"Hey Kate, What is hydrotherapy and how should I use it?" you might ask. "Hydrotherapy," I would answer, "Is the use of water for therapeutic reasons"
The term can refer to drinking extra water to help flush toxins from your system, released during a bodywork session. But more often hydrotherapy is used to describe using heat or cold to encourage the body's healing process.
Hot (Thermo) Hydrotherapy
Using heat can be very comforting to tense muscles, though I would not encourage it on injured muscles alone. Contrast hydotherapy (the use of both hot and cold) is ok, but I am getting ahead of myself. The idea with using heat is that it increases blood flow and thus nutrients, hydration, white blood cells and other good stuff to an area that needs it. Hot hydrotherapy can come from an electric heating pad, a hot water bottle, hot tub, sauna, steam room, hot shower, etc. As with all forms of hydrotherapy, it is key to not overdue it; do not use heat for more than about 15-20 minutes, or else it will increase inflammation in the area and be counterproductive to healing and relaxation.
Cold (Cryo) Hydrotherapy
Using cold packs is great! I highly encourage using more cold packs - this coming from someone who used to hate even the thought of ice packs. But I've learned, you don't have to use ice - just using cool is even beneficial. Cold therapy slows down muscle spasm, calms down the inflammation response, and actually can increase circulation, just like hot hydrotherapy. Cryotherapy can come from ice cubes in a plastic bag, a cold pack, a frozen bag of peas, or even submersion in a bathtub of cold water, augmented with several trays worth of ice cubes. Again, do not overuse any form of cold hydrotherapy - use cold for max 15-20 minutes, otherwise it becomes counterproductive, just like in hot hydrotherapy.
Contrast (Hot-and-Cold) Hydrotherapy
Contrast therapy is a really great way to get the benefits and comforts of both hot and cold hydrotherapies. The cold calms down spasming muslces, while the heat keeps from the area from up too much. Contrast hydrotherapy is invigorating and the routine ensures that you don't get bored or distracted and leave a cold or hot pack on for too long. It can be seen as more work, but if you use a shower to switch from cold to hot and back again, it can be a pretty convenient and effective way to get the maximum benefits from both hot and cold. There are two 'rules' to keep in mind with contrast therapy. 1) Use the ratio of 1:3 for cold and hot therapies. Use a cold pack for 1 minute, followed by a hot pack for 3 minutes, and so on. Or use cold for 3 minutes and warm for 9 minutes, etc. And 2) Always end on cold, to discourage inflammation.
Showing posts with label bodywork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bodywork. Show all posts
Aug 19, 2012
Nov 7, 2011
On the Surface
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| Used by permission, ABMP.com |
The kind of massage I typically practice, what I refer to as bodywork, does not employ the use of lubricants, or at least, seldomly so. Using myofascial, deep tissue and craniosacral techniques, the intent is to change the relationship of the tissues within the body for better balance and a healthier dynamic. This kind of change is impossible to accomplish when lotion or oil is used; my hands merely slide over the surface remaining in the superficial layers.
When I do use lubricant, I make every effort to ensure it is safe for the client, and for me as well. I strongly encourage all massage therapists to research and consider the kinds of lubricants they use, again for the safety of their clients, but also for their own occupational safety. After all, those that do use lubricant have direct contact with it for hours at a time, day after day after day.
A great place to research the safety of your lubricant ingredients is the Cosmetic Database, located on the Skin Deep page of the think tank and advocacy group Environmental Working Group (EWG). There one can search many thousands of personal care products and find out about the safety of the chemicals used in a given product. Each product is given a rating between 0 and 10, 10 being the most hazardous. If a specific product you're interested in is not listed, you can search by the individual ingredients listed on the packaging.
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| Used by permission, ABMP.com |
It is important to note that personal care products are not regulated the same way our grocery items or drugs are. In fact, there is very little regulation of the products we put on our skin, hair, lips, teeth, nails, eyelashes, underarms, etc every day. It is also important to note that our skin is in fact permeable, thus what we put on our skin can wind up in our bodies and affect our system (that's how nicotine or birth control patches work).
I like the Cosmetic Database for its robustness and usability, and for the effort EWG puts into explaining its methodology in researching and reporting and for its disclosure of what is known (or not known) about these chemicals. Information available on a given chemical is a large factor in how it scores on the database.
It is my professional obligation to ensure the safety and quality of care for my clients (as required to hold a license in the State of Oregon) . Part of this is taking the time to research and know the products I use.
Thanks for reading!
Sep 26, 2011
Bodywork or Massage?
A few weeks back, I was sitting with a dear friend of mine in one of our favorite haunts in NE Portland. Following a late afternoon romp in Laurelhurst Park, avoiding duck poop as we tossed a nerf ball back and forth, we were enjoying a brew and a plate of nachos. Perhaps we were discussing possible ideas for a logo for her new business, or our endeavor to train for and run a 1/2 marathon, when out of the blue Lauren, my friend, said, "I think I'm starting to know what you mean when you say 'bodywork'."
Ah, yes bodywork. After going to school for 'massage therapy' and becoming a 'licensed massage therapist', my friends and family don't quite follow when I describe what I do as bodywork, not massage.
The term bodywork can be understood in two ways: it is an umbrella term, encompassing all forms of manual therapy, including massage. It is also the term I use to distinguish and differentiate myself from the word massage. A contradiction this would seem? Allow me to elaborate.
In broad terms, bodywork is an umbrella term for all kinds of manual therapies. Manual therapy is the use of skillful touch to deliver treatment, describes Deane Juhan, in Job's Body: A Handbook for Bodywork. Thus, as different as these practices are from one another, Swedish (relaxation) massage, Shiatsu, Feldenkrais, Rolfing & Structural Integration, Visceral Manipulation, Trager, Craniosacral and Aston Technique can all be labeled under the umbrella term of bodywork (and these are just a few of the many hundreds of manual therapies and modalities that may fall under bodywork). I even consider private instruction in Pilates and Yoga as forms of therapeutic bodywork.
And yet, bodywork is also a very specific term, more specific and very different from what massage, unfortunately, has come to imply.
Going back to Juhan's description of bodywork, he writes that it conveys the 'idea of the body being touched in a deliberate fashion for specific results,' meaning there is a process of intention for both the the client and the therapist. The client is not passive, like a slab of meat on table, the therapist is not impassive, like a lump of stone. A session of bodywork is the meeting point between the needs of the client and the methods and the discretion of the therapist.
Bodywork is a practice that one builds upon over time. Meanwhile, massage is what is innate to our human selves and we use it on ourselves or to comfort others when we hurt physically, emotionally, spiritually. A person benefits enormously when they receive respectful, safe touch from any other human being. But bodywork is not innate to us, it is a combination of knowledge, skill and study that are developed over time and practice. Bodywork is about intention.
An example of what I mean is that a person may come in with a knee that becomes painful during running. I could massage the area around the knee, the quads, the IT band, the hamstrings and perhaps the sensory input will assuage the pain for a while and relieve muscle spasm. But the knee will more than likely continue to cause pain when that person runs again.
In contrast, with bodywork I assess the factors that may be causing the knee pain, often which are not at the knee, but come from the hip and/or the foot, and use methods to recreate balance there. When the foot and the hip are in balance, the knee will naturally and quite happily come into balance. And is more likely to stay in balance, as the factors causing it to be imbalanced have been addressed.
Thanks for reading!
Ah, yes bodywork. After going to school for 'massage therapy' and becoming a 'licensed massage therapist', my friends and family don't quite follow when I describe what I do as bodywork, not massage.
The term bodywork can be understood in two ways: it is an umbrella term, encompassing all forms of manual therapy, including massage. It is also the term I use to distinguish and differentiate myself from the word massage. A contradiction this would seem? Allow me to elaborate.
In broad terms, bodywork is an umbrella term for all kinds of manual therapies. Manual therapy is the use of skillful touch to deliver treatment, describes Deane Juhan, in Job's Body: A Handbook for Bodywork. Thus, as different as these practices are from one another, Swedish (relaxation) massage, Shiatsu, Feldenkrais, Rolfing & Structural Integration, Visceral Manipulation, Trager, Craniosacral and Aston Technique can all be labeled under the umbrella term of bodywork (and these are just a few of the many hundreds of manual therapies and modalities that may fall under bodywork). I even consider private instruction in Pilates and Yoga as forms of therapeutic bodywork.
And yet, bodywork is also a very specific term, more specific and very different from what massage, unfortunately, has come to imply.
Going back to Juhan's description of bodywork, he writes that it conveys the 'idea of the body being touched in a deliberate fashion for specific results,' meaning there is a process of intention for both the the client and the therapist. The client is not passive, like a slab of meat on table, the therapist is not impassive, like a lump of stone. A session of bodywork is the meeting point between the needs of the client and the methods and the discretion of the therapist.
Bodywork is a practice that one builds upon over time. Meanwhile, massage is what is innate to our human selves and we use it on ourselves or to comfort others when we hurt physically, emotionally, spiritually. A person benefits enormously when they receive respectful, safe touch from any other human being. But bodywork is not innate to us, it is a combination of knowledge, skill and study that are developed over time and practice. Bodywork is about intention.
An example of what I mean is that a person may come in with a knee that becomes painful during running. I could massage the area around the knee, the quads, the IT band, the hamstrings and perhaps the sensory input will assuage the pain for a while and relieve muscle spasm. But the knee will more than likely continue to cause pain when that person runs again.
In contrast, with bodywork I assess the factors that may be causing the knee pain, often which are not at the knee, but come from the hip and/or the foot, and use methods to recreate balance there. When the foot and the hip are in balance, the knee will naturally and quite happily come into balance. And is more likely to stay in balance, as the factors causing it to be imbalanced have been addressed.
Thanks for reading!
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