Massage

September 25th is National Women’s Health and Fitness Day

workoutWednesday, September 25, 2013 marks the 12th annual National Women’s Health and Fitness Day. Women have the tendency to neglect their own needs for the needs of others. However, this can be dangerous if you choose to neglect your health and fitness. The mission of National Women’s Health and Fitness day is to inform and encourage women to take care of their health. Local organizations across the nation will be holding events for an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 women to learn the facts they need to make smarter health decisions. continue reading »

Help Fight Chronic Pain during National Pain Awareness Month

BACK-PAINThis month is National Pain Awareness Month.  The main purpose of Pain Awareness Month is to bring attention to the very real physical suffering of close to 75 million Americans and to highlight the need for research and new, innovative treatments.  Most of the awareness associated with Pain Awareness Month is focused on chronic pain. This could be as common as chronic pain of the lower back or more specific, such as chronic pain associated with terminal illnesses. continue reading »

National Menopause Awareness Month – How Massage Therapy Can Help

happy-womanSeptember is National Menopause Awareness Month. This is especially relevant with National Women’s Health and Fitness Day on September 25, 2013. Unfortunately, menopause is an inevitable stage in every woman’s life. It is estimated that 4,000 women start menopause every day, with 75 percent of women having menopause by the age 52. Menopause is caused by the cessation of menstruation and oocytes (women’s eggs cells). As women age, the ovaries stop creating estrogen and these low hormone levels cause most of the discomfort associated with menopause. It can be brought on earlier due to chemotherapy and other medical interventions, such as a hysterectomy. continue reading »

Add Massage to Your Back-to-School List

sleepingIt’s that time of year again. Back-to-school season is right around the corner (for some of you, it may have already started). Similar to the holidays, back-to-school is one of the most selfless times of the year. We spend so much time and energy making sure our family has everything it needs to start the school year right.

If you’re a student yourself, back-to-school activities can include financial aid issues, tuition, text books, supplies, new software programs, etc. You’ll spend majority of your time preparing for another semester invested in your education.

It’s common that we get so carried away with all of the items on our back-to-school list that we forget to take care of ourselves during this period of high stress. You should consider adding massage therapy as one of your back-to-school activities to start the academic year off right. continue reading »

How Massage Therapy Can Help Tendinitis and Tendinosis Treatment

It is summertime and chances are you’ve been exercising or taking on a hobby on the weekends. Summertime is also the time there is an increase in injuries; one of the most common being tendon injuries. Most of us don’t realize how much damage we can do once we start an activity, but as you’ll discover, it’s quite easy.

Types of Tendon Injuries

  • Tendinitis – one of the most common conditions for the tendon; it is pain in soft tissue caused by a tear in the tendon fiber and inflammation; it is a result from chronic overload or repetitive motion with the tendon; most commonly found in adults, especially those over 40 years of age
  • Tendinosis – means “abnormal condition of the tendon”; it has been argued that this is the proper term for tendon pathologies because a true tear and inflammation of the tendon (tendinitis) is uncommon compared to other pathologies
  • Tenosynovitis – an inflammation and/or irritation between a tendon and its surrounding synovial sheath; it is caused by chronic overloading or excess friction between a tendon and its sheath; the symptoms of tendinosis and tenosynovitis are similar, but you can distinguish the two by determining if the dysfunctional tendon has a synovial sheath

The most common symptom of any tendon pathology is a pain at the site of a tendon and its surrounding area. The pain may be gradual or sudden, usually caused by an overuse or doing too much too soon when the tendons are not used to movement. Tendinitis massage is especially helpful with relieving pain in the surrounding area.

It has been proven that a breakdown in collagen fibers has also been one of the main problems for tendinosis. Collagen fibers give a tendon its strength, while elastin fibers give it a small amount of flexibility.  If the tendon pain is truly tendinitis, the tissue repair and inflammation would take less time to heal than rebuilding the collagen fibers.

Avoiding Tendinitis

Instead of exerting yourself too hard if your body has not performed an activity in a while, take it slow at first and gradually build up your activity level. Try to avoid too many repetitions.

Avoid activities that aggravate the problem. Rest and ice the area the same day that you are feeling pain. If the condition doesn’t improve within a week, you may need more advanced treatments and should visit your primary care physician. From there, your physician can decide the next steps in treating the pain.

How Massage Can Help Tendinitis

There are a few ways that massage therapy can help your tendinitis or tendinosis. Tendinitis massage can help identify and locate the injury. Once the location of the injury has been found, friction massage in the precise location will stimulate the healing response and release tension for the adjacent muscles that had to work harder while the tendon was injured. However, the most important part of tendinitis massage and tendinosis healing is the self-care by the client in between sessions. Call me or visit me to discuss how we can work with your physician to provide you with the best self-care tips while healing. Your physician will help guide you on how to rest and treat the tendon and massage can help reduce the physical stress and the emotional stress that injury may be causing.