Self-care for meralgia paresthetica: heat and stretching of the involved muscles, and removing the physical stress factors that contribute to the condition.
The Science of Relaxing Muscles: What You Need to Know
Whether you’re dealing with post-workout soreness, stress-induced tightness, or everyday aches, this guide has you covered.
How do we treat De Quervain’s syndrome with manual therapy?
Once present, De Quervain’s syndrome (De Quervain’s disease) can be challenging to resolve, but manual therapy treatment can be very beneficial.
How do we treat adductor strain with manual therapy?
Once chronic, manual therapy for an adductor strain is geared toward decreasing muscle tightness, myofascial trigger points, and fascial adhesions.
How do we treat Tennis Elbow with manual therapy?
A good manual therapy protocol for tennis elbow is fascial spreading, longitudinal and cross fiber strokes, and pin and stretch to the posterior forearm.
![[Image: https://images.pexels.com/photos/3760262/pexels-photo-3760262.jpeg]](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/pexels-andrea-piacquadio-3760262-1170x780.jpg)
How to Prolong the Benefits of the Post-Workout Massage
Everyone has experienced body pain and soreness after exercise. That’s because when we work out, the muscles and connective tissues incur damage and microtears. While this is necessary to promote muscle growth, it’s not always comfortable. As such, it’s ideal …
ASK Dr. Joe – “Ask Me Anything”
I am creating a new blog post feature to my content called Ask Dr. Joe, or perhaps better put, Ask Me Anything*. With Ask Me Anything, you can write to me by email (joseph.e.muscolino@gmail.com) and ask me any question about: …
Facial Roller Massage Increases Skin Blood Flow
A daily five-minute massage with a face roller could result in up to a 25% increase in blood flow to the skin.
Post-Exercise Massage and Muscle Stiffness
Post-exercise massage is commonly adminstered to reduce muscle stiffness. This study explores the effectiveness of post-exercise massage after running.
Mindful Touch Can Modify the Brain’s Functional Connectivity
This study evaluated brain connectivity while clients were receiving static touch by a person who was performing mindful touch versus non-mindful touch.
More Frequent Massage Sessions are More Effective for Neck Pain
Multiple 60-minute massages per week were more effective than fewer or shorter sessions for individuals with chronic neck pain.
Massage Therapy Continuing Education
The value of massage therapy continuing education is often dependent on learning how to apply fundamental skill sets of manual therapy.
The Effect of Massage on Skin Health and Regeneration
Massage is commonly promoted to enhance skin health by increasing its ability to regenerate and improving its elasticity and resilience. However…
The Effect of Foam Roller Massage on Pressure Pain Threshold
Foam roller massage is quite popular nowadays among athletes and being recommended to patients by many health rehabilitation professionals as an intervention to augment other manual therapies or as a warm-up before an athletic activity, or as a recovery after athletic activity.
The Effect of Massage Therapy on Blood Pressure in Prehypertensive Women
The results indicated that the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures in the massage group were significantly lower in comparison with the control group. The results also showed that the lowered blood pressure was still observed 72 hours after the treatment.
Deep Pressure Massage to the Low Back – Use Body Weight
An excellent demonstration of the force that can be generated by using body weight is to lean down onto a bathroom weight scale that is placed on a table that is positioned as various heights. Simply relax and lean into the scale with your body weight and notice the force that you generate.
Deep Pressure Massage to the Low Back – Use Stacked Joints
Stacked joints are aligned in a straight line; in other words, the joints are extended as in anatomic position. This allows for the force from your core to travel through your upper extremity and into the client with little or no loss of strength.
Deep Pressure Massage to the Low Back – Support Your Treatment Contact
Bracing the contact means that the two hands must work together instead of each contacting the client separately. Less area of the client’s body will be covered this way, but stronger and more efficient pressure will be created at the area that is being worked, which is more important when deep pressure is needed.
Deep Pressure Massage to the Low Back – Apply Pressure Perpendicularly
Maximal pressure for the effort used is achieved if the angle of your force into the client is perpendicular to the contour of the region being worked. To apply this concept of working perpendicularly, the client’s back and pelvis can be divided into separate regions based on the curve of each region.
Neck Deep Pressure Massage: Step by Step – Engage the Tissues
Being able to feel tissue tension barrier is the one most crucial aspect for a clinical orthopedic manual therapist performing deep pressure massage. From a mechanical standpoint, it is only pressure beyond the tissue tension barrier that effects therapeutic change (this is not necessarily true neurally).
Neck Deep Pressure Massage: Step by Step – Deep Stroking Massage
When performing deep pressure massage, deep stroking massage must originate from your core by further rocking your pelvis and extending your spine forward. Short deep strokes to the neck between 1 and 2 inches (2-5 centimeters) in length allow you to preserve optimal body mechanics.
Neck Deep Pressure Massage: Step by Step – Apply Pressure Perpendicularly
When performing deep pressure massage into the neck, maximal pressure for minimal effort is achieved if the angle of your pressure into the client is perpendicular to the contour of the neck where you are working.
Neck Deep Pressure Massage: Step by Step – Use Your Core
For deep pressure massage to the neck, align your core with your stroke by laterally (externally) rotating your arm at the shoulder joint so that your elbow is positioned in front of your core. Now lock your elbow into your core just inside (and usually slight above) your anterior superior iliac spine.
Neck Deep Pressure Massage: Step by Step – Contacts
Even perfect body mechanics cannot eliminate all physical stress to your body when doing massage. Ideal body mechanics merely minimize the stress. For this reason, when doing massage, especially deep pressure massage, it is wise to alternate which treatment hand contact you use during a session.
Neck Deep Pressure Massage: Step by Step – Positioning
When performing deep pressure massage for the neck with the client supine, it is typical for the therapist to sit, centered at the head of the table. However, this does not allow for efficient body mechanics because it is difficult or impossible to position your core in line with the stroke.
Neck Deep Pressure Massage: Overview
The science of performing deep tissue work to the neck follows the laws of physics and, whenever possible, involves the use of body weight and the contraction of larger muscles instead of smaller ones. The art of performing deep tissue work lies in exactly how these guidelines are carried out and applied.
Neck Deep Pressure Massage: Using Bodyweight and Muscular Effort
We can take advantage of our body weight to generate deep pressure massage into the client’s tissues by simply leaning into the client. Pressure derived this way is effectively free because it takes no effort on our part. For this reason, it should be used whenever possible.
Neck Deep Pressure Massage: Step by Step – Prone and Side-Lying
Side-lying position for deep pressure massage into the neck can be very effective and can allow for effective longitudinal as well as transverse cross-fiber strokes; however, it is important to avoid exerting deep pressure too far anteriorly onto the transverse processes of the client’s neck.
Introduction to Deep Pressure Massage Technique for the Neck
Force for deep pressure can be generated in two ways: externally or internally. The external generation of force comes from the force of gravity by using our body weight. The internal generation of force comes from the contraction of our muscles.
Manual Therapy Case Study for Upper Crossed Syndrome
The therapist performed a static assessment of the client’s posture and noted the typical upper crossed syndrome with a hyperkyphotic thoracic spine, a hypolordotic lower cervical spine, a hyperlordotic upper cervical spine, protracted head, protracted scapulae, and medially (internally) rotated arms.
