some are concerned still that perhaps getting a massage will spread their cancer.  If you do a extensive web search, as I have, you will find not much reason for concern. It’s okay to get massage.

However, there are good guidelines to follow. One thing, deep tissue massage, indeed all heavy techniques should be avoided, not so much because it would spread the cancer, but that the person is already quite ill, debilitated, and just handle that much pressure. It what cause distress and more tissue damage. Like throwing gasoline over a fire,  It could be dangerous.  As such, all techniques must be gentle and encourage proper lymph flow. Also, areas receiving radiation must not be massaged, same applies to surgical incisions. 

Finally, It’s always a good idea to ask your doctor.