Dynamic Balance

Get It Started - Editorial

Well, I think that cartoon says it all! I do an RSS feed of the news services that brings me a compilation of all the story's that have certain keywords. This week one came across my desktop that claims that Asthma Drugs Found to Increase Muscle Strength. I take umbrage at titles like this for a simple basic reason. They are taking credit for something the body is doing despite or in spite of the medication. Don't get me wrong, beta-agonists work well when used correctly. But have a high incidence of abuse and death. But the point I am trying to make is not on the efficacy of these drugs but on the fact that the drug companies take credit for whatever works but dismiss responsibility when thier drugs poison us

 The muscle works better/easier so therefore you start moving the muscles and that is what increases muscle strength and reverses muscle wasting. This is like saying the beautiful green lawn is there because I threw some seeds in the neighbors yard. Without the water, soil and care it would never rise to the quality you see, it might not even grow in your yard.

More to the point this is another example of institutions lying to us to get in our pocket. They don't give us straightforward information so we can make choices, they lie to us so we will buy their product and blame us for buying it. So ask, check and research before you buy into the hype, and if they don't like your asking, go elsewhere.

that's my soapbox and I'm sticking to it! :)

BTW if you can't wait for the monthly newsletters for your fix of all things massage therapy you can go to http://www.scinthenews.com/index.php?news=997 f - you can search and get all the articles by putting "Gary" in the search box

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Body Balancing Massage Therapy - Business

Recently I was in Daytona doing a chair event for a Creative Memories consultant. they do this "Crop" each year and generally have about 100 - 150 in attendance for 3 days while they create their scrapbooks. that is where I come in. I set up my chair in the Corner and leave out a sign up sheet. As the name comes up I call out their name and they come and get a massage on the table or chair for 15, 30, or even 60 minutes.

It is often at these events that I hear about peoples complains about their physicians and the medical model we currently use. Uncaring, cattle call, quick fix, treat the symptoms and forget I am human are comment I often hear. The one that comes up often is more in response to the Massage therapy I give them. "You took the pain away in 15 minutes, I've been fighting with this for a year. Why hasn't my doctor suggested this?"

To their defense, not all LMT's are created equal. Or rather they are created equal, but what happens after makes all the difference.

But I Digress. The "croppers" are always thrilled with the massage and make sure I will be back next year. The event coordinator schedules it the year before as well. She has seen and heard the benefit brought to the event.

Your event doesn't have to be this large, to have this benefit. E-mail me and I will answer any question you have about massage and your event!

In the first week of November I am returning to school to do some advanced CEU's towards my certification in Lymphatic Drainage Therapy. This one focuses more on the deep node and circulation, the organs, the complex organization of the ears, nose and throat as well as the inclusion of Cerebral Spinal fluid in the drainage model. I am looking forward to this class. Advanced learning is,... actually any learning is a great challenge and enjoyment for me. But it also send me home with new understanding and skills that i can bring to you my client to improve, maintain, and restore a healthy body.

Popliteus - pop-lit-e-us - muscle is a rather unknown if not ignored muscle. Many MT are afraid of it because of its proximity to the lymphatic nodes, veins and arteries that flow though and around it. While its only advertised action is flexing the leg and rotating it towards the midline of the body. Its importance is so much more. The main function of the popliteus muscle appears to be to "unlock" the knee at the start of weight bearing. Excessive tension in this muscle could be caused by habitually locking your knees and will in fact put a compressive load on the delicate circulatory structures that pass from the thigh to the leg and visa versa. Restriction of the flow means that the pressure can back up and create excessive bulging. In the case of lymphatic flow this can mean the difference between proper or sluggish flow and swelling

Trigger points (TrPs) in the popliteus muscle refer pain primarily to the back of the knee joint  Patients rarely have pain in the knee just from this muscle. Initially, the source of the knee pain is usually  from TrPs in other muscles, such as the calf or thigh. However, after the TrPs in the other muscles have been deactivated, the patient becomes more aware of back-of-the-knee pain that comes from the popliteus muscle.

Medial rotation of the leg by the popliteus muscle is assisted by the medial hamstrings and, less by the sartorius and gracilis muscles in the thigh. Although the popliteus has no comparable opposing muscle the besides the hamstring muscle