Fingertips

A Rude Awakening

Nothing like relaxing like on a holiday morning with your beverage of choice and feeling chest pain. Hmmm. What could be going on? No left-sided chest pain, so that's a good sign. Could it be heartburn? I haven't had anything to eat yet, so that really doesn't make sense, since I don't tend to have heartburn with my requisite morning diet coke. Unless it's last night's dinner paying me back for some indiscretion, I can't imagine where this feeling is coming from.

So, I examine what may have changed over the past 24 hours. And my answer comes quickly. I've been trying to improve my posture by carrying my shoulders in a more retracted position. My chest pain is likely muscle fatigue.

I come from a long line of slouchers. And while I've spent a good portion of my life fighting this familial characteristic, I still find I have turtle tendencies (head forward posture). My solution to this is to lift my shoulders, retract them back and drop them. To accomplish holding this position, I must contract my rhomboid muscles, especially rhomboidius major. This is synonymous with pinching my lower shoulder blades together.

Aesthetically there are several benefits to this posture. One, it helps force you to stand up straight, encouraging the head back into proper alignment over the spine. Second, your clothes fit better because they are situated properly across the shoulders. Also, an upright posture helps the abdominal core muscles to contract as well, helping the body hold in the abdominal organs. Third, it gives the impression of confidence, which is an attractive characteristic.

Healthwise, the benefits are even more important. Opening up the chest gives the lungs and other thoracic organs more room to expand. Fluids, such as blood and lymph, circulate more efficiently through the thorax which benefits all of the internal organs. By increasing abdominal tone, digestive circulation is improved, speeding digestive contents through the system more efficiently. This helps prevent the body from keeping digestive contents in the system for too long, increasing the chance of reabsorbing toxins, and too much fluid which could lead to constipation.

All this is great. But my question: How long before I stop hurting? How long before this new posture becomes a habit? This isn't just a question for me, but for my future patients who will experience similar pain and a need for a new way to carry themselves.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Athletic Taping

I got some instruction today about athletic taping. My instruction involved how to tape the arch of the foot to help support a weak tibialis posterior. I didn't find a video to show an example of this taping, but I found instruction for plantar faciitis taping that looks very similar. What is missing it the wrap around the foot to support the arch.

I tried to find a video to show an example of this taping. What I found is one that shows how to tape an ankle. They sure use a lot of tape, but that bad boy isn't going anywhere!

For more information on athletic taping, there are books available.

PS: Happy Birthday, Diane.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Flu Increases Risk For Schizophrenia

Contracting to flu during pregnancy may increase the risk of the offspring developing schizophrenia, according to a new study in Biological Psychiatry.

It is important to note that these results were dependent upon the type of influenza, with this association present only after fetal exposure to influenza B as opposed to influenza A. The findings from this study suggest that a genetic and/or an additional environmental factor associated with psychosis likely is necessary for the fetal brain to be vulnerable to the effects of influenza, given that decreases in cognitive performance were only observed in influenza-exposed children who developed a psychotic disorder in adulthood.

These finding point up the need for preventive flu vaccines before pregnancy and increased need for good hygiene during pregnancy to prevent contracting the influenza virus.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Is Canadian Health Care Appropriate For The US?

This Denver Post article written by Rhonda Hackett, a Canadian living in the United States, makes an attempt to debunk myths about the Canadian Health Care System. Some topics that she covers include:

1) Taxes in Canada are extremely high, mostly because of national health care.
2) Canada's health care system is a cumbersome bureaucracy.
3) The Canadian system is significantly more expensive than that of the U.S.
4) Canada's government decides who gets health care and when they get it.
5) There are long waits for care, which compromise access to care.
6) Canadians are paying out of pocket to come to the U.S. for medical care.
7) Canada is a socialized health care system in which the government runs hospitals and where doctors work for the government.
8) There aren't enough doctors in Canada.

There is no doubt that America's health care system is in need of reform. As someone who is about to enter our health care system as an employee, I wonder the impact to medical jobs if the US adopted a Canadian-like system. Many health-care workers fear that the national plan would limit or lower their wages. While I'm entering the field for the care of people, I have to admit some curiosity about this. I also wonder what role massage therapy would or could take in such a system. I know that massage therapists in Canada have much more training than massage therapists in the US. As for the salary issue, I have yet to hear Canadian health care workers discuss the impact of a government run system on their pay.

Of course, following the article is the comment field; click to read oldest to the newest comments. It is always interesting to hear people weigh in with questions, fears, and alternative viewpoints about a topic, especially one as important as the future of our health care system.

Here's a counterpoint article published in the Wall Street Journal, the author of which is David Gratzer, a Canadian physician and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. His viewpoint suggests the need for a dual private/public health care system.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

More Migraine Woes

Great. Here's another thing for migraineurs to think about -- if you have migraines in middle age, especially those with an aura, you may have increased risk for brain lesions later in life. For those who don't know what an aura is, it is visual disturbances, dizziness or numbness that can precede migraines. I get migraines and often know they're coming when I see an aura. Mine is what I refer to as the flashing waffle iron -- it's somewhat round, light blue and flashes in the lower left portion of the peripheral vision of my left eye.

The area of the lesions appear to show up in the cerebellum, the area that double checks much of the data going into and out of the brain. The cerebellum also controls balance and coordination. It's not likely that we would be able to ride a bicycle if we had no cerebellum.

However, the functional significance of such brain changes remains an open question.

So, along with an increased risk for heart attack or stroke, people who get migraine headache may be developing brain lesions. Luckily, brain lesions can exist in many people in the population without any affect to their cognitive or motor function. Where damage does show in is in later life when the body and the brain begins to decline. Vulnerabilities to various body parts begin to show as bodily tissues begin to break down because of natural aging processes.

"After adjusting for risk factors for cardiovascular disease, transient ischemic attack or stroke in middle age or late life, we found that women who suffered from migraines with aura in middle age had an almost twofold increased risk of brain lesions in the cerebellum later in life," said Lenore Launer, Ph.D.

So what can migraine sufferers do? Apparently nothing, except trying to prevent the onset of another headache. Keep a diary. Know your triggers and avoid them. Talk to your doctor, they may be able to prescribe medications that prevent or reduce the length or severity of your migraine headaches.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Weird Al's Brain

Here's something fun to do this summer. If you're planning to go to Orange County (California) you can see Weird Al Yankovic's 3-D Brain extravaganza at the OC Super Fair.

Fun and informative, the show runs July 10 through August 9th.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Massage For The Elderly

The geriatric population has special needs. This is true for massage therapy and any other medical care. If your client population is heavily weighted toward the "Grey Hairs" you may want to take some continuing education classes devoted to geriatric care.

Being aware of issues concerning thin skin, altered sensation, memory, and balance can help you customize your practice to make your massage safer for your elder clientele. In PT school, we're taught a lot about elder care since much of the population we see is older. As a baby boomer (I am at the end of that generation [and some would argue I'm born too late to qualify]), I recognize that the front end of my generation is retiring and I'm here to help my brothers and sisters maintain the active lifestyle that this generation is known for.

An example of what we've learned about elder care, PTs are taught to look for signs and symptoms of our elderly clients in distress. Continuing malaise, accompanied with shortness of breath, reduced appetite, and an elevated heart rate may be an indication of an infection. Usually systemic infection is accompanied by a fever in most people. But a unique characteristic of the elderly is that they may not have a fever and yet be very sick. The inability to concentrate, loss of cognitive function, inability to maintain blood sugar levels, etc. are other signs that there may be a problem. Serious, potentially life-threatening infections such as pneumonia or UTI infection may be present.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health elderly

Exciting New Treatment For Prostate Cancer

Mayo Clinic research doctors, urologist and surgeon Michael Blute, M.D. and urologist and immunologist Eugene Kwon, M.D., have discovered an innovative treatment for advanced inoperable prostate cancer. They trick the immune system.

First they administer a drug that turns off the male hormone testosterone. This itself usually helps shrink prostate tumors somewhat. Next they administer a drug that blocks the "off switch" to T-cells, powerful fighting cells in the immune system. Cancer has a tendency to turn off these immune cells so the body cannot fight the cancer.

The idea: use androgen ablation or hormone therapy to ignite an immune approach — a pilot light — and then, after a short interval of hormone therapy, introduce an anti-CTLA-4 antibody that acts like gasoline to this pilot light and overwhelms the cancer cells.

Once the cancer has shrunk to an operable size, the surgeons go into to remove the tumor. What surprised the researchers, however, was that pathology reports of the extracted tissues during the surgeries revealed only scar tissue and no cancer cells!

While still in clinical trials, this form of cancer treatment has offered hope to many who have been told that their prostate cancer was too aggressive or too far advanced. Another promising aspect of this study is possible models treatments for other hormone related cancers such as breast and ovarian cancers.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Fool Your Set Point

Having trouble losing weight? Want to lower your body's set point for your ideal weight? Try this scientists "accidental diet." Seth Roberts, psychology professor at University of California at Berkeley, used his understanding of Stone-Age man to tease out ideas for fixing a number of ailment, from acne to insomnia to weight gain.

For weight gain, the body's set point is its internal thermostat in the brain (hippocampus, I believe) that is based upon the scarcity of availability of food.

He discovered two agents capable of tricking the set-point system. A few tablespoons of unflavored oil (he used canola or extra light olive oil), swallowed a few times a day between mealtimes, gave his body some calories but didn't trip the signal to stock up on more. Several ounces of sugar water (he used granulated fructose, which has a lower glycemic index than table sugar) produced the same effect. (Sweetness does not seem to act as a "flavor" in the body's caloric-signaling system.)

The results were astounding. Roberts lost 40 pounds and never gained it back. He could eat pretty much whenever and whatever he wanted, but he was far less hungry than he had ever been. Friends and colleagues tried his diet, usually with similar results. His regimen seems to satisfy a set of requirements that many commercial diets do not: it was easy, built on a scientific theory and, most important, it did not leave Roberts hungry.

Who knows, it may be worth a try for people who have tried everything else.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Long-Term Internships

My school's deadline for selecting our long-term clinical internships is this week. I've finally finished refining my list while including last-minute slots that became available. We have three internships that we will be place in. We must choose one of each among acute care, neuro-rehab, and out-patient for each semester.

My rationale for choosing my internships were as follows:

1) Though is should not be a priority, location is very important to me. I do not want to be placed so far away that I cannot continue to live with my husband. Luckily, the Birmingham area has lots of local, high quality medical facilities.

2) We have three internships next year. One is 10 weeks long and the other two are 12 weeks long. Since, ironically, out-patient is not my greatest interest, I want to have it be my 10-week semester rather than one of my longer ones. Also, I am hoping to get a facility that offers more than just orthopedics which tend to be a lot of shoulders and knees. Attaching my out-patient experience to a hospital will offer me exposure to a greater of a variety of patient scenarios.

3) Lots of people in my class have a sports background. Whether they were athletes themselves, or had their undergraduate degrees in physical education, I know many of them desire to work with athletes. This is not an area of interest for me, so I'm avoiding these places so that others who have a passion for the work have a better chance of obtaining these slots.

4) A handful of folks also want to work with children. I have limited experience with children since I have none of my own, so a facility with a focus on pediatrics would take me way out of my comfort zone. Again, I'm happy to step aside and give the opportunity to folks with a passion for working with children.

5) One of the advantages of being older and having experience as a massage therapist is the exposure I have had to people. Not only has my past put me in a position to meet people different from myself, I've also had access to many of the sights, sounds, and smells that come with them. The opportunity to work at a charity hospital or with veterans, amputees and wounds will hopefully broaden my compassion for the human condition. It's one of the reasons I wanted to explore women's health this summer, while many of my classmates were repulsed or embarrassed at the idea of such work. So, where others may be put off by such opportunities, I decided to select these experiences to help broaden my learning.

I look forward to finding out where I will be placed next year. Our selections will be entered into a computer based upon the order of the selections we chose. Then, somehow, the computer will sort our choices and place us into a slot randomly. The minimum number of places we could choose was four. I was able to select many more options that based upon my listed criteria. I'm sure I'll be happy no matter where they decide to place me.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Could Massage Make Illnesses Easier To Treat?

Massage reduces anxiety levels.

While it makes perfect sense that massage's release of muscle tension would also reduce anxiety levels, our empirical society demands that scientific research prove any generally accepted notion.

Tiffany Fields, PhD and the Touch Research Institute have numerous articles on the positive impact of massage on multiple medical conditions. According to the Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies, mainstream medicine is recognizing the role that anxiety plays in illness, especially in relation to major illness of the cardiac, pulmonary and gastrointestinal systems.

According to Harvard University scholars, physical diseases are harder to treat in the estimated 57 million adults who suffer from an anxiety disorder. More specifically, heart disease, chronic respiratory disorders and gastrointestinal ailments are more severe when coupled with anxiety.

Logically, a non-invasive, low cost, low side-effect solution would be the best. Maybe, finally, massage therapy will find it's rightful place in mainstream medicine for those who desire to practice there.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Why Free Doesn't Work

Here's an interesting analysis of the way people think about "FREE." Thom Stratton, a business strategies examiner, at the website examiner.com, discusses why people may not use a free massage, but will jump at the chance to get a reduced price massage.

Because the perceived value of the free massage is so high, the clerks are reluctant to use them. The opportunity cost of using the massages is the inability to use them later, even if a more stressful day comes along. Therefore, to maximize the value of the massage, they are willing to wait for just the right occasion, even if it never comes.

Offer them a discount, Stratton says, and their motivation points them in another direction: here's a bargain now, I know how much money I have and how much that massage is really worth. If I don't take this opportunity, I may not have the money later to take advantage of the bargain massage.

This is a huge insight into the way people perceive the value of a massage. This is why people will get a gift certificate and wait a whole year, only to use it the day before it expires. I learned quickly that if someone called the day of or day before their gift expired, I would honor it, but only if they made an appointment right then and there. Don't extend that deadline one week or one month. You'll get a phone call after a month from that client bemoaning the fact that they could not redeem their gift and would you please extend it again?

It will never get used. And that's a terrible way to grow your business. One, you are wasting time on the phone with people who will continue to never darken your door. Second, if they could just experience your wonderful massage, they might become a repeat customer, or buy a gift for a friend, or spread the news about you through word of mouth. Third, don't forget your purchaser. Nothing is more disappointing to the gift giver than to realize that they just threw away a bundle of money for nothing. In those cases, in order to retain or promote a good business relationship with that customer, I would offer them the expired massage. At least they appreciate what a great experience massage is. Also, that would let the customer know not to buy a massage for that friend next time a gift-giving occasion comes around.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

What Is Your Personality

Work provided an in-service learning workshop that covered several topics including plantar fasciitis and understanding personality differences in the workplace. I wasn't invited to attend, but I saw some of the paperwork from the workshop that provided valuable information about turning irritations with co-workers into assets through understanding personality.

Just for fun, here's a copy of the Meyer-Briggs quiz to see what type of personality you have.

I scored as an ISFJ -- Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging
Quiet, kind, and conscientious. Can be depended on to follow through. Usually puts the needs of others above their own needs. Stable and practical, they value security and traditions. Well-developed sense of space and function. Rich inner world of observations about people. Extremely perceptive of other's feelings. Interested in serving others.

They call the ISFJ "The Nurturer." I think that's an apt description for a massage therapist. A description of the 16 personality types is available with with a link to a more detailed description of each personality.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Tetris Inoculation Against PTSD Flashbacks

World of Psychology points out a study that states that one of my favorite video games,Tetris, can possibly inoculate against future PTSD flashbacks. With the increasing numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffering from PTSD, this could be an interesting way to deal with their condition without resorting to too many pharmaceuticals.

Playing Tetris appeared to interfere with the brain’s ability to form a significant visuo-spatial memory of the traumatic event. Such memories are an important component to flashbacks. No such memories means a reduced likelihood of future flashbacks.

tags: ptsd tetris wellness bodywork health

Common Sense Eating

It's so refreshing to see an article that outlines common sense eating. Simple Ways to Slim Down (Without Even Trying) outlines what could reasonably be a lifelong eating plan for all of us.

Lucy Danziger offers the following ideas:
1) Grow your own food
2) Eat fruit and vegetable snacks with a satisfying crunchiness
3) Read package labels and steer clear of unpronounceable words in the ingredient label
4) Exercise portion control
5) Know your portion sizes (this is an important one!)

Simple visual cues: A 3-ounce serving of meat, poultry or fish is about the size of a deck of cards; two servings of pasta or rice is the size of a baseball; a bread serving is the size of a CD case; one serving of cheese is the size of four dice.

5) Eating out? Eat half of what they serve you and take the other half home or share it with a friend.
6) Take time out to sit down and eat and don't do anything else but eat (not even TV)
7) Skip sugary drinks: If it's not skim milk, plain agua or regular coffee or tea, it's dessert.
8) Eat breakfast: aim for 300- to 500-calories
9) Don't feel obligated to clean your plate. The maxim: leave 20-30%
10) If you eat well most of the time, an occasional indulgence is not a sin -- just go back to your sensible eating plan once the craving has passed.

Of course, adding some reasonable exercise to go with a sensible eating plan is also recommended. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends exercise for 30 minutes a day for optimal health. And you can break that 30 minutes into 10 minute increments and still get health benefits.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health