Back Pain

Massage should not be done on some medical conditions. If you have a medical condition please ask your Dr. before doing massage.

Most state have laws governing doing massage as a profession so if you're not a Licensed Massage Therapist check your local laws for doing massage on family and or friends without charging. Once you charge your are considered a professional. 

Back pain is probably the most common complaint that we suffer.

With the client lying face down or prone, I like to work on the multifidus muscles first by standing to the side of Client and placing  your thumb on the opposite side of the spine from the side you are standing.






 Next using the palm of the other hand gently but firmly press down then away from the spine. 

(In elderly people the Transverse Process can be brittle, and can easily break. Use extreme caution in doing massage on the elderly. See diagram above.) Work between each vertebrae up and down at least three or four times. Then move out to the other larger muscles with  palms or forearms. Foreames can be more convenient from the same side of the spine. After working both sides go to above the top of the head and with both hands using long smooth strokes with hands open and face down to finish the back massage.
I will be adding a picture to demonstrate the massage techniques.

 Massage lotion will help in all massage techniques except for true deep tissue.

A lot of back pain can be influenced by the hips. So be sure to look at the hip post.

Earache

Most of us have had an earache at sometime in our life. It's no fun is drastically understating the obvious.

The techniques that work well for the jaw also are helpful for earache pain. By working just behind the jaw, in front and below the ear you can clear the canal that you can see in the image below.

Relieving the tension in this area can allow the eustachian tube to drain relieving most earache pain.  

Work behind the jaw in every direction. Don't forget to work on the jaw hinge too as it can be holding a lot of the tension causing the problem.

Seems easy? Basicly it is, but remember to start out slow, this area is super tender, especially if you have an earache.

Shoulder Pain & Upper Back.

  Shoulder pain and upper back pain is often caused by tension in the subscaps, or subscapularis.

To work on this area you will need to work with another person as it is almost impossible to reach on one's self. Although I have resorted to leaning on a rubber covered broom handle, which helps but doesn't get into the sub-scaps very well.

To do this work you will want to work on the area from the front  and the back. It doesn't matter which way is first but for this instruction we'll start face up or supine.

Have the client raise their arm above their head or if it is too painful as far as they can. A small pillow can supportThen find the soft area in the armpit, between the pec and the subscap muscle. Very gently work your way into this area. (It is extremely tender and often very ticklish so go slow.) However to get the tension out you will need to dig deep. Work everything you can reach, forward, backward, up, down, and around. Grab hold of the edge of the pec muscle and kneed this muscle between your thumb and fingers.

Then turn the client over and work from this angle. 

You may have to do this in stages but the more tension you can get out the more releaf you're going to achieve.

Years agoI had an old farmer who would come to me once a year when his shoulder would freeze up. I would spend the whole hour working on this area coupled with the traps and deltoid. To say the least this was an extremely painful endeavor for my client. I begged him to come more often in order to avoid going through so much pain in order to relieve his shoulder problem but to no avail. He would grit his teeth and bare the pain of this technique knowing that when we were through he would once again have the use of his shoulder.

So I strongly recommend that you do this work in stages. about every other day until the pain is gone.

If you know how to do energy work send energy into the area as you slowly move forward into the muscle. This cuts the pain a great deal. 

* Once again remember that there are medical conditions that shouldn't have massage. ie Cancer and others. If you have a medical condition please talk to your doctor before getting massage work done.

Physical Healing

 For the next while I'll be posting things I know about Physical Healing. I think maybe the most important thing to be said on this subject is that natural laws will out.

We are all in possession of physical bodies, thus if we want healthy ones we need to obey the physical laws that govern said bodies.

The old adage -- garbage in garbage out pertains to more than just filling our brains with bad subject matter. When we eat or drink things that are bad for our bodies we are going to reap what we sew. 

Now you might be saying well "DOIW" any brain dead sombe could ferret that out. But still even all of us knowing this we still fill our bodies with sugar, processed foods, to name just a few of the more popular. Don't even get me started on drugs and alcohol. (in later months I will address the reasons we need or become addicted to these things.)

 It's like putting diesel in a gas motor. Doesn't works so well.

The more understanding we can gain on how these substances affect us the more power we have in making better choices. I wish you luck on making better intake choices. Have a great day. 

TMJ

 Can have long term repercussions if not taken care of.

 The muscles around the jaw hinge or the (Temporomandibular joint) can become tight -- causing pain and or clicking. 

To relieve this tension I have found by working the muscles around the jaw joint the pain and even clicking that has been going on for a while can be remedied.

It is a good idea to keep the muscles around this area loose with regular massage. 

You can work on these areas yourself very easily by sitting at a table and placing your elbow on the table, then using your thumb or one of your knuckles on the muscles around the hinge of the jaw. you can find this hinge by feeling along the side of the jaw while chewing. The joint is near the end of the long jaw bone or the (Mandible bone) in front of the ear. By working all of these muscles you can relieve TMJ. The good news is this will also help with ear pain / problems.

Be sure to work just under the ear in the crevasse just behind the jaw. If it hurts you're in the right place, after your get the tension out the pain when working on it will greatly diminish if not completely disappear.

As with the neck technics you can work on someone else by sitting behind them with the person being worked on either sitting in a lower position or on a massage table. 

Depending on the person's degree of tension these muscles can be extremely painful. So be nice, and go slow and easy.

HAPPY PUSHING.