Massage Warsaw- Massage Therapy – Warsaw Acupuncture

Category: travel

  • Burmese Massage

    Here is a video from Mandalay illustrating some Burmese massage techniques.

    You can see from the video that it is very similar to Thai massage.  In fact, the majority of the moves are identitical.  There seems to be attention to Thai Sen energy meridians, but unlike Thai massage which exerts a downward pressure on the lines, the Burmese often use a cross-fibre pressure on the lines which allow them to have a greater fascial release .  Like Thai massage, the treatment starts with the feet.  The majority of the work is on the feet and legs (In a typical two hour massage, the lower body would receive 80 minutes of treatment).  The feet are treated with the body in 5 or 6 different positions as if they are instinctively trying to access the body’s different fascial anatomy trains in each position.  The footwork is quite effective as it receives such a large focus.  Also effective are the work on the IT band and adductor muscles.  They use quite a bit of elbow, foot and knee pressure when working on the large muscle groups of the legs giving the therapists a wonderful amount of leverage to treat with good body mechanics.  You will also notice some chiropractic style adjustments.  These can be a bit dangerous as the typical masseuse has only a minimal amount of training, there is a total lack of a health history taken before the treatment, and the focus of the treatment is to give a FULL routine utilizing all the steps in the routine whether or not that step is unnecessary or even dangerous to that particular client.  Most masseuses were understanding, however, when I declined certain maneuvres.

    Normally a full routine takes 2 hours.  To condense the massage video into 7 minutes, the techniques are performed a bit abruptly, the treatment is not bilateral, and only the most common techniques are shown.

     

  • Myanmar Photos

     

     

  • Massage Case Studies (Part 2 – Volunteer and Massage)

    Have a look at the  Massage Case Studies article for a background and description of the cases.

    Some thoughts on the experience of volunteering at Mother Theresa’s Mission:

    It was a chance to put those obscure lessons we learned into practise.  In massage training there were many lessons that seemed like a waste of time as we would never come to face them in a massage clinic environment. Most of the work I do concerns treating 20th century problems such as stiff necks and sore backs from poor posture and too much computer work.  It was professionally challenging and rewarding to go digging into the depths of my  training to help people with conditions that I had never seen first hand.

    It was also an amazing opportunity to do the most good possible.  The patients were triaged and only the ones that could benefit the most from treatment were treated.  Helping somebody remember how to stand and walk again or possibly getting that rickshaw driver back on the road earning a living to support his family were unique moments that I will treasure forever.

    The work seemed more important because there weren’t many other alternatives.  The patients were not going to get help from doctors, physiotherapists or other health care professionals.  Their loved ones would not collect them and care for them after the treatment.  They relied completely on the help they were given at the mission and were extremely grateful  for it.

    The unmeasurable results are priceless.  The feeling of hope was more responsible for the stroke victim standing and walking than the treatment was.  Same goes for the rickshaw driver.  It could be that just feeling a small physical change was enough to start turning those big gears that result in rehabilitation.

    The simple treatments can bring huge results.  The decrease in swelling that the was achieved with the two patients with broken legs and the one with liver damage was drastic.  And it all came from something as simple as nodal pumping and manula lymphatic drainage.

  • Massage Case Studies

    The following treatments and observations took place at Mother Theresa’s Mission in Calcutta, India during 3 days in March 2011.

    Please note that there may be some inaccuracies in this article for the following reasons:

    • Most of the information I have on the patients came from a volunteer with no medical training and only a basic understanding of the Indian language. (But he had the largest heart <3).
    • Many patients could not communicate well due to physical trauma or mental illness.

    Stroke Victim

    Patient’s Condition:

    • This patient had previously suffered a severe stroke.
    • He sat most of the day and could not walk under his own power.
    • His arm and shoulder were “stuck” in a typical post stroke position: glenohumeral joint was internally rotated, bicep was in spasm with the elbow permanently flexed, wrist and fingers stuck in flexion.  He had no  mobility of this arm as it was permanently in this position.

    Treatment:

    • With the goal of giving him some mobility of his arm, the following was done:
    • Rolfing of the infraspinatus and supraspinatus
    • Rolfing of the pectoralis major and minor
    • Myofascial release technique (MRT) and golgi tendon technique (GTO) of the bicep brachii
    • Rolfing of the intrinsic finger flexors
    • Active assisted squats

    Results:

    • After 3 days of treatments, the patient had more mobility of his shoulder, elbow and hand.  In particular, his hands were more supple and flexible due to the decreased spasm of his finger flexors.
    • The assisted squats that we did perhaps had the biggest effect.  The simple act of training him to use his legs again awoke something in him.  He started to believe that his legs were still useful.  He gained confidence and where he would be content to spend the entire day sitting or lying on the ground, he would now initiate standing and doing half squats on his own.

     

    Rickshaw Puller

    • This gentleman supported his entire family by pulling his rickshaw for fares.  In an accident, he received a severe blow to the top of his skull.  This compression injury left him in severe pain and unable to walk without the aid of a walker.  He had tremendous spirit though and it was remarked that out of all the patients, he tried the hardest to get better.  He still had hopes of being well enough to pull his rickshaw again.

    Condition:

    • He had chronic pain in his groin, low back and legs and great difficulty walking.  His hip flexors were in spasm.

    Treatment:

    • Relief of nerve compression with cervical traction and lumbar traction
    • Stretch hip flexors, active fascial release of the sacrum

    Results:

    • The patient reported a decrease in pain.
    • The patient felt stronger and was able to walk short distances without the walker

     

     

    Broken Femur:

    • The patient’s femur was previously broken and was not properly set.  As a result, the femur bone was not perfectly straight, but rather at a 160 degree angle.  The leg was severely swollen.

    Treatment and Results:

    • Nodal pumping at the groin lymph nodes and manual lymphatic drainage of the femur resulted in an immediate noticeable decrease in swelling of the femur.

     

    Liver Damage:

    • This patient was suffering from swelling in his right hand and both legs due to liver damage.

    Treatment and Results:

    • Nodal pumping of the chest, arm pit, and groin, combined with manual lymphatic drainage resulted in an immediate noticeable decrease in swelling in all the affected areas.

     

    Badly Set Tibia:

    • This patient’s tibia had been previously broken and was not properly set straight.  Both legs were swollen, the skin over the swollen area was peeling and flaking off.  The patient’s leg muscles were very hypertonic and seemed hard as a rock.  It seems that the dry skin and hypertonic muscles were due to a decrease in mobility and circulation as walking was too painful for the patient.

    Treatment and Results:

    • My goals were to improve the mobility he still had, decrease the swelling, and improve circulation.
    • I performed rhythmic mobilizations of the toes and ankles
    • Effleurage of the legs combined with nodal pumping of the groin and popliteal area
    • By the end of the treament, the swelling had reduced, the muscles were supple and the patient had greater mobility.

     

     

     

  • Japan Photos

    Here are some Pictures from a 2005 trip to Japan.

  • India Vacation Photos

    Here are some of my fave photos from the recent trip to India.  I hope you enjoy them.