Posts Tagged ‘massage’
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Massage therapists often gush about the therapeutic properties of massage therapy, saying it can lower levels of anxiety and stress, improve wellness, and even reduce pain. And for the most part, they’re right.
Indeed, many academic studies have demonstrated the therapeutic properties of massage therapy, but these studies are usually small in their number of participants, and often massage therapy is indicated as a complementary treatment, for example, as a non-invasive pain reliever for cancer patients. A study in the July 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine is therefore a breakthrough for massage therapists as it concludes that massage therapy isn’t just a good complementary therapy, rather, it is the best choice for treating lower back pain. (more…)
Tags: health, lower back pain, massage, massage therapist, massage therapy, medical massage therapy, muscle pain, pain
Posted in Health & Wellness, Pain Management, massage | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
In our previous entry we described myofascial release, how it compares to structural integration, and the need to be highly trained in the modality in order to know how to manipulate fascia in the correct way so it creates an optimal pattern, allowing for natural, effortless movement. This week we’ll look at some of the unique properties of myofascial release. (more…)
Tags: fascia, health, massage, massage therapist, massage therapy, medical massage therapy, muscle pain, myofascial release, pain, tension
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Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
On the more therapeutic side of massage therapy, many modalities exist that focus on specific health benefits. We have written before, for example, about acupressure, structural integration, and the effectiveness of massage therapy as a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatment. The modality we’re looking at this week, myofascial release, is another massage therapy technique designed for a specific health benefit. In this way it is much more a therapeutic modality than one designed for relaxation. (more…)
Tags: fascia, health, massage, massage therapy, medical massage therapy, muscle pain, myofascial release, pain, tension
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Wednesday, May 4th, 2011
Another week, yet another really great article and conclusion to reference from the Massage Therapy Journal. From page 97 of its Winter, 2010 edition, there is an excellent article demonstrating massage therapy’s proven effectiveness in relieving chronic neck and lower back pain, and its possible effectiveness in relieving a slew of other ailments as well. (more…)
Tags: back pain, health, massage, massage therapy, medical massage therapy, neck pain, pain, therapy
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Monday, April 25th, 2011
Last week we wrote generally about how sports massage therapy can help football players, stating that regular massage can help keep players fresh during long periods of training, as well as help players avoid or manage their injuries. Yet another way massage therapy can help all athletes – and especially football players – is in its ability to treat pain associated with scars. (more…)
Tags: health, massage, massage therapy, medical massage therapy, muscle pain, pain, scar, scars
Posted in Health & Wellness, Pain Management, massage | No Comments »
Monday, April 11th, 2011
Last week we looked at the ABMP’s and the AMTA’s fact sheets for 2010 (click here and here) and found that the industry is a multi-billion-dollar one that is growing quickly in the amount of money it generates per year. We also looked at data suggesting that a sizable number of businesses and individuals receive massage therapy on an annual basis.
This data and its portrayal of the massage therapy industry make it easy to understand why massage therapy is an increasingly popular career choice. But, as we’ll see, a closer look at the data shows an industry that is hardly a slam-dunk financial windfall for its practitioners. (more…)
Tags: ABMP fact sheet, AMTA Fact Sheet, average income, massage, massage industry, massage therapist, massage therapy, money
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Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Forgive me again for being late in exploring this (we’re way into 2011 already!), but I wanted take a look at the industry fact sheets for massage therapy of 2010 from two major professional organizations, the AMTA and the ABMP. Both organizations provide really great statistics and data each year in their fact sheets, presenting an industry that is both widely used by Americans and, as a result, highly lucrative. (more…)
Tags: ABMP fact sheet, AMTA Fact Sheet, massage, massage industry, massage therapist, massage therapy, money
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Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
Last week we wrote a post about an article in the AMTA’s Massage Therapy Journal about massage therapy and the skin, describing how the article does a good job of listing what therapists should look for when massaging and doing an intake of their clients’ skin.
This week, I want to continue our discussion of the article, as it really does a good job detailing common ailments of the skin that massage clients may have and what that means for the massage therapist (indeed, 11 of the article’s 14 pages – including pictures! – are dedicated to this).
Check out the article to find out more about bacterial conditions, including (more…)
Tags: AMTA, infections, massage, massage therapist, massage therapy, Massage Therapy Journal, skin, skin conditions
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Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
Often a massage therapy career can be a bit of a grind, especially when a full schedule of regular clients keeps you seeing the same people and performing the same intake/massage. Fortunately, most licensing bodies require massage therapists to take continuing education credits in order to have their licenses renewed. Another way to stay fresh in your massage therapy career without taking a class is by picking up the AMTA’s Massage Therapy Journal (you can subscribe, go to the library, and access articles online).
Indeed, in the recently released, Winter (2010) edition of the MTJ there is a fabulously detailed article about massage therapy and skin (click here for a .pdf version of the article). It’s definitely worth the read, especially if you are in the mood to delve into a subject and expand your knowledge of skin and massage therapy. (more…)
Tags: AMTA, massage, massage therapist, massage therapy, Massage Therapy Journal, skin
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