According to the most recent information available;*
Thirteen percent of the total workforce experienced a loss in productive time during a 2-week period due to a common pain condition. The issues listed included: headache, back pain, arthritis pain, and other musculoskeletal pain.
Lost productive time from common pain conditions among active workers costs an estimated $61.2 billion per year. The majority (76.6%) of the lost productive time was explained by reduced performance while at work and not work absence.
Pain is a significantly common and disabling condition in the US workforce.
All of the issues listed are are treatable or at least manageable through massage & bodywork.
*JAMA Vol 290, No 18. Nov 12, 2003http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/290/18/2443
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Massage
Massage:
Has been an integral part of Man's development throughout our history. The profound power we each hold, literally within the palms of our hands is evident every time we bump our head or burn our finger. The very first thing we do is touch the site of our injury.
The healing ability we each have has been so effective as to become instinctual.
Many different forms of bodywork have developed over the course of time. With these different forms we have found ways to illicit specific responses with specific techniques/ Depending on the intention, a session can be focused to assist in the healing of an injury, contribute to your regimen of preventative maintenance or simply provide a feeling of comfort from a warm caring hand.
Has been an integral part of Man's development throughout our history. The profound power we each hold, literally within the palms of our hands is evident every time we bump our head or burn our finger. The very first thing we do is touch the site of our injury.
The healing ability we each have has been so effective as to become instinctual.
Many different forms of bodywork have developed over the course of time. With these different forms we have found ways to illicit specific responses with specific techniques/ Depending on the intention, a session can be focused to assist in the healing of an injury, contribute to your regimen of preventative maintenance or simply provide a feeling of comfort from a warm caring hand.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
The Anatomy of a Pattern
The anatomy of a pattern:
Injury
You are young so you shake it off, no worries
You get into your 20’s, reoccurrence of injury, but you are still young so you shake it off again, maybe medicate or alcohol assist, besides you are too busy with life to be troubled with occasional pain/discomfort. You put it off as one of those things you will take care of when you have the time.
You make it to your 30’s, kids and their commitments, work and its commitments, relationship and its commitments, no time for you to address this issue yet.
You get to your 40’s, your back goes out every 3-6-18 months or so. It lays you up for a week or so, but what can you expect, you are in your 40’s now after all. You see a chiropractor, which helps. Except the frequency, duration and severity of each episode is increasing.
In your 50’s you finally accept it as part of growing older, you slow down, you stop fighting, you buy cool shoes or arch supports, a new mattress, a massage chair, you see the chiropractor, maybe you broke down and had that surgery, you have become intimately familiar which medications you can mix with alcohol, you can name 6 different muscle relaxation medications, you can also name the same number of pain killers, maybe you have tried three or four anti-depressants, …you are likely on other medications for other issues as well, maybe heart meds, blood pressure meds, a pill here and there to counter the side effects of the all the meds you are on, .. .
I am not saying all of this is a direct result of an ankle sprain you suffered when you were 13 years old, …
Or can it be? All too often the issues I find myself treating are childhood injuries that were never properly addressed.
The million-dollar question, is it too late? Maybe yes, but maybe no.
Injury
You are young so you shake it off, no worries
You get into your 20’s, reoccurrence of injury, but you are still young so you shake it off again, maybe medicate or alcohol assist, besides you are too busy with life to be troubled with occasional pain/discomfort. You put it off as one of those things you will take care of when you have the time.
You make it to your 30’s, kids and their commitments, work and its commitments, relationship and its commitments, no time for you to address this issue yet.
You get to your 40’s, your back goes out every 3-6-18 months or so. It lays you up for a week or so, but what can you expect, you are in your 40’s now after all. You see a chiropractor, which helps. Except the frequency, duration and severity of each episode is increasing.
In your 50’s you finally accept it as part of growing older, you slow down, you stop fighting, you buy cool shoes or arch supports, a new mattress, a massage chair, you see the chiropractor, maybe you broke down and had that surgery, you have become intimately familiar which medications you can mix with alcohol, you can name 6 different muscle relaxation medications, you can also name the same number of pain killers, maybe you have tried three or four anti-depressants, …you are likely on other medications for other issues as well, maybe heart meds, blood pressure meds, a pill here and there to counter the side effects of the all the meds you are on, .. .
I am not saying all of this is a direct result of an ankle sprain you suffered when you were 13 years old, …
Or can it be? All too often the issues I find myself treating are childhood injuries that were never properly addressed.
The million-dollar question, is it too late? Maybe yes, but maybe no.
Importance of Evaluation
The importance of the evaluation.
How important is it for you to be evaluated prior to treatment?
First you need to realize that whatever symptom you would like addressed is just that, a symptom. It is likely the latest cue you body is giving you in a long series of cues that you did not realize were indicators of a real problem.
Your evaluation begins with an extensive history. This history includes questions about your complaint but also about a number of issues you might feel are unrelated. All of the questions are important in establishing a baseline.
Next we have to trace the symptom to its root. This is accomplished by thoroughly assessing your subtle range of motion in a few key joints. The tone and texture of several key trigger points are also assessed. The assessment of these joints and points indicate imbalanced or unhealthy patterns that will lead us to the root or core problem.
Then we have to see how far reaching the unhealthy patterns have developed.
Another key to your treatment and recovery is to determine how long ago the precipitating event took place. The tone and texture of your muscles can provide a estimate as to how long a pattern has been in place.
So first we determine the real issue, not just the symptomatic complaint.
Then we show you what else is imbalanced.
We also have to figure out how long you have been developing these irregular patterns.
An established baseline also helps us determine how much progress we make as treatment begins.
After and only after this can we determine the best course of action to take in your treatment. Evaluation of your issues is an ongoing process and we will continuously work at it. The issues we address tend to be layered so we will find more and more once the superficial issues begin to respond. The way your body responds to the initial treatment is also taken into account in determining your ongoing evaluations and the continuously evolving plan of action.
This plan does not include a time quote. It is impossible to know in advance how well, or how poorly you will respond to treatment. Therefore it is impossible to tell how long it is going to take to get you better. Please keep in mind there are no hard and fast rules here. Allow for some wiggle room.
The points we check to begin your evaluation are common within all point system philosophies. In that they overlap system to system, they tend to be good indicators as to your overall health, mobility and flexibility. The joints we check serve that same purpose. I have found over the course of my practice that subtle limitations to range of motion in a few key joints can serve as indicators to range of motion limitations throughout your body.
The next step is to verify the initial assessment. Through direct palpation of the areas indicated by the initial assessment we not only verify our initial assessment, we also determine how extensive the problem is. At this point we also check gross range of motion in the areas indicated by the initial assessment.
By following this model we can typically determine not only the actual issue that needs to be addressed to alleviate your symptoms, but also how far reaching an issue is, the root cause and synergistic issues that need to be addressed as well.
How important is it for you to be evaluated prior to treatment?
First you need to realize that whatever symptom you would like addressed is just that, a symptom. It is likely the latest cue you body is giving you in a long series of cues that you did not realize were indicators of a real problem.
Your evaluation begins with an extensive history. This history includes questions about your complaint but also about a number of issues you might feel are unrelated. All of the questions are important in establishing a baseline.
Next we have to trace the symptom to its root. This is accomplished by thoroughly assessing your subtle range of motion in a few key joints. The tone and texture of several key trigger points are also assessed. The assessment of these joints and points indicate imbalanced or unhealthy patterns that will lead us to the root or core problem.
Then we have to see how far reaching the unhealthy patterns have developed.
Another key to your treatment and recovery is to determine how long ago the precipitating event took place. The tone and texture of your muscles can provide a estimate as to how long a pattern has been in place.
So first we determine the real issue, not just the symptomatic complaint.
Then we show you what else is imbalanced.
We also have to figure out how long you have been developing these irregular patterns.
An established baseline also helps us determine how much progress we make as treatment begins.
After and only after this can we determine the best course of action to take in your treatment. Evaluation of your issues is an ongoing process and we will continuously work at it. The issues we address tend to be layered so we will find more and more once the superficial issues begin to respond. The way your body responds to the initial treatment is also taken into account in determining your ongoing evaluations and the continuously evolving plan of action.
This plan does not include a time quote. It is impossible to know in advance how well, or how poorly you will respond to treatment. Therefore it is impossible to tell how long it is going to take to get you better. Please keep in mind there are no hard and fast rules here. Allow for some wiggle room.
The points we check to begin your evaluation are common within all point system philosophies. In that they overlap system to system, they tend to be good indicators as to your overall health, mobility and flexibility. The joints we check serve that same purpose. I have found over the course of my practice that subtle limitations to range of motion in a few key joints can serve as indicators to range of motion limitations throughout your body.
The next step is to verify the initial assessment. Through direct palpation of the areas indicated by the initial assessment we not only verify our initial assessment, we also determine how extensive the problem is. At this point we also check gross range of motion in the areas indicated by the initial assessment.
By following this model we can typically determine not only the actual issue that needs to be addressed to alleviate your symptoms, but also how far reaching an issue is, the root cause and synergistic issues that need to be addressed as well.
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