Alzheimer's - A Great Holiday Gift for Caregivers - A Massage!
People who spend most of their time caring for aging or ailing loved ones often neglect to take care of themselves. The physical and mental stress of acting as caregiver can take a toll on one's body. Regular massage therapy can go a long way towards alleviating some of this stress.
However, many caregivers are strapped financially and are not able to "splurge" on this sort of relief. For this reason, Dorian Martin over at Healthcentral.com recommends giving gift certificates for massage therapy to any caregivers that you know. This would surely be more useful to them than another collection of candles or bath gels.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
When That Pain in Your Neck Really Gets on Your Nerves
I am not the world's most graceful person. Slips, trips and bodily injuries are such a common occurrence with me that the local EMT's know me by name. So does the staff at the urgent care close to the house. And the one by work. You get my point? Accident prone does not even begin to describe me. At the spa where I work, I am the only person who has ever gotten away with calling in sick on New Years Day (busiest day in Las Vegas) because I did it from the emergency room--and I hadn't even been drinking!
So I should have known better than to walk down our carpeted stairs in just my socks. I mean, a klutz like me should know the benefits of traction, right? But there I was, prancing down the stairs in my sweats and socks, paying absolutely no attention to what I was doing. Whewsh! My sock-clad foot slid on the rug and out from under me. I tried to catch myself on the banister, but bounced down several steps on my behind, back and elbows before stopping near the bottom. The breath was knocked out of me and I knew my shoulders were gonna hurt from trying to catch myself, but at least I hadn't hit the hard tile at the bottom of the stairs. I didn't think it was that bad.
Until the next day. A busy Saturday at the Spa and I was fully booked with massages. At first it wasn't too bad, my back and shoulders were a little stiff; but as the day wore on, I started getting a lot of pain in my right wrist. I must have injured it in the fall and not realized it.
Now, a bum wrist is one of the scariest things in the world to a massage therapist. After all, our hands are our tools; without them we can't work. Two or three weeks off to allow a sprained wrist to heal is two or three weeks with no money coming in. But working with an injury only leads to more damage and a longer recovery time, if it recovers at all.
So I went to the urgent care as soon as I got off work to get things checked out. I explained my fall to the doctor and he checked out my wrist. But everything seemed to be fine there. So then he checked out my neck and shoulders. Turns out that the muscles in my neck and shoulders had tightened up so much that they were putting pressure on the nerve that went down my arm into my wrist.
Ben Crabtree over at Massage San Antonio has a great article on Nerve Entrapment Syndromes. These painful conditions occur when the various tissues surrounding the nerve constrict and place pressure on the nerve and/or its root creating either localized or referred pain. Some of you may call this a "pinched nerve."
Ben explains why these entrapments happen and how various types of massage can help alleviate the pain. Check out Ben's article and the rest of his blog. He has lots of great information posted over there. And if you're in San Antonio, go get a massage from him.
Massage San Antonio: Nerve Entrapment Syndromes And Massage Therapy
So I should have known better than to walk down our carpeted stairs in just my socks. I mean, a klutz like me should know the benefits of traction, right? But there I was, prancing down the stairs in my sweats and socks, paying absolutely no attention to what I was doing. Whewsh! My sock-clad foot slid on the rug and out from under me. I tried to catch myself on the banister, but bounced down several steps on my behind, back and elbows before stopping near the bottom. The breath was knocked out of me and I knew my shoulders were gonna hurt from trying to catch myself, but at least I hadn't hit the hard tile at the bottom of the stairs. I didn't think it was that bad.
Until the next day. A busy Saturday at the Spa and I was fully booked with massages. At first it wasn't too bad, my back and shoulders were a little stiff; but as the day wore on, I started getting a lot of pain in my right wrist. I must have injured it in the fall and not realized it.
Now, a bum wrist is one of the scariest things in the world to a massage therapist. After all, our hands are our tools; without them we can't work. Two or three weeks off to allow a sprained wrist to heal is two or three weeks with no money coming in. But working with an injury only leads to more damage and a longer recovery time, if it recovers at all.
So I went to the urgent care as soon as I got off work to get things checked out. I explained my fall to the doctor and he checked out my wrist. But everything seemed to be fine there. So then he checked out my neck and shoulders. Turns out that the muscles in my neck and shoulders had tightened up so much that they were putting pressure on the nerve that went down my arm into my wrist.
Ben Crabtree over at Massage San Antonio has a great article on Nerve Entrapment Syndromes. These painful conditions occur when the various tissues surrounding the nerve constrict and place pressure on the nerve and/or its root creating either localized or referred pain. Some of you may call this a "pinched nerve."
Ben explains why these entrapments happen and how various types of massage can help alleviate the pain. Check out Ben's article and the rest of his blog. He has lots of great information posted over there. And if you're in San Antonio, go get a massage from him.
Massage San Antonio: Nerve Entrapment Syndromes And Massage Therapy
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Another Reason to Love Your Hips
Psychology Today: Beauty Beat: Sharp Curves
Turns out that having ample curves means you'll have smarter kids. According to Psychology Today, omega-3 fatty acids are stored in a woman's hips and thighs then released during the third trimester of pregnancy. Then these essential fatty acids are used to build baby's brain into a super computer. So go ahead, eat that brownie--you're doing it for the children.
Turns out that having ample curves means you'll have smarter kids. According to Psychology Today, omega-3 fatty acids are stored in a woman's hips and thighs then released during the third trimester of pregnancy. Then these essential fatty acids are used to build baby's brain into a super computer. So go ahead, eat that brownie--you're doing it for the children.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
These Hips
Why do women always seem to have so much muscle tightness and pain in their hips? Sure, there are many physiological explanations: wearing high heels, carrying children, etc. But maybe there is another possible factor involved: we don't show them enough love. In fact, from the time we are barely teenagers, most of us have learned to loathe or at least dislike these parts of our bodies. How many times have you said, “God, I hate my butt!” or “I wish my hips would just go away.”? You know what they say about chocolate: once on the lips, forever on the hips. Maybe the same applies to our words. Every time we say something nasty about a body part, some of that hate gets transferred into the cells of that part in the form of tension, knots and chronic pain.
How do we rectify the situation? By learning to love all of our parts lumps, bumps and cellulite.
Check out this wonderful, empowering poem by Lucille Clifton. Embrace it. Listen to the story of your own hips and let them sing. They are feminine, they are powerful, they are beautiful.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Scoliosis and Postural Therapy
James Clay has written a wealth of valuable information for anyone who is interested in using massage therapy to help alleviate postural problems in children and adolescents. Here is a link to some of the websites I've found so far.
Posture Therapy for Children and Adolescents.
Important information about Scoliosis.
Unfortunately, this is an old site and many links are broken.
Posture Therapy for Children and Adolescents.
Important information about Scoliosis.
Unfortunately, this is an old site and many links are broken.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
What Color is Your Personality?
Dr. Ragan over at Psychology of Clutter has posted a link to this quiz. Dr. Ragan is skeptical of the results and asks her readers to try it at compare notes. Are the results accurate? Or are the descriptions so broad that they could fit just about anybody? Here are my results. You decide.
 | A+Hugle took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Needs a peaceful environment. Wants release from s..."
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Is that natural remedy you've been hearing about safe? Do men have hot flashes? What's the latest treatment for carpal tunnel? Is there any help for this painful plantar faciitis?
The answers to these questions and more are available on Medical Edge Television News from the Mayo Clinic. These videos are informative but easy to comprehend. The range of topics is astounding.
I love the Mayo Clinic's site for looking up medical and drug information. Having this information is handy when discussing issues with your doctor or making choices in the grocery store aisle. This is just one more great feature that allows everyone to take charge of their own well being.
The answers to these questions and more are available on Medical Edge Television News from the Mayo Clinic. These videos are informative but easy to comprehend. The range of topics is astounding.
I love the Mayo Clinic's site for looking up medical and drug information. Having this information is handy when discussing issues with your doctor or making choices in the grocery store aisle. This is just one more great feature that allows everyone to take charge of their own well being.
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