Back in the early 1990s, I first read about reflexology from one of my mom’s Hong Kong tabloid magazines. The cover photo depicted a “map” of the feet in Chinese, indicating that pressure upon a specific area on the foot or toes can ease pain or “promote healing” to certain
Back in 2016 when I watched “Rogue One” in the theater with my girlfriend at the time, it was so good that we didn’t want to leave our seats yet when the credits rolled. The trailers and teasers that dotted Facebook for weeks before the premiere didn’t spoil anything for
Sports massage is a mixed bag of different techniques, such as effleurage, petrissage, and trigger point therapy, that are very similar to the ones found in Swedish massage. Sports massage doesn’t necessarily involve the therapist applying bone-deep pressure to the muscles that make you hiss in pain. Currently, there’s no
Static stretching is a type of stretch where you hold the lengthening position of a joint and muscle for a period of time. Many of us were taught to stretch like this before we run, lift weights, or play a sport, probably since middle school. While we have followed the
Dynamic stretching definition Dynamic stretching is a type of stretching that involves moving your joints through your normal range of motion repeatedly. Do not confuse this with ballistic stretching because dynamic stretching is done in a controlled manner. The ballistic version is done in a fast and uncontrolled way, which includes
Health insurance in Australia has had many twists, turns, and a few bumps along the road, especially over the last 25 years. Although I can’t remember its importance, it dominated my thoughts prior to graduating in 1993 with a remedial massage diploma. The health insurance industry has become instrumental in
Our experience with chronic pain constantly changes throughout our life, even before birth. Oftentimes, it’s a gradual change that we don’t notice until one day, the pain disrupts our daily routine and we take action to alleviate it. While modern pain scientists recognizes that the nervous system plays an important
When massage therapists explain pain to their patients or clients, they tend to tell their narrative based on the musculoskeletal system—and sometimes— the nervous system. While it is obvious that an ankle sprain or a knife wound is from tissue damage, our immune system are on the fringes of our
A 2020 study of non-surgical treatments for the anterior pelvic tilt reported “no evidence supports excessive anterior pelvic tilt as an isolated clinical disorder or pathology.” and having a cutoff point in determining what an excessive pelvic tilt means can be misleading because “sagittal balance can be individually regulated to
I’ve been an Internet-loving massage therapist since 1994, and I’ve received a better education online than I have in most formal classrooms. The Internet has offered me the opportunity to connect with brilliant colleagues, trailblazers, and mentors around the planet, in addition to feeding me an endless stream of hilarious
Pelvic tilt ‘corrections’ are still a big hype in manual therapy and fitness professions, yet recent research finds a lack of evidence that it needs correcting for back pain. If a physical therapist or personal trainer had told you that have an anterior pelvic tilt and you need treatments to
The letters that follow your name (like “LMT,” “CMT”) identify your responsibilities and limitations. Your title defines the who, what, when, where, and how of your professional scope of practice. Confusion, frustration, and resentment shadow many massage professionals’ understanding of their place among other wellness providers. “Are certain modalities