Recent Developments
I have recently undertaken additional training to enhance the range of techniques at my disposal during a treatment session.
Soft Tissue Release ("STR") is a valuable sports massage technique that aims to stretch tight muscles in a manner avoiding the "stretch reflex". Tight muscle fibres resist stretching but STR is a quick movement which acts before the resistance kicks in, thereby encouraging the muscle fibres back to their proper length.
The technique involves stretching the fibres of the entire length of a muscle, bit by bit rather than all in one go.
The technique is easily incorporated into, and complements, existing treatments.
Deep Tissue Massage ("DTM") is a useful technique that can be incorporated into a treatment; it allows me to work deeper not harder. I use the technique when the muscles have relaxed enough to do so, and not as a replacement for other techniques I use.
Clients should avoid the temptation to adopt an attitude of "no pain - no gain".
The treatment of injuries will inevitably involve some discomfort, but if the pain exceeds a certain level, the muscles will lock to protect the damaged area and the massage will not achieve the desired result.
I therefore use DTM only as one tool at my disposal, rather than a stand-alone treatment.
I have also continued with the Jing Holistic Medical Massage series (renamed Advanced Clinical Massage series) with the completion of the sections aimed at Ribs, Thorax and Abdomen (RTA) and the Temperomandibular Joint (TMJ).
Work on the RTA area can encourage deeper rather than shallower breathing, and so could benefit athletes, asthma sufferers and singers for example.
Problems with the TMJ area can give rise to jaw pain, face pain and migraines by way of example. Treatment of the TMJ will cover other head and neck muscles in the process including the bottom attachment of the temporalis muscle that can only be accessed at the back on the inside of the top jaw.