Massage Therapy Practice

Knowledge, Skills and Support for Massage Therapists

Member Login
User Name:
Password:
Register
2071 Haymarket Street
Ottawa K2A3M7
Ontario
Canada
Tel 613-724-6799
Email Us

Massage Therapy Practice.com Newsletter
IN THIS ISSUE
Pandemic Preparedness
Yoga Flow for TMJ
Featured Palpation: Flexor Retinaculm
Learning Online: Easy & Cheap?
Upcoming CEU Articles
Negotiating Better Business Agreements
Don't Kill Your Client with DVT!
Provincial Associations Excited About Online Learning
Share this Newsletter
 
Fighting the Flu!
 
Many public health officials think the world is overdue for a global influenza pandemic.
 
We are providing a free CE article with quizzing and certificate of learning so that all massage therapists have a better chance to know more about the regular type of influenza that strikes each year as well as what a pandemic is and how it needs to be fought.
 
Cover page of Flu Article
 
 
 
 
Yoga Flow with Leona
Anterior neck stretch image 
Help yourself overcome downward and forward drag on your hyoid / jaw by Clicking Here!
 
 
 
 
CMTRN image
 
 
Visit the CMTRN Website 
 
Do You Have a Client with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Palpation of the Flexor Retinaculum
Make sure you really are on the flexor retinaculum!
 
Take this 1 minute and 5 second video review of palpation of the flexor retinaculum.
 
 
 
How Does Massage Therapy Practice.com Work?
 
Stimulate Your Mind!
 
Learn new techniques!
 
Study when you want!
 
Document your learning with quizzes and cool certificates!
 
Do all this and more at a fraction of the cost of a seminar!
 
 
Upcoming CEU Articles
 
Pregnancy Pillowing Positioning Image
 
Pillowing and Draping in Pregnancy
 
Joint Mobilization: The Fundamentals
 
Supraspinatus: Anatomy, Assessment & Treatment
 
Get Help with Your Business!
Better Business Agreements Cover
  • What makes an agreement fair?

  • How can I improve my position in agreement negotiations?

  • What regulations determine whether I have an employer/employee or contractor/client relationship?

  • As a clinic manager, how can I limit an associate from taking business elsewhere?

Get Answers by Clicking Here!

Issue: 2008 #2 February 2008
Dear Doug

Welcome back to the Massage Therapy Practice.com Newsletter!
 
I am currently in California filming the next Nerve Mobilization DVD with Real Bodywork. We are focussing on Low Back Pain and Sciatica. It is an exciting project that people have been waiting for, for a long time!
 
We will be sharing more about this project in the coming months, so keep checking this newsletter and the web site for more info!
 
In fun and learning, Doug Alexander
 
Don't Kill Your Client with DVT!
 
Deep Vein Thrombosis Question
 
Red Blood Cells and a Venous Valve
 
Dear Doug: "We've had a question come up in one of our online programs relating to massage applied to the lower extremities away from the direction of the heart. I have always stated that it is a good idea not to do that, especially with any stripping or gliding techniques because of the possibility of dislodging a clot.
 
However, several people mentioned that Ida Rolf and others strongly advocated working in an inferior direction on the lower extremities for "fascial" reasons.
 
Do you know of any studies or resources that either validate or disprove the idea of working in a non-centripetal direction on the lower extremity due to circulatory isssues?" Whitney Lowe, OMERI     Click here to go to Whitney's web site!
 

Doug answers: "We need to consider risk factors in our clients that may suggest that they are vulnerable to DVT. This would include venous stasis (a period of bedrest, long plane trip (ie. to Australia maybe), or recent surgery), and activation of clotting factors (recent surgery, burn, diuretic use, dehydration). The blood is like water in a river carrying sediment. The kinetic energy of the water carries particles in suspension until the river takes a tight bend and the water slows down. This is where you will find the sand bar in a river, just around the bend from a sharp turn. Similarly, when blood slows it tends to deposit bits and pieces of blood cells, or whole blood cells, fibrin and whatever else is in suspension especially if you have a diet high in "bad" fats. If you combine the slowing blood with activation of clotting factors, then the stage is set for a thrombus.

I generally practice local precautions around any lower extremity vein, especially the femoral and soleal veins. These veins are large diameter and if they harbor clots then dislodging them may cause a life threatening pulmonary embolism.

We need to develop our palpation skills so that we know what we are in contact with most of the time! Direct firm pressure on a vein is a bad idea. Especially firm pressure in a proximal to distal direction. This will increase pressure within the vein and stress the valve that is further down the leg. These valves prevent back flow and venous stasis!

I haven't read Ida Rolf's words on direction of manipulation, but I can imagine that for many of us our fascia may migrate proximally up the front of our thighs from all the sitting that many of us do. In that case, I would want to shift, drag or restore a more anatomically neutral position to the fascia (ie. down the front of the thigh). I suggest that this is done with a broad contact that does little to stress the femoral vein. The vein probably has become a little compressed and maybe even fibrosed in the inguinal region in many of us (there is an acute condition of this that occurs with some cyclists). If that is the case, then I would hope that restoring hip extension and myofascial extensibility in the front of the hip will gradually lengthen, decompress and return more elasticity to the underlying vascular structures in an indirect way.

 
Provincial Associations Promote Online Learning!
 
Tired of paying big Seminar fees and travelling to major cities for continuuing education? Five Provincial Associations have decided to help their Members stay current by either buying bulk access to Massage Therapy Practice.com or individual subscriptions at a significant discount!   
 
The following  Associations provide full online access to CEU's or CE Credits at Massage Therapy Practice.com for all their Members...
 
Association of New Brunswick Massage Therapists Logo
 
 
Association of New Brunswick Massage Therapists
 
Massage Therapist Association of Saskatchewan Logo
 
 
Prince Edward Island Massage Therapy Association Logo
 
 
The following Associations have assigned Preferred Provider Status to Massage Therapy Practice.com for all their Members who wish to subscribe at a substantial discount...
 
Massage Therapist Association of Alberta Logo
 
 
Massage Therapy Association of Manitoba Logo
 
 
Let your Provincial or State Association know that you wish them to purchase a bulk subscription for your fellow members or that you wish to obtain an individual 20% Discount!
 
Forward this e-mail to your Executive Director, President and/or Education Chair to let them know about Massage Therapy Practice.com!
 

 

 
Teach Your Clients How to Meet You Halfway...
 
Entire Self Care Manual Available Online!
 
Heat or Ice Pack to the Face Image
 
Send your clients online for the best massage-oriented self care information!
 
Link to these pages from an e-mail or from your own web site!
 
 
Go to the these great resources...
 
TMJ and Jaw Problems
 
Upcoming:
 
Breathing
Core Stabilization
Hydrotherapy
Improving Posture
Recovery from Injury
Stretch Index Page
 
Share this Newsletter With Your Friends...
 
Just click the "Forward email" link at the bottom of this page!