“Each patient carries his own doctor inside him. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within a chance to work.” Albert Schweitzer, M.D., Philosopher & Nobel Prize Winner My friend and colleague has a beautiful poster with this quote in the reception area of his office. I have always loved… Read more »
My Commitment to Fitness 40 days have passed since I proclaimed on Instagram my recommitment to fitness and athleticism. I decided that as a massage therapist who works with athletes, I needed to walk the walk. And as you can see from my Polar workout diary, I have been doing a pretty good job of… Read more »
I recently read a fantastic blog post by Sally Fraser Wellness where she questions the “Band-Aid Approach” that is often practiced in the American healthcare system. Her post was spurred by the recent removal of a common heartburn medication from pharmacy shelves. The main point of her post is to question why, as a society,… Read more »
Massage Therapy Research Influencing Policy Recently, the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) released guidelines for the education of health care providers on many non-drug options for treating pain. The guidelines were developed with input from representatives from the Complementary and Integrative Health community (including the American Massage Therapy Association AMTA) This is a big step in the right… Read more »
Last month I attended a massage seminar on Balance and Postural Stability. The presenter was co-author of a research study that looked at the effects of massage on ankle flexibility and balance. He began his presentation by giving some statistics about falls. Falls are a big problem for our healthcare system The annual cost of falls- According… Read more »
I hear that statement quite frequently, usually as a client is paying for a session. But honestly, if health insurers decided to cover massage services tomorrow, I would not accept insurance payment. You may be asking, “Why not?” The reason is not because I think that health insurance shouldn’t cover massage services. It’s because I wouldn’t… Read more »
We’ve all heard the phrase, “Ask and you shall receive.” While there are no guarantees, asking for what you want greatly improves the odds that you will get it. This is certainly the case when it comes to your massage. My husband and I recently took advantage of a spa package that included a couple’s… Read more »
March is National Nutrition Month, so to celebrate I dedicate this post to “Massage Nutrition”. Let me start by saying that I am NOT a nutritionist or a dietician. And as far as I know, there is not a specific field of study on nutrition as it relates to massage. So what do I mean by “Massage Nutrition?” … Read more »
In massage school, I took a class called Commonly Encountered Conditions. As the name suggests, we learned about common issues that we would likely come across in our massage practices. We then learned strategies for dealing with the conditions. The instructor would frequently use the phrase, “Surround the Dragon” to describe his approach to pain… Read more »
I am a big fan of long, luxurious massages. I love to give them, and I certainly love to receive them. But sometimes with massage, less is more effective. Often a client has booked a 90 or even 120 minute massage and said, “I only want you to work on my upper back and shoulders. I have… Read more »
After receiving her Bachelor of Science from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992, Meaghan moved to Miami, Florida and worked as a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist providing group and individual therapy to patients in both psychiatric and sub-acute physical rehabilitation hospitals Read more
