massage and bodywork professionals
Myths of Massage
Lt's dispell the myths of massage. Some myths have been handed down through generations of massage therapy students.
Lynne Stiller
(I have to deal with this one often with folks who have never had a professional massage or even folks who frequent the fast-food massage chains.)
Fact: There are so many forms of massage, with many types, if the client experiences pain, their body will become protective and then you might as well be massaging the table. Powering thru a protected area will cause damage and bruising and leaves the therapist open for lawsuits.
Dec 1, 2009
lee kalpin
Dec 1, 2009
Ruth E. N. Cox
a massage can cause a spontaneous abortion btw I have had many discussions with ob/gyn on this one
no massage for cancer patients while in treatment because the chemo will be too toxic for them
Jul 8, 2010
lee kalpin
Jul 8, 2010
lee kalpin
Jul 8, 2010
lee kalpin
What I think people mean by this is a short-hand sort of explanation for the following scenario:---
A patient had a whiplash injury a year ago which was not treated and there are still trigger points present in the muscles, limited range of motion and other symptoms. When the massage therapist touches or presses on the muscle, pain is created which the brain interprets as being the same as the pain suffered in the car accident. The patient reacts to the pain, and may even have an emotional release, because the pain is so much the same as the pain felt after the accident.
So we may sometimes think of this as "muscle memory", but let's remember our science lessons and be clear as to where the memory of the pain resides - in the brain.
Nov 1, 2010
Lauriann Greene, CEAS
The truth is that deep pressure can sometimes cause muscle guarding, actually making it harder for the client's muscles to relax. Many clients find such massages painful, so that's counterproductive if we're trying to elicit relaxation. And there are many types of massage that do not involve deep pressure (craniosacral, Reiki, Trager, etc.) that are very effective.
Of course, the other issue is that using deep pressure (hand force) is one of the three major risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders among massage therapists. So it's in our best interest to dispel this myth and educate clients that pressure does not always equal healing.
Nov 21, 2010
lee kalpin
Massage therapists do need to educate their clients.
I agree that therapists need to work at a depth that they can sustain without causing injury to themselves, but deep work should not be about more hand pressure. The strength for deep work comes from the legs and moves through the body - is transmitted through the hands, or sometimes the elbows or ulnar border of the forearm..
Nov 21, 2010
Lauriann Greene, CEAS
I totally agree, and I should have been clearer in saying that deep work is not to be totally avoided. We talk about using good body mechanics (larger muscles and the weight of the body) in our book. However, bear in mind that the force is still transmitted through the upper extremity even with good body mechanics, as you mention, so hand force as a risk factor is still present in deep work. For that reason it should be used judiciously (rather than all the time), since the frequency, intensity and duration of use of hand force (and whether there are other concomitant risk factors present) will determine whether the use of hand force leads to symptoms or injury.
Nov 22, 2010
lee kalpin
It is about the client setting the treatment plan. Certainly the client has the right to request the modality or type of massage they want. However, I believe that the therapist should perform an assessment, and determine what the problem is - and what is needed to treat the problem most effectively, then propose that treatment plan to the client. The client can accept or decline. The therapist should be determining what is needed, not just accepting instructions from the client. In many cases Deep Tissue work is not appropriate. Also, this is subjective, what is deep for one person is not deep for another - and TOO deep for the next client.
Nov 22, 2010
Lauriann Greene, CEAS
The more that the therapist is in control of how to treat the client, the more the therapist has control over their own schedule and the type of treatments/modalities they will incorporate. And that adds up to a better ability to take care of themselves.
Nov 22, 2010
lee kalpin
First of all, I had other appointments and commitments, so this messed up my day big time. Because I was face-down on the table, I was not aware of the time but was counting of the therapist to end the appointment on time.Therapists do need to consider this.
Another aspect is that this put me in an awkward situation - was I to pay for one hour (which I had booked) or two hours which the therapist had actually spent? There are ethical issues around this.
A final aspect is a big one. I know of a male therapist who was charged with sexual impropriety due to sloppy draping. He was spending up to three hours on each massage. The regulatory board considered that spending this long when the client was paying for a one hour appointment was "grooming" the client so that she would put up with sexually inappropriate behaviour.
Therapists need to behave professionally. This includes setting up a treatment plan and getting client approval for that plan. Then they must stick to it. and chart progress. If there is no progress, then the treatment plan must be changed. This should not be guesswork, treat everything possible and hope for the best!!!
Maybe this should be a topic for a new discussion group!
Nov 22, 2010
Emmanuel Bistas
One of the greatest myths is that we know precisely how things work. Science keeps changing as is our understanding of the human body. We all need to be careful not to create new myths as we are removing the old ones.
Nov 23, 2010
lee kalpin
And keep our minds open to learning. It's also imporant to read research reports with a critical mind. They way the results are reported in the popular press is often inaccurate.
Nov 23, 2010
Daniel Cohen
Here is an interesting article. It brings to mind the old saying, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach".
Science is not so different than myth in some ways. Knowledge is still at an early stage. Science evolves. There will be many scientific theories to be thrown out as we progress as well as old myths.
We do our best to help the patient to help themselves.
Nov 23, 2010
lee kalpin
And all the while we will keep our minds open to new information and new discoveries.
Nov 23, 2010
Daniel Cohen
Now if that doesn't require us to be as responsible as possible I don't know what would.
Nov 23, 2010
lee kalpin
Nov 23, 2010
Gary W Addis, LMT
Although I am just an MT student, I am a certified personal trainer, and since 1978, I have been a bodybuilder. I competed and won some impressive titles, including Southeastern Mr America and the masters class of the South American Bodybuilding Championships. So, although I have yet to earn the right to label myself a massage therapist, I have been a student of anatomy and kinesiology and nutrition for decades.
Through both personal experience and observation, I know factually that muscle does indeed have a memory, and once formed retains that memory for a lifetime. On a number of occasions circumstances forced me into long layoffs from the gym--once for seven long years, a layoff that cost me fifty pounds of muscle mass. When I began to train again, in just 10 weeks I regained roughly 30 pounds of muscle while losing 12 pounds of fat; I went from 16% bodyfat to 3.5% bodyfat, stepped onto a competition stage, and won my division. And, no, before someone asks, I did not take steroids. I ate prodigious amounts of protein and consumed scads of legal supplements and trained like a demon possessed. Those of you who have trained anaerobically for mass and strength know that a gain of ten pounds of pure muscle in an entire year is astonishing. So, I safely say that the body remembered, and from the first workout began preparing to move the hundreds of pounds I had once lifted.
Bodybuilders and other athletes have long marveled at the phenomenon we call muscle memory. Hundreds of thousands of us attest based on personal experience that strength, muscle girth and lean mass, once achieved is much much easier to regain than it was to gain. The muscle remembers.
But, you may be thinking, that's just brain-remembered exercise modalities. With respect, I disagree. Muscles certainly remember old injuries. I suspect that memory of old strains & stress is one reason that fascia binds to muscle: it's a protective mechanism, as is the formation of scar tissue.
Consider what happens when the body is invaded by a virus or bacteria: the lymphatic system forms antibodies, the body in effect inoculates itself against future attacks by that particular invader. So, why wouldn't the fascia and muscular system have similar capability? Lymph and muscle and fascia are all composed of DNA-instructed single cells.
Fascia, as has been recently (the last couple of years) discovered, is permeated with tubules through which electrical signals pass-- I recently read that research has shown that fascia fires and delivers its communications faster when instantaneous actions are required than the brain can receive feedback and send its instructions. This is logical. Since one of the purposes of fascia is to help protect muscle from overstretching and overexertion; I think it shares that duty with the golgi tendon organelles. Am I correct that fascia, like golgi organelles are collagenous? It's well established that the golgi tendon reflex is essentially a mechanical biofeedback mechanism whose purpose is to shut the power off to ligaments that are in danger of tearing loose from their tendon--it's not a signal to the brain when time is critical but rather a signal to the muscle which is then relayed to nearby muscle and to the brain. But other muscle fibers, being closer, receive the message before the brain can order appropriate action. If not for the golgi protective reflex, even an untrained human could lift a ton (and destroy bone and muscle doing so). Athletic records are broken by athletes who train their minds to momentarily disable the golgi reflex. I am no anatomy instructor, but I do believe my science is not far off the mark.
Therefore, I again assert that muscles do remember.
Ever heard the expression that once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget how? How about typing with speed and accuracy? Once you learn to type, do you ever forget how? Or how about a skilled ballplayer? Why is he so skilled, so quick to react to the flight of the ball? A 98 mph fastball will reach a MLB batter sixty feet away before he has time to mentally react to it--yet he does. Now, once again, some may be thinking, no, that's just how fast the mind computes.
In spare time and for fun no profit I practice pistol fastdraw against timer lights. Including reaction time I can draw, fire and hit a target in less than 1/3 of a second, and instantly whirl and hit an unseen 2nd target. No matter how fast your own reaction time, I assure you that, untrained, you cannot fastdraw in less than 1.5 seconds, and you won't hit the target; you cannot swing a bat and hit even a 70-mph baseball; you can't dive to a precise patch of grass and intercept a speeding baseball hit to the shortstop with your glove hand extended to the precise spot the ball will reach --all faster than you can blink.
If not to establish muscle memory, why do baseball players practice? Why does fascia form lesions after an injury except as a method of memorizing and protecting? why does the body form antibodies, if not to establish memories of a defeated foe that may attack again?
The answer to all of the above: the body itself remembers
I apologize profusely for presuming to lecture experienced MT professionals. If I have annoyed anyone, I ask you to blame it on my inexperience coupled with the arrogance of creeping age. I am a 62-year-old bodybuilding MT student who--honest to God--looks no older than 61.
Nov 26, 2010
Lynne Stiller
One of the biggest myths is that 'deep tissue' massage requires pressure. If that were true, acupuncturists would still have to use large, thick arrows to get good results. Instead most good acupuncturists use careful assessment, specific placement, and itty-tiny, thin, super sharp needles to accomplish amazing results. So why do massage therapists still blunder blindly through the body with broad, general, heavy forearm strokes and wiggly, sloppy, thick elbows and an assortment of clumsy, knobby, bumbling, numb 'hand-saving' tools without a clear goal, purpose, or even an educated guess as to the results beyond a well meaning, but ignorant "this feels tight here" and "you have a knot".
My dad was in construction in Chicago & when we moved to TX, he complained about an existing shopping mall that had a few ruts in the parking lot. I didn't have his training and knowledge, but he said that shopping center would always have problems because they poured dirt over marshy organic matter instead of digging down to bedrock or atleast removing the organic matter and putting down compacted stone or gravel. And he was right. That parking lot had to be repaved every few years & the foundation under the grocery store cracked & the grocery store had to move because you can't sell or store food over a cracked foundation.
As massage therapists, if we don't know how to assess and 'repair' the 'foundation' of our clients, then all we can do is play catch-up on their pain & problems. Every therapist is able to learn how to assess and balance the core muscles of our clients (repair the foundation). So why don't all therapists do a good assessment? Do they not care? Are the therapists too lazy? Do they honestly believe that relaxation massage is ALL that a therapist is able to do?
If massage therapy were truly limited to relaxation, then it should be taught in cosmotology classes along with manicures and brow waxing for rich, snobbish clientelle only.
Nov 30, 2010
Gary W Addis, LMT
A couple of days ago, I pinned and stretched the skin of my upper lats and enhanced ROM of my arm and shoulder on that side--I had thought the tightness was due to a tight triceps or deltoid.
Thank you for your thoughtful response.
Nov 30, 2010
lee kalpin
Muscles don't have nightmares ...... I mean memories. Brains do.
Personal experience and observation adds up to ..... belief. Evidence and science add up to best practice.
Strict diet regulation and resistance training ("training like a demon") adds up to fat loss and strength increase... no surprise there.
Basal ganglia are programmed to coordinate complex patterned movement. Dumb ass collagen protein chains aren't.
Old injuries will retain their disorganized scar tissue patterns unless you intervene to reorganize it along the original lines of orientation by using frictions to break down the fibers that go the wrong way and allow Mother Nature to encourage new fibers that go along the original lines of orientation. That is how you come up with the treatment plan timing. Break it down, let it heal randomly (the only way it knows) and break the new fibers that are going the wrong ways while preserving the good ones. At the end of the treatment plan, the only survivors are the fibers that go along the original lines of orientation.
Fascia and muscles inoculating themselves against future attacks????? There is no mechanism to do this other than their natural tone, which they have anyways.
Re:Fascia and its electrical system. Collagen is 120,000 times longer than it is wide, so think long and skinny. It is also a left hand helix (a corkscrew winding to the left). It is also electrically unstable, so it finds two others and they all twist around each other to become stable. This gives it the appearance of a right hand helix. It's actually 3 fiber twists that you're looking at simultaneously. If this is hard to visualize, take a rope apart and you'll see that this is true. The tubule is just looking down the end of the fiber. You are looking down the center of three spiralling tubes. What gets interesting is that this collagen fiber is a semi-conductor. This means that energy can change states. A conductor is like an electrical cord going to your lamp. Flip it around, step on it, .... no change. The light bulb is a semi-conductor. Electricity goes in and it is changed to heat, light, sound (if the filament vibrates), movement (if the filament vibrates), and some just stays as electricity. If you look at a one of those swimming noodles, picture it as a collagen fiber. Now put a bunch of + signs along the top and put an equal number of - signs along the bottom. It is balanced and electrically neutral. If you bend it, you compress the negatives along the bottom and stretch the positives along the top. This creates an energy imbalance at this point and electrons will flow. You just created a battery. This is the premise of the movie "The Matrix". People had to dream to keep them moving and so that they could produce electricity. Movement of any sort deflects collagen and produces an energy field. This does not mean it has purpose, it is just a phenomenon that occurs everywhere in nature. We intersect these fields constantly without consequence. We don't short circuit just because a collagen-filled cat spins around our shins.
Golgi tendon organs are not remotely like fascia. Fascia is a holding element with high tensile strength and low elasticity all the time. Golgi tendon organ is a neurologic control mechanism that can protect a muscle from rupture due to overloading. However, its main moment to moment function is to equalize contractile forces among the individual fibers in a muscle. When an individual fiber starts pulling ahead of the pack, it is prone to rupture but is inhibited by the GTO. Once its tension falls within normal limits, it is released to pull again.
In short, his science is well off the mark.
When you practice a skill such as dancing, fast draw, swinging a bat, etc., you are not teaching your muscles to remember. You are teaching your brain to stengthen a neuropathway. Like many other organs, it responds to stress by adapting. do it once and it copes as best it can. Continue the activity and the brain adapts to make it easier by increasing the size and number of vessicles producing neurotransmitters that are released into the synaptic cleft. The receptors on the other side multiply and become more sensitive. That is why a novice dancer struggles with the basics but an experienced dancer can learn a brand new routine by the second run. The patterns are already strongly imprinted on the neuropathways. This is also why studying every day for a little bit is more effective than cramming. If you want to transfer a memory into long-term memory, you have to exercise the pathway causing a physical, structural change in the neuropathway. short-term memory is a chemical pathway.
A physical, structural change in a neuropathway may appear to be a "muscle memory" but it is in fact a brain memory.
Feel free to use my name because, sure as s***, someone will take exception to this.
Mike
Dec 1, 2010
Gary W Addis, LMT
I surely don't wish to engage in a detailed debate I cannot win at this early stage in my learning curve. However, I don't think anyone is claiming brain-like functions for the musculature-- I certainly am not. Lee's original comment seemed to be implying that muscles do not--by whatever mechanism--remember and correct for specific training and injuries. Your own comment, Mike, in my opinion affirms that this is just not so.
No, muscle fibers do not "think" in the manner you infer that others are saying and decide to get stronger here, relax there, build scar tissue over there to protect this or that bundle of cells. The body as a whole makes those decisions. The brain is merely control central. Individual cells decide when they need fuel, when to divide, when to give up life and dissolve into the ether. The brain doesn't order individual cells to eat and excrete; it doesn't get to delegate duties to individual cells. In other words, the brain isn't god to the body. The brain relies on the body; the body relies on the brain. The brain responds to signals provided by individual cells that react to internal and external stimuli. But it seems to be the contention of researchers that there is a mechanism through which muscles can and do interact with one another on at least a local level. I'm not educated enough to argue this point with you: I am relying on my probably faulty understanding of current research.
Am I wrong in assuming that your insistence on 100% mind control of body mechanisms denies the efficacy of energy modalities? of the spirit-mind-body connection? of reiki, qi gong, ayurveda and all other Eastern therapies? I myself haven't felt that energy flow to/from someone on my table, but I expect to one day, as I become more attuned to the universe. I am not religious, but I am spiritual, if you comprehend the difference.
I am probably not explaining my thinking very well. But then, forgive me, Mike, but I fail to see what a left hand helix or right hand helix has to do with the discussion, other than to display your superiority. I applaud your superior knowledge. As I said, I am just a student; I have lots to learn--but I will.
You may have inferred from my comments about muscle memory that I believe an individual muscle cell decides on its own to act; but that is not what I implied. Muscle responds to stimuli. As the brain itself responds to stimuli. In a very real sense the body is like, say, an ant colony or beehive. There is a queen who apparently directs daily tasks, but the queen herself is subject to the collective "mind" of the colony.
You snickered at my tongue in cheek metaphor associating adhesions and the formation of scar tissue with medicinal inoculations. A bacteria or virus gains access to the body, and the body responds. Because great harm can be done by the invader before the lymphatic system recognizes the body has been invaded, millions of years ago Nature endowed the lymphatic system with "memory"-- the next time that particular virus or bacteria comes calling, a bevy of specialized white corpuscles will be waiting to take it out immediately. That, Mike, is a form of memory...within the lymphatic system, independent of the mind. You said that muscle ganglia are programmed. What is the nature of the programming? Does it stem entirely from the brain? or is this programming inscribed within cell DNA? Doesn't the body respond to injury by the formation of scar tissue; by the formation of adhesions, which at least temporarily restrict movement either accidentally or on purpose, thereby preventing further injury?
I did not claim, nor did Lynne, that individual muscle cells decide, "Nope, I am not going to work today." An injured site informs the brain--and the rest of the body in the process--that it is injured. But if the conscious mind wishes to ignore the warning and continue to run, or lift that weight, or bang the injured fist against a stack of bricks, the entire organism will perform to its maximum potential. But only to a point. To prevent such foolhardiness by the conscious mind, Nature endowed the body with the means to protect itself. It is called the golgi tendon reflex organ. It is a chemical-mechanical process not initiated by the brain--but it can be defeated by the power of the conscious mind. Champion-caliber athletes develop the willpower to defeat this reflex (or they won't become champions). And in breaking that record, they always pay a hefty fine in pain... and, often, they incur a career-ending chronic disability.
Lynne made a point that I agreed with instantly: it made perfect sense. Adhesions and hypertonicity develop as a byproduct of activity. Perhaps, as Lynne suggests, they sometimes develop not to hinder activity but to enhance a specific activity. As in sports training, as in the skilled motions made by a brickmason or welder. It makes sense to me that hypertension in deltoid ligaments might have developed in order to help the joint perform repetitious movements with more precision and less energy expenditure. That this hypertonicity restricts normal, everyday movement, and is often painful, is not the fault of the shoulder, which tightened and formed helpful adhesions in order to perform its tasks more efficiently. That, friend, Mike, is a form of muscle memory. Not a form of conscious thought, certainly. But what is conscious thought itself but a chemical, electrical examination of chemically-inscribed memories in relation to new stimuli being sent to it by the muscles and other systems of the body?
I repeat: the body remembers. The mind remembers, the lymphatic system remembers, the musculature remembers--by whatever methodology, every cell in the body remembers its assigned tasks and responds to whatever stimuli its DNA programmed it to respond to. Labeling the process something other than memory is just semantics.
Dec 1, 2010
lee kalpin
There is a basic knowledge gap, which is understandable, since you are still a student. I learned from reading books that are available to anyone. I highly recommend "Physiology" by Guyton, which is a standard text in the health care world. I try to use the proper terminology when possible to avoid miscommunication. I find the reckless use of the word "muscle memory", "memory of the immune system" etc. confusing at best. If an adhesion is present, why call it memory? If it is scar tissue, why call it memory of a trauma?
I do believe in the therapeutic value of psychobiology but I do not believe that Reiki, cranio sacral, or any energy work has legitimate therapeutic value. There is a ton of research that meets legitimate research criteria and they do not find therapeutic value in energy work other than placebo effects. Reports on research are available on the internet.
I read some of the other contributors contributions. They do make some good points. Some adhesions and scar tissue have therapeutic value if left alone. An overstretched ligament may never return to its original length, thus leaving a joint unstable. Scar tissue may restrict some of that laxity and thus provide support that would otherwise be lost. Spastic paralysis of a stroke patient may mean they can walk (albeit with a limp) which is better than not walking.
I also agree that going megadeep to the point of causing your patient unnecessary pain is just cruel and ineffective. By taking the time to understand the physiology, you understand that 32 mm Hg pressure or less can solve most of the obstacles you run into. It is not necessary to go medievel on your patients.
You have your belief system and are resistant to letting it go. So I am okay with letting it go, too.
,
Mike
Dec 1, 2010
lee kalpin
One - was to question what they were told by their teachers. I find that too many therapists today still believe myths they were taught in massage school , years ago, and they have never questioned them
Two - ask for references from respected text books. If the information cannot be found in an accepted science text, then it is probably not valid.
If students wanted to challenge exam questions, I always insisted that they show me the textbook reference. All our courses were taught from accepted textbooks.
We are striving in the massage therapy profession to practice Evidence Based Health Care. If we expect to be a profession that is respected by the other health care providers, we must be able to back up our claims with text references and references to the latest research. "Research" performed by the originator of a modality in support of that particular modality is not accepted by the scientific community.
And please, read back through this group posting to see the other "Myths of Massage" that have been talked about prior to this.
Some of these Myths are still being taught in massage schools.
Dec 1, 2010
lee kalpin
Oh, how I wish it were true! I would be first in line for treatment.
Dec 1, 2010
Gary W Addis, LMT
I find your friend Mike to be condescending. And both of you wrong on a number of levels. I don't know everything he knows--but the reverse is undoubtedly also true. I know about the human body.
You said, "If the information cannot be found in an accepted science text, then it is probably not valid." I'm certain that tens of thousands of massage therapists will disagree with you. I don't need to understand quantum mechanics in order to accept the validity of the science. Likewise, I don't need to understand the mechanism of therapist-to-client-to-therapist energy exchange to know that it happens. I don't need to understand it in order to open my mind and therefore my body to experience the wonder of it. I am a mere student, but even I know that you are depriving yourself if you cannot embrace the unscientific, spiritual aspect of massage and bodywork.
Lee, no offense intended with any of my comments. I wish you a long and prosperous career.
Dec 2, 2010
rudy m smith
Just recently they learned that it IS NOT the nucleus in a cell that gives it life/brains, rather they learned it is specific protiens which attach themselves to the cells which give it life.
When a person who has a variety of shortened muscles (problems) is put under general anethesia their muscle (problems) go away, this does not include scar tissue or adhesions. When the person is removed from general anethesia the muscle problems slowly return. Some way some how the muscles "know" their pre anethesia states/conditions and return to them. It could be said that the tonus simply returned to their muscles as increased electrical activity returned. The average male tonus operates at somewhere between 68-72 mhz cycles per second per second. Under anethesia electrical activity can drop to extremely low levels - below 20 mhz cycles per second/second. It could be that what many people define as muscle memory is just realy a given area of dysfunctional tissue returning to the electrical potential it had prior to being sedated or stimulated via massage. I do know that the brain can associate very specific injury sites with very specific responses do to injuries creating repeated stimulation (noxious stimuli) for long periods of time - or - even short periods of time if emotional trauma was attached to the speciic injury site. In most cases the terminology being used by body workers lacks "concise" descriptive nouns and pronouns. (p)tomatoes (p)tomatos al gore take a bow. If you want to get to the bottom of muscle memory you will need to talk about specific conditions before and after body work and incorporate some kind of methodology for measuring the "responses" you refer to as memory.
Dec 2, 2010
lee kalpin
If the muscles are permanently detached from their connection to the brain, (because a motor nerve is damaged) they will permanently lose their normal muscle tone. A person who sufers a Lower Motor Neuron Lesion will have flaccid muscle tone with no strength, and the muscle will eventual waste
If there is an Upper Motor Neuron Lesion (damage to the relevant part of the brain), the muscle will more likely have spastic tone and go into permanant flexion (see people with CP)
When we talk about muscle tone being determined by the brain, many people picture this as being a cognitive function, that we have to think about it to make it happen. All these functions happen at the level of cells and neuropathways
Dec 2, 2010
lee kalpin
I don't know how the profession of massage therapy is progressing in your part of the country, but here there is a big focus on Evidence Based Massage Therapy. In fact, there is an excellent web site by that name which includes postings of the latest research studies. I highly recommend it to everyone on this site as it's very educational. While not every practitioner will agree with everything that is published (in books or research studies), most of us think it's important to be aware of this information and to understand it.
When you say that tens of thousands of massage therapists would disagree about the importance of referencing their practices to accepted texts and research, you point out a difficulty that the profession is experiencing. We are wanting to be accepted and respected in the health care community, yet many of our members believe in and practice "modalities" for which no scientific basis can be found. This tends to decrease credibility with the other professionals we need to work with.
Dec 2, 2010
rudy m smith
a better link
Dec 2, 2010
Gary W Addis, LMT
Dec 2, 2010
lee kalpin
Dec 2, 2010
Gary W Addis, LMT
Dec 2, 2010
rudy m smith
Dec 2, 2010
Lee Edelberg
I don't want to side-track this interesting discussion, but I have to point out some errors in this thinking. A light bulb filament is most definitely not a semi-conductor. It is a conductor with a high fixed resistance relative to the circuit conductors feeding it. The wires to the bulb are conductors with relatively low fixed resistances. Electrical energy is converted to heat at the fixed rate of 3.4 btu's per watt of power used. All of the energy is used up in the circuit. (none of it just "stays around as electricity" !) Some of it is converted to heat due to the resistance in the circuit conductors. The remainder is converted to heat (and the resulting light) at the bulb.
A semi-conductor is a material that is somewhere between a conductor and an insulator, and I've never heard of an organic one. Collagen is not unstable electrically from what I've read, it is simply polarized. An H20 molecule in not unstable, but it is polarized (that's why steam confuses ionization-style smoke detectors). When a collagen molecule is distorted, is has some sort of electrical effect, but it isn't changing states, as far I as I can tell. Moving charges around creates fields but that's not the same thing as changing states. Lastly, in a biological medium, ions can move, both positive and negative, unlike in a copper wire, where only the negative charges can move.
Dec 4, 2010
rudy m smith
Fascia is known to be piezioelectric in nature, meaning when it is stressed it will generate or release electricity.
just following this concept alone can take you places.
Dec 6, 2010
Gary W Addis, LMT
Dec 6, 2010
Emmanuel Bistas
I would not go as far as saying that muscle memory is a scientific fact based on Dr. Lipton's work. But the work does show that there is "intelligence" and "decision making" at a level that bends the norms of conventional science and medicine, and turns upside down our understanding of evolution.
At the same time I would not knock muscle memory as a myth because there is much we do not know, including theories that memory and consciousness are actually stored outside our bodies and our brains and bodies are simply the tools to retrieve them (McTaggart). Who can know for sure?
There are indeed myths in our profession. For example, if there are toxins (in the classic sense) that get released by massage, we should be able to find them. A urine or saliva test before and after the massage should be able to detect them. If it can't, then we can say it's a myth. But we cannot call something a myth (e.g. muscle memory, qi, ) if we don't have enough information about it.
I have been concerned for some time now, that the desire to be accepted by the medical community has created the notion (myth?) that self-flagellation is good for our profession. That we if we punish ourselves enough, if we repent for our myths, that we will be embraced by the medical profession and the gates of insurance heavens will be opened to us.
Personally, I think we should be driven by the search for truth and the desire to help our clients, not for the desire to belong. Nobody respects a profession that has no respect for itself.
Rudy, thank you for bringing up Bruce Lipton here. I also plugged his name and book on a couple different threads and hope that more people read his books.
Happy holidays!
Dec 11, 2010
Ariana Vincent, LMT, MTI, BCTMB
NEW MEMBER TO THE MYTHS OF MASSAGE GROUP
I'm looking forward to being an active participant in this group. I'm an educator and I'm always interested in learning about myths and dispelling them, as appropriate. I love the level of intelligence I see when I read previous posts. I'm delighted to be included in this group.
Ariana Vincent, LMT, MTI, NCTBM
Founder and CEO of Ariana Institute
http://www.arianainstitute.com
Dec 12, 2010
lee kalpin
Welcome Ariana
Dec 12, 2010
Gary W Addis, LMT
Welcome, Ariana. As I am a student, I need all the learned input available.
Dec 12, 2010
Ariana Vincent, LMT, MTI, BCTMB
Beauty Myths Debunked
By Real Simple
(Note: It would be interesting to put together a list of Massage Myths Debunked.)
Whether the information is outdated or outlandish, the truth is that some of the beauty advice you hear simply isn't true. It's not that someone is trying to deceive you. Maybe it's an old wives' tale passed down from woman to woman, or maybe it's a bit of wishful thinking. Whatever the reason for the confusion, here's the real deal on the top beauty myths.
Myth 1: Crossing your legs will give you varicose veins.Sitting down and crossing your legs won't cause varicose or spider veins, but standing may. Pronounced veins often crop up on people who either have a genetic predisposition to them or have jobs that require them to stand a lot, said dermatologist Kevin Pinski. Standing makes the vascular network work extra hard to pump blood from the legs up to the heart. If the valves, which keep blood flowing in one direction within your vessels, aren't functioning properly, a pooling of blood can occur and result in unsightly veins. Pregnancy, which puts added pressure on the circulatory system, or a trauma -- getting hit by a softball or a car door, for example -- can also lead to varicose veins.
Myth 2: You can get rid of cellulite.Ah, if only. "This remains one of the holy grails of cosmetic dermatology," said University of North Carolina Professor Timothy Flynn. Nothing can be done to permanently eliminate it -- not even liposuction. Cellulite consists of fat deposits that get trapped between the fibrous bands that connect the skin's tissues. Firming creams, however, often contain caffeine to tighten and smooth the skin. But a basic moisturizer will also work to hydrate and swell the skin, making cellulite a less obvious.
Myth 3: Shaving will make your hair grow back darker and thicker."Hair that hasn't been cut grows to a point," said dermatologist Heather Woolery-Lloyd. "It's widest at the base and narrowest at the tip." When you shave a hair, you cut it at the base. The widest part then grows out, and the hair appears thicker. But shaving doesn't change the width, density or color of hair.
Myth 4: Putting Vaseline on your face nightly will prevent wrinkles.Marilyn Monroe allegedly slathered the thick salve on religiously to stay youthful-looking, but that doesn't mean you should. As the skin ages, it loses its ability to retain moisture, and skin that's dry looks older. Petroleum jelly can make wrinkles less apparent because it's adding moisture to the skin, which softens lines, but it can't actually prevent aging.
Myth 5: Wearing nail polish all the time will make your nails turn yellow.This is true, but you can wear enamel all you like and still avoid discoloration. Nails are porous, and they absorb the pigment in polishes. Darker colors, especially reds, have more pigment, so they often stain your nails. The solution: Before applying polish, paint on a clear base coat.
Myth 6: You can shrink your pores.It's actually impossible to change the size of pores, but you can make them look smaller -- and using egg whites, a beauty trick Grandma may have tried, does work. "Egg whites tighten the skin, giving the illusion of smaller pores, but it's a temporary effect," says Tulane University Professor Elizabeth McBurney.
Myth 7: If you use wax to remove hair, fewer hairs will grow back.Wax rips the hair out at the follicles. And any repeated injury to the follicles over time -- we're talking 20 years -- could damage some follicles to the point that they don't grow back. So employ waxing for its ability to keep your legs smoother longer than shaving can, not for diminishing hair growth.
Myth 8: Preparation H deflates puffiness.This is a secret of makeup artists everywhere, and there's a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest that this hemorrhoid cream can reduce undereye baggage, but no clinical studies have been done. One of the product's ingredients, a yeast derivative that is said to reduce puffiness, is no longer found in the version that's available in the States. (The cream was reformulated in 1994.) The other ingredient that is credited with reducing inflammation is phenylephrine, which temporarily constricts blood vessels. Nevertheless, using Preparation H around the eyes can cause dry and inflamed skin, says McBurney, so use this only where it's meant to be used, south of the belt line.
Myth 9: Rubbing your eyes creates wrinkles.You won't get crow's-feet just from kneading your eyes when you're tired. But the tug of gravity and the repetitive movement of facial muscles, as in smiling or frowning, can break down the collagen in your skin and create wrinkles over time. So that silly taunt you heard as a child -- "If you keep making that face, it will freeze that way" -- has merit.
Myth 10: Applying cocoa butter or olive oil will stop stretch marks.Sadly, this isn't true. Stretch marks occur when skin expands quickly (as in pregnancy), breaking the collagen and elastin fibers that normally support it. Or they're simply luck of the genetic draw. "Stretch marks are formed below the top layer of skin, where the cocoa butter and olive oil can't reach," says McBurney. The most either can do is quell the itching that occurs when skin expands.
Myth 11: Brushing your hair 100 strokes a day will make it shine.Marcia Brady, it turns out, was overzealous in her beauty routine. "One hundred strokes is too much," said Christopher Mackin, a trichologist (someone who studies hair). "You'll do more damage than good." Hair will break if you tug on it too much. However, gentle brushing -- a few strokes here and there -- will make hair shine by distributing the natural oils from the scalp down the hair shafts and flattening the cuticles to make them reflect more light. More significant, light brushing removes impurities and stimulates blood flow to the scalp, which nourishes hair follicles and keeps them healthy.
Myth 12: Tanning or dotting on toothpaste can help get rid of pimples.True to both, but don't run for the tanning booth or apply a Colgate face mask. While some sun exposure may help pimples get better temporarily, you can experience a rebound effect. Plus, sun exposure can lead to bigger problems, such as premature aging and skin cancer. As for toothpaste, it often contains menthol, which can help dry out a pimple. Other common toothpaste ingredients can irritate the skin. And there are much better over-the-counter options than toothpaste.
Myth 13: Sleeping on your back or with a satin pillow will help your face stay wrinkle-free.That's a big exaggeration with a little truth behind it. As you age, the collagen and elastin fibers in your skin break down, so when you burrow your face into a pillow, putting pressure on these fibers for several hours at a time, the skin is increasingly less likely to snap back. If you have a pattern of sleeping on one side, that side of your face will typically show more wrinkling than the other. Learning to sleep on your back can help your skin a bit, but you'd fare much better wearing a good sunscreen.
Myth 14: Rinsing your hair with beer will make it thicker.A final rinse of beer at the end of your shower will leave you with more voluminous strands. "The beer builds up the circumference of the shafts," says Philip Berkovitz, founder of Philip B. hair products. One caveat: You may smell like a frat house until the scent dissipates. Instead, try a thickening shampoo with hops, such as Aussie Shampoo Real Volume.
Myth 15: Applying mayonnaise to your hair will make it glossier.Mayo is made with an oil base, and it makes hair shine. But to avoid a mess, try this method: Apply a cup of mayonnaise mixed with a teaspoon of vanilla extract (to cut the mayonnaise scent) to dry, unwashed hair. Cover your head with a warm towel to help the mayonnaise penetrate, and leave it on for 20 minutes. Before you step into the shower, apply a heaping handful of shampoo to your hair. Don't add any water yet; just massage it in thoroughly for several minutes. That will help break down the excess oil. Rinse with cool water in the shower and your hair will come out shiny and silky.
Myth 16: Never pluck a gray hair, because 10 more will grow in its place.This is false. If anything, ripping a hair out by its root leads to regrowth that refuses to lie flat. Your best bet for conquering gray? See a colorist.
Myth 17: Hair grows faster in summer than in winter.Although studies have shown that men's beards grow faster in summer, there is no evidence to suggest that the hair on your head does. Many women say they can tell it grows faster then, but if so, the difference is slight and barely detectable, according to McBurney. The only time women's hair has been proven to grow faster is during pregnancy, thanks to increased hormones.
Myth 18: Drinking water keeps your skin from drying out.What keeps skin moist is oil, not water. Certainly, drinking water helps vital organs operate properly, and too little water in your body can give you a wan appearance. But your skin can still look dry even if you drink eight glasses a day.
This story, written by Rebecca Sample Gerstung, originally appeared in Real Simple.
http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/12/02/beauty-myths-debunked/?icid=mai...
Dec 14, 2010
lee kalpin
Thanks Ariana. It's great to have another educator on this site.
Your "beauty myths" are excellent! I have heard most of them at some time.
I particularly like to combine the myth about cellulite with one about massage. Some salons and spas claim that massage can get rid of cellulite. Oh how I wish it were true! But unfortunately, NOT!
Dec 14, 2010
Lynne Stiller
Dec 15, 2010
Lauriann Greene, CEAS
WEBINAR: THE MYTHS & REALITIES OF INJURY PREVENTION & SELF-CARE
Join us Dec. 5 @ 8PM, EST for a live discussion on the myths versus realities of injury prevention and self-care for massage therapists. Hosted by the prestigious Ben Benjamin of The Benjamin Institute and lead by myself and co-author Richard W. Goggins, CPE, LMP.
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Nov 28, 2011
Lauriann Greene, CEAS
2 MONTHS UNTIL THE NEXT LIVE CIPI WORKSHOP!
Register today for the Certified Injury Prevention Instructor (CIPI) program, and start earning additional income in the new year!
Next Workshop: Feb. 10-12, 2012 in Palm Beach, FL
Click above or contact us for more info:
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Dec 11, 2011
Daniel Cohen
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/01/health/la-he-massage-2012020
Study works out kinks in understanding of massage
Scientists identify the mechanism behind the therapy's benefits, comparing biopsies to show that the interaction with muscle proteins reduces inflammation and helps cells recover.
February 01, 2012|By Eryn Brown
An interesting study using muscle biopsy and putting to rest all claims related to lactic acid and massage.
Feb 4, 2012
Gary W Addis, LMT
Daniel, the LA Times link didn't work for me...the paper couldn't find the article
Feb 4, 2012
Daniel Cohen
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/01/health/la-he-massage-20120202
Gary I tried it again and it went through. What browser do you use?
Feb 4, 2012