Massage books reviews II

Below are a few good books to read if you want to get deeper into massage and beyond intuition and general touch.

	A very good introduction and workbook for chair massage. It gives an introduction to seated massage, advice on equipments, talks about hygiene and safety, contraindications, communication, documentation and treatment plans, descriptions of body mechanics and injury prevention. Then the book covers strokes and stretching techniques. There is a good relaxation routine described and then in depth description of therapeutic routines for back, neck, forearm, wrist, hand and shoulder. It's good at describing actual problems, explaining what causes them and how to treat them. Finally it covers creating a business, though aimed at the US market. A really good and useful book that any massage therapist can benefit from, even if seated massage isn't a major part of the business.
	As the title says, an introduction to clinical massage therapy. It's a good learning book which gives a brief introduction to massage therapy, muscles, body mechanics, posture, client assessments, draping etc. It's strongly aimed towards the massage therapist diagnosing and treating a client, and I personally find the above book better when it comes to learning about posture and other things behind giving massages. The strength of this book is the in depth descriptions of each muscle and how to treat it with massage therapy. It's a good referral book and even wellness massage therapists can learn a lot from it and enhance their massages by gaining a deeper understanding massage.
	If you're interested in a deeper understanding of the major muscles of the body and how they work, this book is for you. It's a great introduction to muscles, not making things overly complicated or scary like traditional anatomy books. The book describes each muscle, explains what it does and what problems might arise. The benefit is the added strength and stretching exercises for each muscle. A very useful book for anyone wanting to understand muscles better and how to strengthen and stretch them.

Related article: http://www.starkeys.com/blog/2008/06/massage-books-review.html

Taunaki.com - your resource to wellness

Finally, we're here! Taunaki is launching and I'm all excited about it. It's an event I've worked towards for more than a year. And since September I've been working more or less full time on the project. It's been a very exciting process, very interesting and it's taught me a lot. I must admit I've greatly enjoyed the work in spite of frustrations and stress.

So, what is Taunaki?
Taunaki is your resource to Wellness. It's a website dedicated to Wellness. It's meant to be a complete guide to Wellness in all forms and shapes. There are two core products which are available at launch.

Business listings with user reviews. Think of the restaurant guides there are out there and apply that to Wellness. Users rate and write reviews about Wellness providers and other users can search and find the one they want to try out. The content is determined by the users, and for now no business can be listed without a review to back it up. The site is for the users primarily. The business can be anything related to wellness. The local spa, a massage therapist, the yoga studio, the personal trainer, a course in healthy cooking. Anyone who works with wellness. Again, it comes down to the users to decide who are listed and who're relevant.

The other part is articles. Our aim is to create a large database with articles about wellness in all forms and shapes. Educative and informative writings covering everything from describing massage styles, to why organic food is good for you, stress reduction, positive thinking, exercise routines and you name it. Anyone who's an expert in their field or knowledgeable about wellness are welcome to participate and provide articles, as long as they live up to the requirements of covering wellness and be informative in order to help the users.

We have many other things planned for Taunaki with time, such as creating a community and forums for discussions about wellness. But the core product is the reviews and articles. The rest will be icing on the cake.

You can subscribe to Taunaki News at http://news.taunaki.com which is regularly updated with news, information, background and other things. We also have a Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59668451536 which you are most welcome to join. This too is updated regularly and is your chance to become part of a community and give your input and feedback to the site.

I look forward to hearing your feedback and see you on Taunaki.

Cheers!

Wry neck (torticollis)

Wry neck, or torticollis, can happen very suddenly and without any obvious reason. The experts do not agree on what precisely causes it. Sometimes it can be caused by a trauma, a fall, a car accident or a sudden movement. In that case it's always advisable to see a doctor to rule out more serious causes like a slipped disc or other things. Medication, inflamation and other conditions can cause wry neck as well. This is why it's important to see a doctor should there be anything unusual, or if there's radiated tingling and spams in other places than the neck.

Most commonly people just wake up one day and feel their neck is stiff and it's hard to move without feeling pain. A sudden turn of the head might 'lock' it so it becomes unbearable to move at all. The muscle locks up, becomes stiff and inflexible. The head gets fixed in the odd sideways position which is so uncomfortable and can render one unable to deal with a normal day.

A theory can be that a muscle has been under strain recently and suddenly something goes wrong. A nerve sends the wrong signal and the muscle spasms and locks up, becoming stiff and very painful. The 'lock up' is a natural defence mechanism to protect the delicate and fragile joints of the neck.

There are some things though which increases the risk of getting wry neck:

• Sleeping on your stomach
• Poor working posture before the computer
• Strains to the neck which are provoked
• Holding your shoulder/head in straining positions, like holding a phone between ear and shoulder or looking over the rim of your glasses.
• Draft is said by some to be a reason, while others dispute it. I personally think the cold makes the muscles prone to tense up and possible spasm (get locked).

Wry neck is one of those things which can take weeks to recover from and in my experience quick and immediate action is the key to reduce the discomfort or even 'unlock' the spasmed muscle.

If you wake up with wry neck one morning, and there has been no trauma to your neck recently, you can do the following to reduce, if not elliminate the pain:

• Stretch exercises. The muscle is locked up, in a form of cramp, so very slow and deliberate stretching can unlock the muscle and cause the spasm to go away.
• Heat. Hot water or towels applied to the tense muscle might cause it to relax.
• Movement. Where stretching is passive, active movement of the head can slowly bring the affected muscle(s) back to normal. Carefully rotate your head and use the muscles affected, though only to the pain-threshold, not beyond it. Pain in itself causes muscles to tense, so it's important to be patient and take it one tiny step at a time.
• Painkillers can be an option as well, since less pain will help the muscle relax. This can be useful for employing movement or stretching to address the problem.

In case of continuous discomfort contact a massage therapist or physiotherapist for treatment. Massage can be very useful for wry neck and the therapist will be able to speak to you about your situation and give you advice on how to deal with it.

If the pain remains very severe after the above advice, don't hesitate to contact your own doctor as other things can be the cause of wry neck. A scan of your neck might be necessary to rule out any serious causes.

There are several things you can do in order to reduce the risk of wry neck, apart from the don't dos mentioned above:

• Examine, evaluate your posture and correct poor posture. You might need an ergo-therapist or massage therapist to help you with this.
  
• Regular stretch exercises for shoulder, neck, chest and back.
• Strength training to support correct posture.
• Exercise
• Get regular massages. The massage therapist can catch potential problems before they become serious and normalize them. She can also advice you on posture, stretching, strength training and other things you can do to avoid wry neck.

Once you know what to keep an eye on and what steps to take, it is rather easy to avoid waking up with wry neck one morning. Also, when you know what to do it's easy to quickly take action and stop the spasm from becoming a problem. The longer a muscle is locked, the longer it will take for it to unlock and become pain free again.

Relevant articles: Strength exercises, The importance of strength training, Postural distortion, Stretch exercises, Pain from computer and desk, When to get a massage, Frequency of massages.

Wellness plans

A wellness plan is different than a massage treatment plan. Where a treatment plan focuses on treating an injury or acute physical problem and prevent it from happening again, a wellness plan focuses on your overall health and well-being. A wellness plan aims towards preventing illness and diseases, on improving your life quality and wellness.

It's been proven by various studies that our mental well-being is closely related to our physical well-being, just as our physical well-being affects our mental well-being. Both in direct effect; such as depression causing poor sleeping patterns which cause our immune system to become weaker. And indirectly where our habits and behaviour stops us from taking the actions needed to improve our well-being; such as regularly exercising, eating healthy food or go to bed at a proper time.

In order to achieve wellness, you shouldn't only look at the physical aspects of your life. But also include the spiritual, mental and emotional aspects. Ideally a wellness plan will include advice and support in all four areas, creating a holistic plan of action, which you can follow and work on to improve your health and well-being in all areas.

A wellness plan could include the following advice to a client:

• Exercise for half an hour every day, 3 times a week by brisk walking, 2 times a week strength training.
• Eat healthy; cut out junk-food and quick microwave meals, and eat at least half a kilo of fresh fruit, vegetables and greens every day.
• Eat breakfast every single morning within one hour of waking up.
• Make sure you get at least 7 hours of good sleep every night.
• Meditate for 15 minutes each morning and each evening (this doesn't need to be any specific type of meditation), or half an hour once a day.
  
• Focus on the positive in life and let go of what's annoying you (here a life coach or psychotherapist might be needed)
  
• Make a plan for what you would like to change/achieve and break that down into small steps. Focus at one step at a time.
• Make time to meet up with friends at least once a week for socializing and relaxation.
• Get a massage at least once a week to help you get into touch with your body and relax and accept physical contact (Again, a psychologist or therapist might be consulted and a plan worked out together if there are serious issues).
  
• Look at yourself in the mirror each morning and tell yourself; "I love me, I can do anything I truly want."

The therapist will help you set up these steps, adjusting the plan to your situation and your needs. The list I've mentioned might seem big, and it is. You might have a big list, but be told to only focus at one or two steps at a time at first, or the list will be a short one at first and during later sessions be increased and adapted to suit your specific situation. Some advice are physical and directly related to your physical health, and other advice is more related to how you approach life and counter stress and create good habits.

A wellness plan is not only linked to your physical well-being, but your emotional and mental health as well. It is important to make sure the therapist making you a wellness plan is suited and educated. She must be qualified to cover all aspects of the wellness plan you are getting in your current situation.

Due to the nature of wellness plans, it's important to find a therapist whom you trust fully, and you be willing to follow the advice and work on the points listed. Wellness can't be achieved without you dedicating and commiting yourself to it fully.

When the aspects covered are smaller matters related to daily life, general advice and common sense can be sufficient. Most massage therapists will know how to advice you on physical maintenance (such as exercise and simple nutritional advice), the importance of relaxation and meditation, encourage positive thinking, socializing, remind you to love yourself, be appreciative of what you have and are supportive in situations of crisis.

Once things become more complex and there are deeper underlying problems and reasons, it's important to find a therapist who either has complementary education in coaching or equivalent, or who works together with a professional life coach, psychotherapist, psychiatrist and the like.

If you're uncertain about your massage therapist's qualifications, don't hesitate to ask about them or insist to contact a mental health professional and get a second opinion. If the massage therapist refuses, then you know that he or she isn't the right therapist for you. Most massage therapists will be happy to work together with your life coach or psychotherapist to create the best wellness plan for yourself.


Relevant articles: A few wellness tricks, Massage treatment plans, Massage and wellness, Some wellness blogs and sites.