Stone Therapy

Comment

Comment by Connie McKim on October 15, 2009 at 6:56am

Hi Rudy,

What were the "swimmers" in the steriled water the stones were soaking in?

I'm probably just gullible. When I was told the stones emitted infrared heat from a doctor of Chinese medicine I believed her. Let's say they don't. All I know is that the hot stones help with my clients and own personal stiffness, while a heating pad feels great - - - it seems to create that stiff feeling when getting off the massage table.

That's interesting about using ice for 25 minutes. There again, I thought the timing was more like 10 - 15 minutes ice followed by 10 - 15 minutes of moist heat. Learn something new everyday.

I probably don't present the ice therapy correctly to my clients as they aren't open to that length of time applying ice, but they have no problem with the hot stones. To be truthful, only a handful will actually even allow me to use cold stones. I'm open to suggestions.

Comment by rudy m smith on October 15, 2009 at 6:04am

Hi Bruce,
Excellent post - this is the discussion I am trying to create. I have after many many years learned that ice for at least 25 minutes followed by 5 to 10 minutes of moist heat produces the best result in the majority of clients. I am talking ice packs (COLD) not cold stones as they will not retain there cold long enough to do there job. I am science based but also lovely dovey too. I asked a well known stone practioner in the area if I could do an experiment on her stones and paid her for three out of the pot steralized stones. I put them in a sterile bag, broke them in half with a hammer and soaked them in a sterile water solution for thirty minutes I then cultured the solution in a sterile environment to see what would grow - OH MY GOD nasty. I also examined the water the stones were soaking in and found there were a lot of swimmers. YUK.
Comments?
Connie - Science wise I do not believe that our stones are producing heat on the wave legnth spectrum of infrared. Thoughts?

Comment by Connie McKim on October 14, 2009 at 7:27pm

As a LMT with fibromyalgia, I find that hot stones placed on my back helps relieve the stiffness that a heating pad doesn't change. While I don't personally "like" to use cold stones on myself, I have found that they are great for reducing inflammation.

The infrared heat of Hot stones penetrates deeper and lasts longer than deep tissue work alone.

Comment by Bruce Baltz on October 14, 2009 at 4:05pm

Rudy, I would like to respond to your last comment; I have been practicing deep tissue stone massage for the past 10 years, much of it spent in clinical application. I do agree that heat is over used in the clinical invironment and the importance of cool application is underestimated. Injured soft tissue can be irritated by too much heat but heat is also what will start the healing process. I think what we need to pay attention to is how much heat should be used and for what duration of time. I might work with one or two warmer stones on a specific site and follow with six to eight cold/cool stones. And as the tissue start to heal, the interval of heat to cold will become more balanced. I have also found with fibromyalgia clients that diet is a major factor in their recovery process. I would also like to add that combining hydrotherapy principles with soft tissue manipulation I have found provides superior results . I believe that cool temperatures are the most important temperatures that I work with. The body only heal by change and one of the most dramatic changes to our system is achieved by working with temperatures that challenges homeostasis. When working with cool temperatures, we start to affect the body on a chemical level that pressure and heat alone will not address.

As far as the IMA is concerned, a number of years ago, they had dropped stone massage insurance but due to the efforts of LaStone Therapy, they re-initiated their coverage with some restrictions. I was not aware that they dropped the coverage all together at this time but nor am I surprised. There are many insurance companies that are now reevaluating their coverage of stone massage because of the number of claims. We have brought many of these problems upon ourselves. You will find business owners asking therapists to perform stone massage with little to no training other than watching a DVD. In my opinion, this is a formula for disaster and one incident is one too many. There is no replacement for quality education and a commitment to providing the best service possible.

Comment by rudy m smith on October 14, 2009 at 12:00pm

Heat may temporarily relax a tight muscle but it always is inflamatory to the nerves which feed the muscles. Here's proof - have your clients with muscle aches, or disk trouble lay around on heating pads for awhile before they come see you and see what happens. Many times people come to me in intractable pain caused by constant application of heat to sore muscles which resulted in terrible inflamation. I work on numerous fibromyalgia patients who were heat addicts who got way better when they got off the heat and started using ice. Plus a lot of other important protocols like diet, stress reduction etc... And how do you feel about the insurance companies dropping therapists coverage if they use hot stones? Just because something is ancient doesn't mean it is physiologicaly correct. By the way I am not dispelling it for others - I am asking people to think about the physiology behind what they do.

Comment by Kari Stewart on October 14, 2009 at 11:03am

I agree with Roger. Stones are wonderful therapeutic tools. My clients love them esp. when receiving deep work. It's a nice way to warm the muscle before DT is performed and a welcome comfort to the area after. I also find that the warmth really helps the client to relax and let go of the outside world and focus on the work during the session.

Comment by Roger D. Werstler on October 14, 2009 at 6:32am

Other than when specifically requested, I do not use HS often. I do, however, disagree with your assessment that HS has no theapeutic qualities. Number one I have seen them sooth and relax the stressed muscles in clients who suffer with fibromyalgia and cannot endure deep tissue work. I have seen HS relax deep tension without requiring any deep tissue pressure by merely melting into the muscles. As for the questionable hygenic status of the stones, I find them quite safe when using the proper cleansing agents. I do not consider the use of stones to reflect on having lazy fingers because it requires more creativity to make them graceful and an extension of your hands with a warm and soothing flow. In China this HS treatment called Mother Roasting is a centuries old tradition that helps restore the mother's natural flow of her immune system and hormones. Possibly it is not right for YOU, but don't dispel it for others.

Comment by rudy m smith on October 13, 2009 at 1:41pm

Recently IMA announced they would no longer insure therapists who used hot stones during therapy. I have used hot stones off and on for years but I found them to be more of a distraction than therapeutic in their ability to resolve fibrotic and or inflamed tissues and nerves. I received hot stone therapy myself on several occasions and found the cleanliness of the stones and heating sources to be very questionable and sometimes downright unhealthy. Stones are porous and pores hold contaminates. I like for clients to have choices and options especially in spa settings BUT are the stones realy worth the trouble or are they a substitution for lazy fingers? My intent is to be thought provoking and to learn from your experiences here.

Comment by Roger D. Werstler on October 12, 2009 at 11:22am

I have bought the herbal balls from both Massage Warehouse and my Thai friend Qui. She was born and raised in Thailand and came to the USA with her sister about ten years ago to open a spa. I've been taught by her through book, hands-on treatments, and DVD study. I suppose one could create their own, but it sounds like much effort and it probably still would be costly.

Comment by Suzanne Almy Brown on October 11, 2009 at 4:59pm

Ms. Derwis-Balaz, good suggestions on transporting hot stones. It is too soothing a treatment to be left behind!

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