Do your hands get sore?" and "Is that a knot” are the two most common questions get asked by our massage clients. So we thought it best to clear it up for once and for all!
A knot is what a remedial massage therapist would call a trigger point.An area of tight tissue in a muscle where the muscle fibres are in a contracted state (bunched together). By massaging, dry needling or trigger pointing this area not only are you helping to stretch out these contracted areas of a muscle, you are breaking up adhesions that form in the fascia (connective tissue that holds muscles together) of a muscle. What should a feel like?Normal healthy muscle tissue feels supple and elastic, and should be uniform in consistency. On the other hand, a dysfunctional or 'knotted' muscle will have a thicker, ropey consistency. What is commonly referred to as a knot, a massage therapist would call a trigger point. What can you do? Trigger points can be treated to relieve muscle tightness and discomfort - just know that in doing so it can cause a small amount of local, referred or radiating pain. When treating a Trigger Point you are also treating the connective tissue around all the muscle fibres called myofascia. (Think that filmy stuff on the outside of a raw chicken breast! That's fascia and it every where on the inside and outside of your muscles!) The myofascia, or muscle fascia, is a film of connective tissue that envelops all muscles, compartmentalising the soft tissues of the body and gives shape to the body. As such, if the fascia is damaged or dysfunctional it can restrict or inhibit the movement and contractile force of the muscle it envelops and cause reduced gliding with neighbouring tissues and structures. How can you treat it?
As to the other question 'Do remedial massage therapists hands get sore?' Not really! We learn early on how to use our body behind our techniques to take the pressure off your hands. However if you have a really long day, back-to-back (treating particularly stubborn muscles) it is common to find the ol' massage therapist hands feeling a little tender! By Shane Asmussen & Kat Murray Qualified Remedial Massage Therapists References:
Athletico (2017). Physical Therapy. www.athletico.com Finando, D. & Finando, S. (2005). Trigger Point Therapy for Myofascial Pain. Simon and Schuster. Clay, J.H. (2008). Basic Clinical Massage - Integrating Anatomy and Treatment. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual, Vol. 1 - Upper Half of Body David G. Simons, Janet G. Travell, Lois S. Simons By Erin Haske We all know how hard it can be to stay motivated to exercise and stay healthy. We sat down with Erin Haske, Exercise Physiologist and Health Coach to discuss tips and tricks to stay motivated when you're tired, 'not feeling it' or struggling to stay on track! 1. What’s your favorite strategy at the moment for getting out of bed to exercise when you don’t want to? Have you ever experienced the frustration of having to stop exercising because of a niggling pain in your knees? Shane our newest Remedial Massage therapist took a bit of time to explain a condition that our massage therapists see in the clinic quite often called “Runner’s Knee.”
Yoga in Zanzibar? or Boxing in Cuba? Why not run with the giraffes in Africa? If you're looking for some left of centre health get aways we've found some amazing events and some epic companies that host them! Have a look! 1. Boxing and Core Stability in Cuba?Run by a hilariously named company Surf Yoga Beer these guys create amazing and unique fitness and wellness adventures across the world. From salsa dancing, yoga and fitness in Cuba, an aquatic adventure on the amalfi coast to Boxing, Core Stability Training and Yoga in Costa Rica this company picks amazing destinations and couples them with health, wellness and fitness retreats.
Future Dates: Cuba Oct 19 - 22 2017, NYE in Nicaragua 28th Dec - 2 Jan 2018 Check their upcoming tours at: www.surfyogabeer.com Amongst elite athletes self-massage such as triggering and foam rolling is becoming increasingly popular. Yet do these DYI jobs actually work?
Here in the Just Knead It clinic, we’ve been talking a lot about our health and fitness goals for 2017 – New Year’s Resolutions if you will. We were all able to prattle off a list of vague goals for the year like “cut down on Freddo Frogs”,“start running again”and “go back to the gym”. But when really thought about it we all unanimously agreed that these targets are hard to tackle on our own let alone without a tangible goal to aim for. Let’s face it, finding the motivation to haul yourself out of bed at 5am to drag yourself up and down the Kangaroo Point Stairs is hard at the best of times, but even harder when you don’t have a specific event to work towards.
So, here at Just Knead It, we started doing a bit of brainstorming to come up with a list of awesome events in 2017 to help all of us reach those (sometimes elusive) goals! What is it?
Cupping is an ancient technique used by Sports, Remedial Massage & Myotherapists to improve flexibility, loosen fascia, and help with pain. This treatment technique dates back to ancient Egypt, Chinese and Middle Eastern cultures. It has been described by Egyptians as early as 1550 B.C in the Ebers Papyrus. Cupping is often used in conjunction with other remedial massage techniques such as trigger point therapy or deep tissue massage to improve the effect of a massage treatment. What Happens? Massage Therapists place several cups on your body and take out oxygen from the cups by using a flame or a rubber pump creating a vacuum. As the air is sucked out your skin will rise up into the cup. Your skin will redden as blood is drawn closer to the skin. Some therapists will tell you that this redness is toxins and chemicals being sucked out of your body. This however, is not proven and it is more than likely just blood being drawn close to the skin by the suctioning effect. We always get asked how often should someone book in for a massage. Here is a very general guide to get you started. Please keep in mind that this is going to vary from one person to the next dependent on pre existing conditions, proximity to a major event, your sport or fitness activity and your training load.
If you have any questions as always please give us a call or send us an email! We are more than happy to help! How Often?
6 key points we cover with our patients in our massages that might help you understand why that injury is lingering in the background. As a remedial massage therapist I get just as frustrated for my clients as they do when aches, pains and injuries hang around for a long time. Here are a few things points that I go through in a massage session to try to establish why an injury is not getting better.
I hope that helps to give you some ideas to help you to work out why your injury is hanging around. I know they are quite broad if you need any help or advice with specific injuries feel free to call us on 3891 7629 or 0424 633 474 or booking online or via the Mindbody App! We are happy to help! Kind regards! Kat Murray, Remedial Massage Therapist - Just Knead It Woolloongabba. Check out this delicious salad recipe! It goes great with lamb on the barbecue! I love to cook and am passionate about making interesting salads! Quite a few of you have asked me for recipe suggestions over the last few months so I thought I'd post some of them for you all to use. The beauty of this recipe is you can use up any left over vegetables in the fridge. The ones below a just a suggestion. Enjoy! |
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March 2024
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