Fun Massage Quiz

I wrote you all a little fun quiz. It is multiple choice to make it easy peasy. The answers are at the end of this post. Find out how much you know about massage and the body. Enjoy!

 

 

QUESTIONS
1. Do you need a Rx for massage to have it covered under insurance?
a. Yes
b. No

2. What is the longest muscle in your body?
a. Sartorius, a muscle in your leg
b. Latissimus dorsi, a muscle in your back
c. Abdominis rectus, in your stomach

3. What is the strongest muscle in your body?
a. Gastrocnemius, a calf muscle
b. Masseter, a jaw muscle
c. Gluteus maximus, your largest glute muscle

4. Which one of these is not a Swedish massage technique?
a. effleurage
b. petrissage
c. tapotement
d. isterband
e. all of the above

5. Is it legal to practice massage in the State of Washington without a license?
a. Yes
b. No

6. Does a massage increase your ability to kiss your elbow?
a. Yes
b. No

7. What is the most common cause of headache?
a. lack of sugar
b. too much television
c. dehydration
d. allergies

8. What part of your body does TMJD (temporomandibular joint disorder) effect?
a. wrist
b. stomach
c. knee
d. jaw
e. all of the above

9. Which one of these is a benefit of massage?
a. Helps relieve stress and aids relaxation
b. Helps relieve muscle tension and stiffness
c. Reduces muscle spasms
d. Promotes deeper and easier breathing
e. All of the above

10. Where does Lomi Lomi massage originate?
a. Burundi
b. Hawaii
c. Switzerland
d. Thailand
e. New Zealand (Maori)

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWERS
1. Do you need a Rx for massage to have it covered under insurance?
a. Yes, in the State of Washington

2. What is the longest muscle in your body?
a. Sartorius, a muscle in your leg

3. What is the strongest muscle in our body?
b. Masseter, a jaw muscle

4. Which one of these is not a Swedish massage technique?
d. isterband is a type of sausage.

5. Is it legal to practice massage in the State of Washington without a license?
b. No, and a big NO at that.

6. Does a massage increase your ability to kiss your elbow?
b. No. The only thing that might do that is if you shoulder was dislocated. Dont try that at home.

7. What is the most common cause of headache?
c. dehydration.

8. What part of your body does TMJD (temporomandibular joint disorder) effect?
d. jaw

9. Which one of these is a benefit of massage?
e. All of the above

10. Where does Lomi Lomi massage originate?
b. Hawaii

Thanks for reading this week everyone. PJ Harris, LMP http://www.pjharris.com/

A Frequent Culprit of Shoulder and Upper Back Pain II

In the original post “A Frequent Culprit of Shoulder and Upper Back Pain” we spoke to the issue of having a bound up Subscapularis and how that can pull your shoulders inward causing them to be rounded. There have been so many hits on that post. So, I thought I would write about another issue that is a culprit for medial shoulder rotation or rounded shoulders and sunken chest. I see so many people at my Seattle Treatment massage practice with this issue.

Often if you have a bound up or tight muscle pulling a joint in one direction out of alignment while you have another muscle on the other side letting it go. How does this happen? Usually, one of the muscles is weak and not pulling it’s weight, literally. Often with medial shoulder rotation the muscles that are weak are your upper back muscles.

 To help with upper back muscle strengthening I have posted videos of a few great exercises below. Always consult with your physician before doing any new form of exercise.

 

 

 

 

 

Remember if you want to get rid of pain and stiffness in your shoulders and upper back from sitting, standing, walking or sleeping with poor posture, you need to make sure your upper back is strong enough to correctly hold your frame. Thanks for reading this post and watching the videos. PJ Harris, LMP

Can Massage Help Relieve Your Cold Symptoms?

You wake up in the morning sore and stiff because you were in bed all day yesterday with a cold. You then realize you have a massage schedule today. Aaahhh, that will  provide relief to your achy muscles and give you a brief hour of feeling good instead of feeling terrible.

Actually, getting a massage when you are sick with the flu or a cold is a bad idea. Depending on what stage of the illness you are in, the massage can send the virus zooming through your body by increasing your circulation. Maybe you might get better faster, but it is more likely you will feel a lot worse. Also, when you go to a massage with a cold you put your practitioner at risk to catch your cold.

I was a child care provider for many years and would often get sick from being around the kids and babies. While I am not a doctor and can not prescribe cold treatments, I have found these natural remedies to be quite helpful.

Echinacea ~ This wonderful super herb stimulates the immune system and promotes T-cell activation. Remember when this herb was first available? It was in a horrible tasting tincture. Yuck. Some still swear that is the best way to take it but there are many other forms now found like tablets, capsules, teas…

Vitamin C ~ My favorite source of Vitamin C is Emer-gen C. Yummy powdered drink that helps hydrate you as well as give you lots of Vitamin C.

Zinc ~This is great to help with sinus type colds. Not so great for nausea. Be careful how much you take.

Drink lots of fluids ~ Water, herbal tea or any other clear liquid is best. They help replace fluids lost during mucus production or fever. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can cause dehydration, and cigarette smoke, which can aggravate your symptoms.

Chicken soup or Pho ~ The warmth of these soups helps to move that mucus out of your nose and on to your kleenex and provides nourishing hydration.

 Get lots of rest ~ Stay home from work, keep warm and sleep as much as you can. Your body needs all of its strength to heal and you reduce the risk of infecting others.

Gargling with warm salt water  ~ Not sure why this helps. It might be that the salt draws out the inflammation. Doing this several times a day can really help relieve your sore throat.

Saline nasal drops or Neti pot ~ Either one of these methods can help relieve nasal congestion. The drops are found at most local drug stores. Be careful when using the Neti pot and follow the provided directions. If you are not careful you can get water in your ears.

Thanks for reading and feel free to share remedies you might have in the comment section. PJ Harris, LMP http://www.pjharris.com/

How To Give a Great Shoulder and Neck Massage

I spent quite a bit of time reviewing online how-to-videos for neck and shoulder massage. Before I share my favorites, I want to give you some quick tips about giving massage.

1. Start with asking them to take a deep breath.
2. Breathe regularly and relax and it will rub off on your massage recepient.
3. Start gentle and work slowly and only work to a quicker or firmer pressure if your recipient wants that.
4. Check in from time to time, asking if they would like more or less pressure.
5. Be especially careful when working around the spine. Don’t use too much pressure in this tender area.
6. Have them sit facing a table or turned around facing the back of their chair and put a pillow in front of them so they can relax into it and not hold themselves up.
7. If you can’t do number 6 then make sure you are not pushing them to far forward.

This list of neck and shoulder massage videos is in order of preference.

Thanks again for reading (and watching) PJ Harris, LMP http://www.pjharris.com/