Massage Warsaw- Massage Therapy – Warsaw Acupuncture

Year: 2009

  • The Benefits of Sports Massage

    As an athlete can you benefit from massage? The average sports enthusiast might have their doubts. If you are running 30km a week, or lifting weights 3 times a week or generally pushing your body to its limits, how can a shoulder rub help?

    First of all, let’s have another look at the definition of “massage”. The College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO), in their scope of practice, defines massage therapy as:

    The practice of massage therapy is the assessment of the soft tissue and joints of the body and the treatment and prevention of physical dysfunction and pain of the soft tissue and joints by manipulation to develop, maintain, rehabilitate or augment physical function, or relieve pain. (Massage Therapy Act 1991)

    Pretty wordy isn’t it?  Most people that want a massage for some relaxation don’t want to hear any of that.  They would prefer a nice, relaxing, soothing massage… the kind you see on tv or in the movies.  But the beauty of the definition is how open it is.  As an RMT, I treat “soft tissue and joints by manipulation”.  Soft tissue can be muscles, ligaments, tendons, or fascia.  Well, we all know what muscles are and we generally accept that RMT’s are pretty adept at “loosening” or “getting the kinks out of” muscles.  Ligaments are what are involved in ankle sprains, MCL or ACL tears of the knee.  Tendons are involved in any kind of tendonitis or tendinosis overuse conditions such as treat golfer’s elbow or tennis elbow.  And then there’s fascia which act like ropes attaching a sail from the boat to the mast.   If you imagine that the sail is the muscle that powers the boat, then the lines, ropes and pulleys are the fascia that decide how tightly the sail/muscle will be stretched and how powerful the sail/muscle can be.  An RMT is trained to work on the muscles, fascia, ligaments, tendons and joints or basically all those great little parts that work together to achieve peak athletic performance.  For the moment, let’s forget about the typical relaxing “massage” and start thinking of this as “therapy performed by a massage therapist” much the same way we think of therapy performed by a physical therapist or chiropractor.  Massage therapists are qualified to perform most of the stretches, exercises and manipulations that a physiotherapist does.

    Athletes are familiar with the burn and soreness in the muscles that accompanies a good workout.  The pain is often caused by lactic acid build-up and inflammation in the muscles or spasm (shortening) of the muscles.  During a post event treatment, RMT’s can flush out the muscles helping to remove lactic acids and other metabolic waste products while flooding the muscle tissue with fresh oxygenated blood. RMT’s can use different massage & stretching techniques to lengthen the muscle back to its normal length and reduce pain from muscle spasm.  These all help to reduce pain, increase mobility and shorten healing time after an event or a tough workout.

    During the training season athletes are constantly trying to find a balance between pushing the body harder while nursing old injuries and preventing new ones.  These injuries or imbalances can shorten an athletic career and decrease performance.   Scar tissue or fascial adhesions  often build up over injured areas or between  muscles almost gluing these structures together and decreasing strength and mobility.  Rolfing & MRT work to remove and re-align the scar tissue.  Acupuncture is also very effective at decreasing inflammation by giving the injury the equivalent of a cortisone injection.

    Here are some examples of injuries that Sports Massage can help:

    • Plantar Fasciitis
    • Shin Splints
    • Hip Pain
    • Hip Tightness
    • Knee Pain
    • Tennis Elbow
    • Golfer’s Elbow
    • Patellar Femoral Syndrome
    • Post Event Stretch & Flush
    • Frozen Shoulder
    • Rotator Cuff Tendonitis
    • Herniated Disc
    • Ankle Sprain
    • Wrist Sprain
    • Quadricep or Hamstring strain

  • Acupuncture in the Western World

    I just wrote a comment on a blog regarding acupuncture.  The author of the blog was arguing that oriental medicine is turning into a fad whereby people are turning to it and trusting that it works without looking into any evidence supporting it.  That people are becoming leery of western medicine simply because it is western.  I wrote back the following words and wasn’t sure if it would be published so I figured I should at least put them in here.  If you would like to see the blog article to which I am referring, click here.

    Yes, there is a trend or a fad that people are seeking out oriental medicine and accepting its effectiveness without due diligence, but remember that for the past 100+ years there has been a trend or a fad of people only accepting western medicine without any due diligence.  But perhaps this excitement over this new fad is just part of a natural order of things.  The excitement that occurs when people’s eyes have been opened.  When people can see the great possibilities that didn’t exist before.

    As for the effectiveness of oriental medicine.  Let’s first start off with understanding that the WHO, the National Institute of Health and the British Medical Association all endorse acupuncture as an effective form of treatment.  I hope you believe that these organizations are swayed more by research than emotion.

    Remember also that acupuncture has only been researched for the past 2 decades.  Also important is the lack of money being poured into acupuncture research.  Truth is that studies proving that acupuncture works don’t make anybody rich, unlike studies regarding pharmaceuticals.

    Lastly, my hope is not that oriental medicine replace “modern” medicine, but rather that MD’s and the rest of the medical establishment learn to play nice and work together with other health care practitioners.  A patient that has a wider range of treatment available is surely more likely to find health.

    Ken

  • The Beauty of Combining Massage & Acupuncture

    My favourite method of treating is becoming the combination massage & acupuncture session.  From what I have seen, it gives a better chance of success for relieving chronic or acute pain and also gives a more pain free, comfortable release compared to massage therapy alone.

    In a typical combination Acupuncture & Massage session, I do a half hour acupuncture treatment followed by a half hour massage.  There are some real benefits to this such as:

    1. An Easier, Gentler Treatment Experience. This sounds counter-intuitive.  How can poking somebody with needles be gentler than massaging?  I start with acupuncture because it does a great job of setting the tone for the treatment.  The acupuncture treatment triggers a chain reaction that releases endorphins, analgesics and anti inflammatories into the problem areas.  After the needles are out, typically the client is more relaxed, the pain is lessened, the inflammation is reduced and the muscles have decreased spasm.  At this point, the client will not feel as much pain and discomfort from the massage.  After the needles have done the bulk of the work lessening the acuteness of the pain, the massage can be gentler focusing on flushing out toxins and stretching the muscles back to their normal length.
    2. The client benefits from each technique’s unique strengths. There is no one approach or technique that does all for all people.  Massage is excellent for  increasing circulation to an area.  Stretching techniques are great for returning short muscles back to their normal length.  Fascial techniques are perfect for getting rid of fascial restrictions or scar tissue.  Reflexive neurological techniques are wonderful for releasing stubborn muscle spasms. And acupuncture is great at reducing inflammation, speeding up the healing process, decreasing pain and working deep muscles that are difficult to access.  Through a combined approach, the client has the best chance of achieving health.
    3. Acupuncture decreases inflammation. When a client is in acute pain there is usually some  inflammation in the area.  The inflammatory response releases neuro transmitter chemicals which heighten any pain response.  This means that the painful area can be tricked into feeling extreme pain from even a light touch, which makes it difficult with massage to get at the root of the problem until later treatments.  Acupuncture, on the other hand, goes deep directly to the problem area and starts reducing the inflammation right away allowing the massage treatment more freedom in targeting the problem areas.
    4. The combination approach allows me the freedom to give the most effective treatment that I can. I have found a few different approaches that are absolutely ideal for treating certain conditions.  For example, in acute pain between shoulder blades caused by rhomboid muscle spasm, a 3 minute application of reflexive stretching techniques can resolve most of the acute pain almost immediately.  Likewise, directed acupuncture techniques can often cause an immediate decrease in acute pain in certain types of SI joint dysfunction.
    5. Acupuncture can induce profound relaxation and stress relief. I have found that more people fall asleep on my table during acupuncture sessions vs massage sessions.  Acupuncture initiates a strong release of endorphins in most people causing deep relaxation and stess relief.  There are specific points I can target for stress relief sessions that bring about a very peaceful feeling and sets the stage perfectly for the massage session.
    6. Affordable.  The price of a 1  hour treatment of combined acupuncture & massage is $80 including GST.  The average for Toronto for those services separately is around $110.  As an RMT, I can bill any modality or treatment that falls under my scope of practice as “massage”.  Typically I bill combination treatments as massage therapy, which can be helpful for people that have extended health benefits for massage but not acupupuncture.  This practise is endorsed by the CMTO and insurance companies.

  • Laughter Yoga in Toronto

    What a great way to say good morning!!!   Imagine starting your day with 45 minutes of laughter in the glorious outdoors.  I just did, and I gotta say….. I feel fantastic.  The class was led by Lynn who has been teaching laughter yoga for years on the Danforth.  I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive at first.  Enjoying a good laugh is one thing, but laughing for 45 minutes straight?  Sounds like too much of a good thing.  Also, we were smack dab in the middle of the park…. out in the open… for all to see.  A bit intimidating.  Luckily for me Lynn really knew what she was doing.  She led me through a few different exercises, role plays, and games that would bring about a whole new batch of laughter.  I was amazed when the class had ended because it felt like we were just beginning.  Each new round of laughter had me feeling lighter, invigorated, less stressed and freer.  It felt as if those mean tight muscles were letting go one by one.  At the end I noticed I felt perfectly comfortable sitting cross legged on the floor, which for me is really good.  Normally that position takes a lot of effort and concentration to maintain. 

    The laughter yoga class took place in Withrow Park at Danforth and Carlaw.  There are only 2 more classes left for the summer: Tuesday August 25 at 5:30pm and Friday August 28 at 8:30am.  This is your last chance of the year to get in on it.  The cost is free but donations are accepted.  If you miss your chance for the open air classes, you might want to check out her indoor classes which start in September.  For more information visit Lynn’s website at http://www.lynn.sites.toronto.com/.

  • Yoga for Pain Reduction

    Since becoming a massage therapist, I have quickly found the limits my body can go before it needs help. The work is tiring and physically demanding and burns out many RMT’s by the 5 year mark. This is why I religiously follow a program of postural awareness, stretching exercises, epsom salt baths, weight training and most important of all: yoga. Yoga has done wonders for helping me maintain my core strength and flexibility and decreasing lower back pain. I plan on writing more on these topics in the near future, but for now I’d like to give props to my yoga teacher, Julia. She can be found on her website: http://www.yoga-vibe.com/

  • Success!

    I spent so much time in the last few posts talking of my little slip ups doing my detox cleanse that I figured it’s about time that I gave you some positive news.  The day’s not over yet, but so far, I haven’t cheated.  Same goes for yesterday where I was a model of discipline and determination (minus 3 teeny weeny itsy bitsy Quality Street chocolates… but they were just wafer thin….).

    I started last Monday  night and this morning I took the last herbal supplements, that means that I’m done.  I finished a one week cleanse.  And really, it wasn’t that difficult.   Especially with my soon to be patented “cleanse with benefits” method.

    I should feel relieved and have the urge to run out and get me some T-bone steak, but I feel like something’s missing. You might not believe this, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to extend the cleanse.  My plan is to buy some more supply and extend the detox/cleanse till the end of this week.   I know that I could stop now, but I feel like I am just really getting into the good stuff.  The stomach is feeling flatter, I’m getting used to the leaner cleaner diet (the cravings are almost non existent now), my body feels pretty well adjusted to the changes, and my digestive system…. well, it’s almost working the way I want it to.  It’s all good stuff, but I just feel like I have unfinished business still.