Massage Warsaw- Massage Therapy – Warsaw Acupuncture

Year: 2009

  • Finding the Right Back Pack for your Child

    Your child’s backpack may be hurting his or her health. Studies have shown that as many as 50% of teenagers suffer from back pain, which may be caused by a number of factors- one of them the improper use of backpacks.

    “Backpacks should not weigh more than 15 percent of a child’s body weight,” advises Ken Shim. “Anything heavier can cause back pain or other health problems.”

    Make sure your child stays healthy by packing it light and wearing it right.  Here’s how:

    Loading a backpack:

    • Load heaviest items closest to a child’s back.
    • Arrange books and materials so they won’t slide around in the backpack.
    • Pack only necessary items.

    Wearing a backpack:

    • Wear both shoulder straps.
    • Select a pack with well padded shoulder straps.
    • Adjust the shoulder straps so backpack fits snug to the child’s back and rests in the curve of the lower back.
    • Wear the waist belt if the backpack has one·
    • When the backpack is overloaded, use a book bag on wheels instead.
    Child’s Weight (lbs)
    		Maximum Recommended Backpack Weight (lbs)
    50
    5
    70
    7
    90
    14
    110
    16
    130
    19
    150
    22
    170
    25
    190
    28

  • When does stress become toxic?

    Massage for Stress

    We all need a little stress in our lives.  Some stress is necessary to give us the energy we need to deal with immediate problems, meet imminent deadlines, and face dangerous situations.  This “Good stress”, in the right quantities, can be essential for living.  But like everything else, it can be possible to have too much of a good thing.

    Too much stress can be detrimental to our health.  Here are some of the warning signs of having too much stress in our lives:

    • sleep disturbances
    • back or neck pain
    • headaches
    • stomach pain/problems
    • weight gain or loss
    • fatigue
    • high blood pressure
    • irregular heartbeat
    • shortness of breath
    • chest pain
    • cold, sweaty hands
    • eczema, psoriasis
    • jaw pain
    • frequent illness
    • nervousness, anxiety
    • depression, moodiness
    • irritability, frustration
    • memory problems
    • lack of concentration
    • trouble thinking clearly
    • feeling out of control
    • substance abuse
    • overreactions

    It is important to recognize the symptoms of stress and learn what to do about them.  If you have quite a few of the symptoms listed above, then it is definitely time to do something about it. Stress can be managed and kept at safe levels.

  • 10 Simple Ways to Manage Back Pain

    massage for back pain

    It can be confusing trying to sift through all the information out there regarding back pain.  Here are 10 simple ways to keep your back pain free and healthy

    1. Exercise regularly
    2. Follow a healthy diet
    3. Maintain good posture
    4. Stretch your spine before and after sports
    5. Don’t overload your backpack or shoulder bag
    6. Stretch your legs and back after each hour of sitting
    7. Never cradle the phone between your neck and shoulder
    8. Sleep on your back or side, not on your stomach
    9. Invest in a good chair, pillow and mattress.  It’s worth it!
    10. Have regular chiropractic or massage treatments

  • How Exercising Improves Your Health

    Years ago, people who were in pain were told to rest, but now we know the exact opposite is true. When you rest, you become deconditioned — which may actually contribute to chronic pain.  Your muscles may lose strength and shrink and your body may lose stability.  As tough as it may be to start an exercise program, your body will thank you.  Here are some benefits of  exercising:

    • Help you maintain a healthy weight. Exercise burns calories, which can help you drop excess pounds. This will reduce stress on your back and joints
    • Enhance your mood. Exercise improves blood and oxygen flow to your muscles and contributes to an overall sense of well-being. Looking and feeling better can improve your confidence and self-image as well.
    • Boost your energy level. Regular exercise can actually give you more energy to cope with chronic pain.
    • Improve your sleep quality. Regular exercise can lower your stress hormones, resulting in better sleep.
    • Protect your heart and blood vessels. Exercise decreases the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack .
    • Help you build strength. The stronger your muscles, the more force and load you’ll take off your bones and cartilage — and the more relief you’ll feel.
    • Increase your flexibility. Joints that can move through their full range are less likely to be plagued with aches and pains.
    • Make your body release endorphins. These chemicals block pain signals from reaching your brain. Endorphins also help alleviate anxiety and depression and stroke.

  • Epsom Salts and Muscle Soreness

    Well, I slept off the chocolate brownie diabetic haze and I am ready to blog. The title isn’t that catchy. Just plain old “blog” but for now it works. My favourite blog title of all time has to be “Bob Loblaw’s Blog” (say it 3x fast and you’ll see what I mean).

    Anyway, I’m seeing a few athletes today so, let’s start with something really simple and enjoyable to do, but has big benefits. Epsom salts. It’s not really salt, and no you can’t just substitute table salt if you run out. And they would probably taste terrible on your eggs or dinner. But they are a great therapeutic tool that everyone should use. Epsom salts are high magnesium content crystals that look, well, like salt. Easy to use too. Just add a cup to a bath tub of hot water, let them dissolve, and then have a good soak for about 10 minutes. While you are just chilling out and blissing out, the epsom salts will be busy drawing out the lactic acids and metabolic waste products from your sore and achy muscles while the hot water will be flooding your muscles with fresh oxygenated blood.

    I am a big believer in the salts and soak my hands in a basin of epsom salts after a hard day of work. Many professional athletes have one after a good workout as part of their regular training regimen. I advise my clients to have one after a more therapeutic massage, but it is hard to convince them to do so.  I am noticing a funny pattern that typically the ones that complain about feeling sore after the treatment didn’t have an epsom salt bath. At the same time, clients that I am afraid will feel the soreness after a treatment have very little to complain about if they have an epsom soak after. In fact, I have a 100% success rate with epsom salts.  I have never heard a complaint of post massage soreness from a client that had an epsom salt bath after the treatment.  So, go ahead and have one. Even if you’re a “shower” person not a “bath” person, give it a try. Don’t think of it as hygeine. Think of it as therapy. And for those of you that simply enjoy baths for relaxation and stress relief, add some epsom salts to increase the bath’s therapeutic value.

    Ken Shim, RMT

  • Why did I do this to myself?

    Well I have no one to blame but myself. I’d like to blame it on my internet guru, who suggested adding a blog to my website to help personalize the experience. It sounded like a wonderful idea at the time. I get the chance to let people know what I am up to; the new techniques I am learning; some self care approaches that could help clients with their healing; and on and on the list of positives went. So here I am working on reorganizing the website and installing a blog. Looks great. I’m happy with many of the changes, but at 2:30am, I’m not sure just how good a judge I am at the moment. Somehow the website is still up and running. Somehow I am lucid enough to write a blog at this hour despite my diet today which consisted of the richest chocolate brownies ever baked. My friend and fellow RMT, Denise Lackan baked them up yesterday and yes they are rich but something in my RMT training in nutrition tells me that it is not a healthy meal replacement. Anyhow, it’s late, I’m rambling, and I’m afraid that if any of my clients see this that they may lose all the respect they ever had for me. So I am signing off on this first ever blog post on my website. The future blogs should be a treat and much more professional.

    Until next time,

    Ken Shim, RMT