Tag Archives: rubbed the wrong way

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

Posted on by
1

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Top Massage Companies

Posted on by
Reply

Many massage clients, and perhaps massage therapists,  often search the Web in quest of finding  the best massage companies. In both cases the quest is futile because there are no best massage companies. Why? because massage is a one on one endeavor. 

For example, after signing up for a health plan most people want to select their own doctor. They don’t want the assigned one. Pick one that you feel comfortable with, that you  trust, that you can work with, one that’s competent.

When your enrolled with a massage chain they give you a therapist, you did not select. In  big massage chain operations you end up having to pay for the whole operations, the owner,the staff, the facility, and the therapist. In these times, there is just not enough money to go around. The therapist is unhappy and cannot give you their best effort. They are often newcomers  to the profession, underpaid and overworked. Those same therapists are googling, searching the  Web, also, to find “top massage companies” because they are looking for a better place to work. Ah, we have come full circle.

 

 

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

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Top massage Companies?

Posted on by
1

If your hoping to find a positive review of some or other massage chain, your in for a surprise. The phrase: Top massage company contains a contradiction, because you can,t obtain a consistently good or top massage if you sign on with any of the sweatshop massage chain companies. 

I won’t mention any names because it’s not about this or that company but more a function     of larger problem seen everywhere in our economy. Massage is being turned into a commodity. Your choice is to decide if you want to pay more or less for a massage. Since any one massage, and therapist, delivers essentially the same service your choice is simple, right? Now everyone can afford a “real” massage, right?

If you were not happy with your job, under constant pressure, not appreciated, under paid, brand new to your profession. Do you think you could do your best work? 

In this economy, sadly many of us find ourselves exactly in that place. As a massage therapist you want every person you work on to really enjoy and benefit from that massage. Most, almost all working in present day massage chain stores simply cannot do their best work.

 

Look here: Indeed one search all jobs forum on massage envy salaries, bonuses … Pages and pages covering literally years of time filled   with comments of one after another  of unhappy therapists.

 

My hands hurt after I give a massage

Posted on by
Reply

 

How to give a massage without having to need one by the time you finish.

Over the years my clients often tell me….”You must have very strong hands how can you give so many massages and not get tired or injured.” When I give my ………………..a massage my hands always hurt!”If you can relate, don’t feel bad. Even professional therapists have this problem.

In my line of work, now days, therapists last about 1 1/2 years. Not good news. One big reason why is injury. So my advice applies to both the beginner, novice, and to those providing massage for a living.

Lets use a typical massage situation. “Honey, can you rub my shoulders?”

Okay, 1) Before you start massaging lets get warmed up up. Relax your arms, let them dangle comfortably at your side, making sure that your shoulders are not elevated( drawn up by your ears). Now shake your hands vigorously. This loosens your shoulders, arms, all the way down to your fingers. Repeat a few times. Take a deep breath and now stretch your fingers apart wide. Give another shake or two and we are ready to begin the massage

2) align hands with your forearms. In other words keep your wrists straight. If you massage with wrists bent your asking for trouble. It’s kinda of like watering your lawn with a hose that is kinked, the water just can’t get through. To accomplish this you may have to bring your body higher or lower in relation to the shoulders (person) you are massaging.

3) Now place your hands along that muscle on the top part of the shoulder. That muscle is called the Trap muscle. Many people make the mistake of trying to pinch that muscle between the tips of their thumbs and fingers. Instead, allow your hand/fingers to conform to the shape of the muscle, with as much surface to surface contact as possible. Instead of pinching, try rolling the muscle between the fingers and thumb, even lifting the muscle up a bit away from the shoulder.

4) Don’t go at it to long. Build up slowly over time. Just a few minutes. Stop before you feel fatigue.

5) Learn different techniques, learn to use other parts of your anatomy to deliver that massage.

 

Top performing companies and massage therapy

Posted on by
7

Successful companies like Google don’t get that way by accident. Even in these difficult times, the company thrives. Why? They think outside of the box. They throw  most  conventional thinking out the window. They always ask how they can improve what they are doing.  Of course, unlike most companies, their employees are highly motivated and very creative. Fortune magazine ranked them as the number 1 company to work for. It was no surprise to hear that all their employees can receive massage as a job benefit, right at their  facilities.

 Google’s Massage therapists are treated with the kind of respect not often afforded in the “real” world, working no more than 12 hours a week. Contrast  that with Massage Envy’s sweatshop- like conditions and meager wages that take advantage of under-trained and undereducated recent “graduates”. I bring this up because Massage Envy does a lot of the “massage” business  but they don’t really provide  much steak, just the sizzle. So, it is not really massage you receive and, therefore, it is more a luxury then a real benefit to your health. Don’t take my word for it…….here is what others think! The Massage Envy ?  or this spa site.

 At Google, the therapists are well trained and represent what massage is really all about. Does the company you work for provide massage for employees?  No? Well maybe they ought to think about it, think outside the box!