Health Tips from Eugene Wood Massage Therapist

Massage therapy is as much about verbal communication as it is about physical communication. Yet few people realize how essential verbal communication is. Open dialog between the client and therapist can make all the difference in a session. Every time I meet a new client I spend at least five to 10 minutes discussing the reason they have come to see me, the character and onset of their pain, their background - whether they are an athlete or work long hours at the office - what kind of medicine or treatment they have tried, and other questions to help me assess each patient's individual needs. This is known as the H. O. P. S. assessment, where H stands for history, O stands for observation, P stands for palpation, and S stands for special tests (if needed). S can also stand for strength (of a muscle) or sensation (pins and needles) This process is key to understanding the client's pain, stress or illness, which then unlocks the answer to relief. It goes beyond having the...

Whether you have always experienced back pain or if you have recently noticed aches and pain in your upper back, it can be overwhelming just to get through everyday tasks without the distraction. Getting rid of back pain is not always a simple objective, especially if you have underlying health problems or issues that are contributing to the pain itself. However, one remedy that can relieve some of the pain and tenseness you feel within your upper back is massage for pain relief techniques. Using massage therapy for upper back pain can greatly reduce the amount of tension you have in your back and the pain it causes. Knowing the benefits of massage therapy and how to get a therapist to work on your back can get you on the right path to a much happier, pain-free life. Types of Massage Therapy There are many different types of massage therapy options depending on the pain you are experiencing as well as the central location of the pain itself. Trigger point therapy is known t...

I often remind my patients to breathe. Whether you're suffering from an acute injury, chronic pain or stress, breathing is one of the best ways to alleviate your pain and quell your anxiety. The oxygen we take in on every breath has amazing healing power. The deeper and slower we breathe, the more oxygen we take in. This not only increases blood flow to an injured or painful area, but it calms down the "alarm bells" going off during a painful or stressful situation. You may notice that before I start a massage for pain , I will ask you to take some deep breaths and relax. Breathing from the belly optimizes the overall massage experience. It increases oxygen to the brain, aids the body's natural healing process and stimulates the lymphatic system, which you can read more about here. It also reduces anxiety, which studies show can decrease pain from a level of 7/10 to 3/10. But you don't have to be on the massage table receiving treatment from a massage thera...

Reflexology is a natural therapy that applies finger pressure to the various reflex points of the feet. Its ideology dates back 5,000 years to ancient civilizations in Egypt and China, where it was believed that reflex points in the feet are interconnected to the different organs and glands of our system. While Acupuncture works with the qi energy lines, Reflexology is based off the concept of the zone therapy. There is no special skill needed to understand zone therapy. These zone areas are like energy pathways in the feet. Each part corresponds to the five longitudinal zones of the right side and left side of the body with equal proportions. Think of it this way: the big toe down to the tip of the feet is zone 1, the index toe and down is zone 2, the middle toe and down is zone 3, and so on and so forth up to the 5th toe for the 5th zone. Therefore, the left big toe corresponds to the left brain, and the left index toe corresponds to the left eye and organs within zone 2. Pu...

Woman with a Migraine Headache "The issues are in the tissues." This is what I tell my clients who are struggling from emotional stress. They come in with back pain, migraines, trigger points and neck cramps that linger, worsen, and flare up with emotional stress. Many ask me "what's wrong" because there seems to be no pathological root to their pain. And that's just it: the cause is not always physical. Our relationship to pain is emotional and psychological. It is the mind-body connection. You and I can have the same injury (let's use a paper cut, for example) and yet, we will each have very different relationships with that experience. I may dwell on "why did it happen?", "It hurts so much when I touch it!", "When will it go away?", and you may hardly notice the injury. This is quite different than saying "it's all in your head". There is definitely a link. In 1977, American psychiatrist George L...

Many forms of chronic pain stem from the simple things we do in life: how we sit at work; the way we walk; how we carry our shoulder bags. The posture we assume throughout the working day is referred to as ergonomics. This includes everything from the way we sit at our desk to heaving lifting in the warehouse. These daily patterns can lead to both acute and chronic pain. But the good news is that we can easily remedy this pain by improving posture and ergonomics. Poor ergonomics can affect multiple areas of the body: the neck and shoulders; upper and lower back; various joints; and even the wrists and hands.  Most of these pains are related to muscle and tendon problems. Sometimes the nerves can become involved, such as with carpal tunnel syndrome, which results when the median nerve in the arm and hand becomes compressed at the wrist. Carpal tunnel is often due to office stress such as long hours of typing at the computer. Other common office problems include low back pain ...

Lymphatic drainage may not sound appealing, but it can yield remarkable results in the relief of chronic and inflammatory conditions.  Put simply, lymphatic drainage is a gentle technique that removes toxins from the immune system. It also helps to replenish the body's healthy cells, healing existing ailments or injuries. The lymphatic system was first identified in the 17th century. Research from several European scientists - Italy's Gasparo Asselli, France's John Pecquet, and Sweden's Olauf Rudbeck - established that the body is made up of a complex network of vessels that carry transparent fluid, or "lymph," to the heart.  This is the basis of the lymphatic system recognized today More than a century later, the Belgian surgeon Alexander de Winiwarter (1848-1910) introduced the technique of draining lymphatic swellings manually. This was primarily used for lymphedema, a condition in which the lymphatic system is obstructed due to the retention of fluid....

Woman with Adrenal Fatigue There's nothing worse than feeling lethargic and run down, especially when you just can't shake it. Of course, everyone feels fatigued at some time or another, but if the feeling seems to exist for no apparent reason and lasts for days, weeks or months, you could be suffering from Adrenal Fatigue. Dr. James L. Wilson first used the term Adrenal Fatigue in 1998 to describe a specific type of chronic exhaustion characterized by severe and constant stress. This stress can be mental, emotional or physical. After years of working with "stressed and tired" patients, Wilson realized that his patients' adrenal glands (endocrine glands that sit on top of the kidneys and release hormones in response to stress) were functioning below the necessary level. As a result, his patients were feeling a general sense of lethargy, tiredness and poor health. Adrenal Fatigue is also known as hypoadrenalism or neurasthenia. Addison's disease is a somew...

Woman Receiving a CranioSacral Massage Pregnancy brings a considerable amount of changes to a woman's body. It lasts for approximately nine months and is divided into three trimesters; each bringing its own different set of changes and experiences. What types of changes occur to the body during pregnancy? During the first trimester there are a series of hormonal imbalances, which can result in breast tenderness, morning sickness, fatigue, irritability, headaches, and indigestion. The second trimester, on the other hand, is the easiest phase of pregnancy.  Though oestrogen and progesterone hormones are lowered, morning sickness and fatigue have generally subsided after the first 12 weeks. It is also a time when the uterus and the pelvis begin to expand, and the abdomen gets bigger. The third trimester is usually the most difficult phase of pregnancy. Women take on significant weight as the baby gets bigger, which can lead to numerous discomforts, especially with the back and ...

What Is Deep Tissue Massage? by Eugene Wood Deep Tissue Massage is an ancient practice. People from ancient Egypt and Greece were the first ones to master the technique and discover its many health benefits. Its close modern replica is what we know today as Swedish massage. Only a well-trained Deep Tissue Massage Therapist who undergoes intensive years of training to gain a license and certification, proper knowledge, and know-how to perform the technique is qualified to do this. How Deep Tissue Massage Works Deep tissue massage therapy involves providing slow stroke massages with ample pressure to reach the sub-layer of the patient's musculature system and to realign the deep layers of the connective tissues. Its main goal is to provide relief to most chronic ailments our body experiences because of our strenuous activities, everyday stressors, or acquired injuries. Chronic tension and injury to our muscles, ligaments, and tendons can cause adhesions that could restrain the ...