Tag Archives: Corrective Therapy

What the heck is a Rotator Cuff?

24 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by in Holistic Living, Pain Management, Therapies, Treatment Modalilties, Uncategorized

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Today I’ll take a detour from the series of posts about types of massage to talk about something I think many people wonder about: that foggy mystery of the rotator cuff! Often mispronounced as “rotor cup” or “rotary cup,” the rotator cuff remains a vague image in the minds of many. So, let us take a few minutes to demystify this! You will find that the more you understand this vital area of your upper body, the more power you will have to recover from injury or, more importantly, to prevent injury in the first place.

In my experience with clients, I find most people think the rotator cuff is a covering of some sort for the shoulder. While this is true in a way, it’s not usually as they imagine. The rotator cuff is actually a group of four muscles that are involved in (wait for it) rotating the shoulder… and it has an elevating part to it as well. These four muscles are as follows: the Supraspinatus, the Infraspinatus, the Teres minor, and Subscapularis. These relatively small muscles attach at the head of the humorous (top of the arm at the shoulder) creating, if you will, a “cuff.” The muscle bodies themselves attach wholly onto the scapula (shoulder blade). Take a look at the picture below.

rotator cuff

 

 

Let’s quickly look into the movements in which these individual muscles assist. The Supraspinatus assists with abduction of the arm at the shoulder; in other words, it helps raise the arm out to the side of the body. This is generally the most injured muscle because it passes under the arch formed by the scapula shoulder blade) and the clavicle (collar bone). When it does this, it can rub and create irritation or tears. Next we will look at the infraspinatus and the Teres minor. These two muscles help in lateral rotation(rolling the arm out) of the arm at the shoulder. Finally, we have the Subscapularis. It is a broad flat muscle that is a powerful internal rotator. On many people, this muscle becomes shortened, limiting the ability of full lateral rotation and eventually causing injury.

Now that you know a little more about the rotator cuff you might wonder why this is so important. Well, I believe that knowledge is power! Moreover, depending on which actual muscle you may have injured, it will change what should be done for rehabilitation. Knowing this information could be beneficial for those who work at a job with repetitive shoulder movements. You can start to understand which rotator cuff muscles are being over-used and get some exercises to re-balance these muscles and prevent a possibly debilitating injury.

I hope this helps clear some of the fog away from the rotator cuff!

To Your Health

Deep Tissue Massage: a quick guide

11 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by in Holistic Living, Pain Management, Therapies, Treatment Modalilties

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The practice of true Deep Tissue Massage requires great skill, which, according to Tom Myers, is “…elusive and not-easily grasped.” I can attest to that. Many practitioners I have come across advertising deep tissue work are simply not skilled in this particular art. There are many reasons for this, (none of which will be addressed in this post—sorry!). What I will focus on today, however, is what deep tissue massage really means, how it should feel, and what the desired results should be.

What is Deep Tissue Massage? I am going to rely heavily on the seminal book by Art Riggs called “Deep Tissue Massage.” Seems appropriate, doesn’t it? This book remains foundational in my growth as a manual therapist. According to Riggs,Deep Tissue Massage is not a “hard” massage. That is, it doesn’t take a great amount of strength and should never involve “digging” into the tissues. To be blunt, that is abuse not massage. I cannot express this enough, IT SHOULD NOT BE PAINFUL. If you feel you need to tap out, then it may be time to end the massage. If a person tells me that they do not like deep tissue work, I assume it is because they were “beat up” by a massage therapist who meant well, but didn’t understand the practice. And here is another surprise: Deep Tissue Massage should not involve work solely on the deep tissues. That would be overwhelming to the client and to their system.

Now, let us sink into the reality of Deep Tissue Massage. Simply put, Deep Tissue Massage is exactly that: Accessing and affecting the deep tissues of the body. This is done very slowly working WITH the body to “sink” as deeply as the clients body will allow us. It is also achieved by using the bones to access the deep tissues. The practitioner may also stretch the fascia to change the deep structures. This should cause not strain on the recipient or the therapist. The goal of this is to alter the structure of the body and release muscle restrictions.

Deep Tissue Massage should be designed to achieve certain and specific therapeutic goals. These could include pain relief, improving posture, increasing flexibility, and creating more freedom of movement. Deep Tissue Massage is not a “relaxation massage,” meaning that relaxation is not its primary goal. However, in the hands of a skilled practitioner, it can be very relaxing and nurturing indeed.

Always remember, when you are going to receive a massage, no matter the type, interview the therapist. This is your body they are working with. Like all professions, some therapists need a bit more training. If you care about your health, find a good therapist (or several with differing expertise) and hang on to them!

To Your Health.