AMTA National Convention

DR. MEHMET OZ
KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Denver, Colorado 
September 2014

Dr. Mehmet Oz is a well-known cardiologist, researcher, author, and TV personality. He shared his personal experiences with massage and is an advocate of having massage therapists in hospitals.

Highlights from his presentation:

After surgery, massage therapists provide touch in a painless way. During surgery our bodies have been subjected to trauma and pain. Through massage we let the body have pleasure sensation in addition to healing benefits.

Massage is a way to "reboot" the body through relaxation. Sleep is when we produce growth hormone which is what we need in healing our body. Massage helps put the body in a state of self-healing.

The main reason we are overweight is chronic stress. If we reduce our stress, we reduce our appetite. By receiving massage, we lower our stress and can nudge our biology in the right direction.

"Let the grocery store be your pharmacy." Eat well. Shop the periphery of the store and buy real, whole foods.

It has been proven that massage can lower blood pressure, lessen the stress you feel, and help you to sleep better.

Make five life adjustments:

• Lower blood pressure
• Exercise 30 minutes per day
• Eat a healthy diet that you can follow
• Control your stress and get enough sleep
• Curtail addiction

Dr. Oz pointed out that doctors don't learn about the benefits of massage in medical school. It is the responsibility of massage therapists and patients to take the information to the doctors. Let doctors know how massage has helped you manage pain or helped your body heal more quickly!

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I recently returned from Denver where I attended the AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association) National Convention. 

• Our keynote speaker was Dr. Oz. He got us excited about working together with the medical community in helping people remain healthy and recover from surgeries.
• I enjoyed talking with other massage therapists and hearing about the different ways they work - there are so many possibilities to help people! 
• It was difficult to choose which classes to take - there are so many things this new therapist wants to learn! I split my time between the research track and the hands-on track.
  

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Highlights from a Few of My Classes:

Myofascial Components of Fibromyalgia

Fibermylagia is not diagnosed by a physical test, but by a subjective test based on answers to how a client feels. The anatomy of fascia was discussed in detail. We learned how a fibermyalgia client can interpret other senses, such as noise, temperature, light, and touch as pain. In a nutshell, their neurons are hyper-communicating. The research is finding that myofascial massage can help to decrease the central sensitization that produces the pain.

Piriformis Syndrome

Piriformis syndrome is the name given to a complex of symptoms arising from the compression of the sciatic nerve and/or associated blood vessels by the piriformis muscle. The piriformis muscle is located in the buttock region.

The most common symptoms of piriformis syndrome are pain and paresthesia in the buttock and down the back of the thigh. The pain is commonly felt when sitting, climbing stairs (or hills), squatting, running, cycling, or stretching too aggressively.

We learned a massage protocol to provide therapeutic intervention for piriformis syndrome. The massage is designed to relieve hypertonicity (tightness) of the gluteal muscles and all of the lateral rotators of the hip, including the piriformis muscle.

Paranasal Sinus Drainage

We learned a massage protocol on the face and head that includes elements from manual lymph drainage, acupressure, oriental meridians, and CranioSacral Therapy that can help with:

• Seasonal Allergies
• Sinus Headaches
• Tension Headaches
• Sinus Congestion
• TMJ Dysfunction

Try receiving a massage and 
notice the difference in your own health!

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