Success Stories, Experiences, and Tips - Renewal Massage Clinic

"Understanding Your Fascia"

5/19/2015

An Article in Runners World

Maybe it's because I'm going to theFourth International Congress this September in Washington DC, but it seems that everywhere I turn, I find articles about fascia. As I continue to use Myofascial Release in my massages, I am amazed at the results. To learn more, read the article and then contact me! Here's a few highlights from the article:

"Why didn't anyone mention fascia earlier? Because not many people know that much about it. Fascia's messy stuff. It's hard to study. It's so expansive and intertwined it resists the medical standard of being cut up and named for textbook illustrations.

. . . .the convention in med-school dissections has been to remove as much of the fascia as possible in order to see what was underneath. . . .

In 2007 the first international Fascia Research Congress, held at Harvard Medical School, brought about a new demand for attention to the fascial system. . . . "

Fascia Fundamentals

"What exactly does it do? It wraps around each of your individual internal parts, keeping them separate and allowing them to slide easily with your movements. It's strong, slippery and wet. It creates a sheath around each muscle; because it's stiffer, it resists over-stretching and acts like an anatomical emergency break. It connects your organs to your ribs to your muscles and all your bones to each other. It structures your insides in a feat of engineering, balancing stressors and counter-stressors to create a mobile, flexible and resilient body unit. It generally keeps you from being a big, bone-filled blob. . . ."

How to Care for Your Fascia

Fascia Research Video

4/13/2015

Fascia - Explanation for Some Back Pain

Next fall I am attending the Fourth International Fascia Congress. I'm pretty excited to learn more! I know that a lot of the research will go over my head, but in preparation, I am reading and watching videos on fascia research. I try to apply what I am learning to my massage work. This documentary video is a bit long, but offers some of the latest research on why ancient healing techniques like massage, yoga, and acupuncture are so effective in relieving pain: they all help break up adhesion in the fascia.

Knee Surgery - Massage Takes Down Swelling and Increases Movement

4/6/2015

Knee Surgery for a
Torn Medial Meniscus

My parents were living in Germany when my mother fell and tore her medial meniscus while on an assignment in London. She had surgery to repair it, but her recovery was long and painful. If you know my mother, you know that she didn't let surgery and pain stop her. She would go up and down the the four floors in their apartment building by putting a trash bag on and sliding down the stairs or scooting up them! She was unable to walk for several months, but my parents were still sent on assignments throughout western Europe, so mom used a wheel chair. That was not easy for a prideful Dane! But even after she quit using the wheelchair, pain and swelling persisted.

Massage helps with knee surgery

Mom is innovative

Massage helps heal from knee surgery

Mom using a wheelchair

I wanted to get my hands on her leg and help speed up the recovery with massage, but they lived too far away. A year later they returned to the US and the leg was still swollen and tender. She said the leg felt like a balloon blown up tight, ready to burst and and she couldn't put any pressure on it - just setting a book on her knee was painful. She was also limited in how much she could move her leg, thus hampering how much she could walk. As soon as they visited us, I put her (with a lot of protesting - she is a also a very stubborn Dane!) on my table and gently began to work on her knee.

Neuroplasticity - The Brain Can Change!

4/1/2015

Lecture by
Dr. Norman Doidge

I attended a fascinating lecture by Dr. Norman Doidge on Neuroplasticity. He is a leading neurplasticity expert and the New York Time's Bestselling Author of The Brain that Changes Itself. He shared research and case studies of people with learning disabilities or brain damage who improved their condition using non-invasive therapy.

Massage can promote change in the brain

Dr. Norman Doidge

I was particularly interested in his explanations on using movement and energy (i.e. vibrations like gentle touch, sound, and light) on and in the body to affect the brain. I am more and more convinced that movement is necessary to maintain optimal health. I am not convinced that we need specialized training or to do heavy exercise, but we DO need to keep moving. We've heard it before, but movement, even as simple as walking, will not only benefit the body, but also the brain.

Connective Tissue - Clue to Understanding Pain

2/19/2015

I am intrigued by fascia, or connective tissue. I use myofascial release in many massages and find that it helps to break adhesion, thus decreasing pain and increasing range of motion. Today I read an article in The Scientist by Dr Helene M. Langevin where she explains her research with connective tissue. I'll highlight some of what she wrote below, but you can read the entire article if you want more information.

The Science of Stretch

The study of connective tissue is shedding light on pain
and providing new explanations for alternative medicine.

Helene M. Langevin is a visiting professor of medicine and Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and a professor of neurological sciences at the University of Vermont.

Connective tissue is one of the most integral components of the human machine. Indeed, one could draw a line between any two points of the body via a path of connective tissue. This network is so extensive and ubiquitous that if we were to lose every organ, muscle, bone, nerve, and blood vessel in our bodies, we would still maintain the same shape: our “connective-tissue body.”

5 Ways Massage Can Improve Your Health

2/17/2015

From the AMTA Website, 21 February 2014

Massage therapy can play an important role in your health regimen. Get the details on how you can benefit from regular massage therapy.

Five Health Benefits of
Massage Therapy

Control stress

The longterm effects of stress can take emotional and physical tolls. Massage therapy may relieve stress and conditions associated with it, such as tension headaches.

Increase immunity

Medical research indicates that massage therapy can help boost the immune system by increasing the activity level of the body’s natural "killer T cells,” which fight off viruses.

Mental health and wellness

Research suggests that symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression (all associated with mental health) may be directly affected with massage therapy.

Pain management

Pain can negatively affect a person’s quality of life and impede recovery from illness or injury. Recent findings highlight the role of massage in pain management.

Improve physical fitness

Elite and recreational athletes alike can benefit from massage therapy--massage can reduce muscle tension, improve exercise performance and prevent injuries.

Breast Cancer

11/12/2014

Testimonial from a Cancer Survivor

I am a breast cancer survivor. During this past year I have been receiving chemo treatments. I also have been receiving massage therapy from Heidi! She gives me a Lymph massage the day before I have the chemo infusion. This activates my lymph system and has helped move the chemo toxins out of my body. I also find that hydrating, drinking plenty of water before and after helps too. I see less of the potential side effects. Less nausea and gastrointestinal issues, less fatigue and "chemo brain." I have also received other kinds of massage which have been so helpful! Energy work seems to help my overall feeling of well being and I find that I seem to heal quickly. Heidi is very intuitive to what kind of massage will benefit me and areas of the body that need attention and the amount of pressure needed. I trust her judgement for what is needed and may be most helpful. I have also received massage therapy for injuries. Heidi is very good at releasing the muscles and promoting healing. Heidi listens to my concerns and allows me to help guide the course of massage for healing. I believe that Heidi has a gift for healing! I highly recommend her massage therapy to my family and friends!!
-Michelle W. (Oct 2014) Died 30 January 2015 - a great loss

Michelle is a dear friend who is going through chemotherapy for the fourth time. While I was in school, she allowed me to practice many techniques on her as soon as I learned them. Together we learned what helped her feel better. She has provided me with much feedback and invaluable advise. She has been one of my most staunch supporters as I studied and learned. I love her and hope that she continues her miraculous comeback!

Several other clients have also had breast reconstruction after a mastectomy. The scars cause back pain, restricted range of motion at the glenohumoral joint (shoulder), and tightness around the scar because there is adhesion. After the first myofascial release massage on the scars, they have all reported less tightness and within a few massages they have more range of motion and less back pain. In addition to doing massage on the scars, I am trained and qualified to do lymph drainage of the entire body, including the breast. However, I am not yet qualified to do lymphadema work or to do rerouting if you have had lymph nodes removed. Someday I hope to be trained in that work.

Breast Reconstruction - Scar Tissue

Scars are fibrous connective tissue and can be formed for many different reasons, including a result of infection, surgery, injury, or inflammation of tissue. The connective tissue are laid down in random patterns. As they develop and mature, they pull on the surrounding tissue, increasing the area that is affected by the wound.

Not only are scars aesthetically unpleasant and cannot be made to disappear, scars can cause a restriction or decrease in movement, and potentially even affect internal organs.

I have been amazed at how quickly many scars have responded to massage and clients have found relief from the tightness and discomfort.

Piriformis Syndrome

10/30/2014

Emails from a Client

Piriformis Syndrome is a 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.

Recently a client visited me who had been diagnosed with piriformis syndrome. She had suffered from it for eight years and had given up running every day and sometimes still had pain as she walked. The pain often interrupted her sleep. I massaged her twice and following are a few emails that she sent to me about how wonderful she felt afterwards. She has given me permission to share them. (I bolded parts of her letters which highlight the benefits of massage.)

Trigeminal Neuralgia

10/28/2014

Letter from a Client

I am always amazed at the miracle of touch. I never know if what I am doing will really make a difference, so it is always nice to receive feedback that I helped reduce pain. As a massage therapist, I don't do anything "magic" - I simply help the body into the parasympathetic mode, or into a state of relaxation, and the body can begin to heal itself. The trick is to figure out which modality of massage is best for each person at that moment in time.

Oct 2014

Heidi,

Thank you so much for all you have done for me. . . . Here's my story:

My condition is trigeminal neuralgia. http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/trigeminal-neuralgia. I've had it on and off since 2009, but in June of 2014 it became constant and unbearable. We didn't know what it was until June. I had gotten a root canal last year unnecessarily, which obviously did nothing for the pain.

All of June was spent pretty much not talking or moving, eating, smiling, nor laughing. They all caused intense pain. I was still under the impression that my body could heal itself and God would help.

I had taken Tegretol on and off and that seemed to squelch the pain and work for up to 24 hrs. The morning I went to see you was very excruciating. So much so, that I took 2 tegretols. 400mg.

AMTA National Convention

10/2/2014

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.