Posts Tagged ‘continuing education’

Golfer’s Back Pain And The Quadratus Lumborum

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

The quadratus lumborum muscle is responsible, some say, for 65% of all back pain. It attaches to the 12th rib, the iliac crest, and the transverse processes of the four lumbar vertebrae. Has your massage therapist ever thoroughly dealt with the muscle?

So what does this all mean? Well, I guarantee you that if a knowledgeable therapist presses on the origins and insertions, you will probably experience some pain. What are its actions? It laterally flexes the lumbar vertebrae, really the side of the body, and creates a little bit of extension in the lower back. I have heard statistics that 65% of all back pain can be traced to the imbalances the Quadratus lumborum muscle. If I were looking for course in my quest for continuing education as a massage therapist, I would certainly search out a teacher who would inform me about how to deal with and balance the quadratus lumborum and its attachments to lumbar vertebrae and 12th rib. If there are imbalances there, they are placing pressure on the disc, if there’s pressure on the disc, there is pressure on the nerve root, if there’s pressure on the nerve root, than there is going to be a diminished signal and more than likely ischemic tissue and PAIN.

A massage continuing education course should do two things. The first should be to expand your knowledge base. The second should be your ability to raise your fees. Let’s talk one of the most widely played sports in the world… golf. Golf is an expensive sport, so many golfers are willing and able to pay you to help them with their constant back pain. The swing in golf is very powerful and violent. This swing creates lateral flexion and extension among other muscular chain actions. I have never met a golfer who played a lot, and wasn’t experiencing back pain.

I have never met a serious golfer that did not deal with a lower back discomfort and in some cases debilitating back pain. It’s a very easy technique to apply when the patient is in a prone position or in the side lying posture, where you can also deal with a tensor fascia lata muscle and the IT band.

Learning how to deal with this pain, is learning how to deal with the quadratus lumborum. if I were wanting to satisfy my massage continuing education credits, I would look for a teacher who would elevate my abilities to deal with this very important muscle function. Then I would go to my community golfing centers, and advertise my ability to relieve back pain that most of them inevitably suffer from their love of the sport.

Looking to find the best deal on lower back pain, then visit www.lyonsinstitute.com to find the best advice on massage continuing education for you.

What Is Structural Integration And Rolfing?

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

So what exactly is Rolfing? To many it conjures up as an extremely painful experience. Unfortunately, there is very little truth to this rumor. It can create intense sensation. Pain in massage therapy should always be a brief experience to alert the Rolfer to fascia that is stuck in an adhesive pattern. A well trained Rolfer/Structural Integrationist should be conscious and respectful of their clients needs.

Oftentimes patients are willing to deal with some pain, especially if the session was successful in alleviating the painful condition that brought them to me. My Rolfing technique is more gentle than others, as I believe I can apply the technique a few extra times or longer to get the same results by allowing the body to adapt to the pressure. In reality, it is my opinion that all we are really doing is mirroring for the bodies own homeostatic response. Let me take you in for a deeper look into the world of Rolfing.

It was Dr. Rolf’s theory that pain in the human organism, both physical and emotional, was based on our relationship with gravity and its effect on our fascial membranes. Force vectors that enter the body either physically, or emotionally, can effect the physical structure. Just like a geodesic dome, our structure is totally interrelated, and any force that enters the system can be held in other parts of the structure. Through skillful application of technique a Rolfer/Structural Integrationist can inform the system of its imbalance and ultimately change the structure to a place of more ease, freeing up energy that is used unnecessarily to hold patterns of imbalance.

The plastic connective tissue which links all the internal structures of our human frame is called the fascial network. It is malleable and can be influenced by external responses. Fascia also surrounds internal organs and can impact them as well. Sometimes these external forces can create imbalances which result in painful conditions. Rolfing is a very specific technique, and as I have told my clients, doesn’t resemble the classic Swedish Massage technique that they have experienced prior to coming for a Rolfing session

One thing you will notice with Rolfers, is that the strokes that we apply to the patient’s body are very slow and often times without the use of any lubrication. We can change our patient/clients posture by the nature of fascia’s sliding, elastic capacity. This is the main reason that our clients can become pain free, their bodies are aligned in gravity. Send them out the door with some movement cues and education, and the changes that they have experienced can last a lifetime.

Rolfing has a proven track record as not only a performance enhancement regime, but as a premier tool in the prevention of many very painful injuries. Is is a chemical free, manual therapy that has a proven track record for over 50 years. I can not recommend enough the inclusion of this brilliant technique in your health and wellness regimen.

Want to find out more about Rolfing, then visit Judah Lyons’s site on how to choose the best pain for your needs.