Posts

Low Back Pain

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Low back pain is one of the areas that Thai massage excels at providing relief. In my 11 years experience nothing provides such consistent results other than a regular yoga practice, fortunately I do both.

The complex interplay between hips, pelvic bowl, sacrum, lumbar spine and all the musculature involded means it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what every back pain in the area comes from. The psoas is often involved from being shortened and the hamstrings often pull the lumbar spine towards flat back. Long term these are bad, in the short term you feel stiff and immobile.

I started using the Ma roller in a more advanced way to help clients help themselves at home. Thai massage has me doing these sacral movements and stretches for you but the Ma roller allows you to work on yourself. Notice the lumbar flexion or flat back then the lumbar extension or temporary lordosis we create. You’re stretching and pressing into some of the deeper structures at the base of your spine and if you’re like most of my clients, your back pain will get better.

Go slow, breathe and keep moving. I’ll see you soon for a Thai massage session or class.

Thai massage, Yoga and Awareness

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Landon Sykes and I spend lots of time hanging out and discussing the nuances of Thai massage. As males in a female dominated field we share a rapport that often finds us trading bodywork then having beers afterwards. I decided to record one of our conversations so you get an idea of what we’re doing with amazing bodywork in Austin, Texas.

Landon has been a massage therapist slightly longer than I have but we both focus on Thai massage. When we discuss yoga and Thai massage and the effects we’ve seen in clients it’s from observation over the years. Putting your hands on that many bodies over 10 or more years gives you a solid idea about muscle tightness, rigid inflexible joints and what happens when you don’t get work regularly.

You can schedule a session with Landon by calling 512-318-4387

Myofascial Pain Trigger Points

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Myofascial pain trigger points in infraspinatus are a problematic area to work on. They’re hard to reach but this video shows an easy way to access and treat these yourself. Infraspinatus is one of the muscles that make up the rotator cuff. This muscle in particular is an extremely common dysfunction I see in my bodywork practice. Due to its function in moving the upper arm around it means that it’s used when people lift their arms out in front of them. This happens in such common activities as driving, using a computer or many manual labor tasks like hanging sheet rock.

Keeping muscles in the rotator cuff relaxed seems to be good in preventing long term injury or a torn rotator cuff. When you think about tightening a guitar string to the point that it snaps, that is what can happen to a tight infraspinatus. Releasing chronic contractions and trigger points in the area go a long way to helping ease this tension and set things back in good working order.

Remember to go slow, breathe through your nose and relax onto a golf ball or tennis ball when you do this. Take your time and also keep in mind that the area can be extremely tender to the touch. Feel free to fold a rag or towel over your tool of choice to soften the pressure. The area is muscular, not bony and it takes time to get the superficial muscles to relax and allow a deeper tissue to be relaxed and released. Try it first for about 5 minutes, you can extend duration from there.

Forearms and Hands pt.1

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The forearms and hands are areas that massage therapists are all too aware of. Our work means that if we’re not careful we can develop the problems we see in our clients. My wife Andrea wanted some videos discussing and delving into the work we do together exploring how to keep her in shape to knit and work in fiber arts.

As an avid bodyworker married to a fiber artisan I’m very aware of the areas she’s working and how to release them, thus making her job easier. One of the things we discussed beyond the physical issues we encounter in our work is the mental anxiety that comes with knowing that if you cannot work, then what? This stress led me to figure out my own hand and arm issues and I’m happy to announce that I’ve been doing what I do for ten years with no signs of stopping. Self care is a big deal.

In the video we’re stretching the forearm extensors. I see people regularly who announce they have carpal tunnel syndrome who have horrible trigger points in their forearm extensors. Treat the trigger points and often…carpal tunnel goes away. That’s a large announcement but unless there is actual nerve degeneration my professional expertise is that Good bodywork can ease carpal tunnel issues and lead to a reduction if not disappearance of symptoms.

Stretching the forearms and applying pressure yourself with a tennis ball, baseball, then golf ball in that order is a superb way of having knitters take care of this area. Musicians, desk junkies and massage therapists take note, you need this too. It will help you understand the area we’re working on and how to alleviate the chronic issues you encounter from repetitive motions. If you find the floor doesn’t work for you try the same exercises against a wall.

Good luck and check out part 2. I’ll post that soon.