During these times when we are all cutting back, scaling down, and considering all our options to make it successfully through these economic down-times, we still will be experiencing challenges with our health care. With Spring now upon us, yard and garden work beckons, spring clean-up chores call to us, for me especially, my garage(!), and the probability of acquiring associated aches and pains appears a given experience for most of us as we have been a little more idle during the winter months and our bodies are just emerging out of our “cabin feverness” with the new felt warmth of the last few weeks.
I realize that not everyone can afford a full body massage at this time, however, it is important to address new aches and pains promptly so that adaptive postures and holding patterns do not take hold. Chair massage is the perfect answer for addressing the strains and discomforts we experience as we get outside and get moving. Chair massage focuses on specific areas, such as necks and shoulders, backs and hips, and arms and hands. These are the muscle groups we use the most, depend on to accomplish our tasks, and the first to express the strain of our enthusiasm to get things done promptly.
Chair massage is affordable, enables each of us to not suffer discomfort, and gets us going again. A session usually lasts about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on what needs to be attended to. This is an especially good “treat” for employers to provide for their employees. Not only do the employees feel pampered and cared for, massage also improves attitude, energy, and circulation which leads to improved performance and productivity in the workplace. I am sure, regular chair massage provided in the workplace will lead to great employee loyalty. Can’t ask for more than that.
Consider requesting chair massage the next time your aches and pains begin to signal you for attention. A well trained licensed massage therapist will know exactly what you need and will be efficient and effective. That saves you both time and money.
So enjoy this great warm weather, plan your tasks, have fun, and remember chair massage may be your new best friend this spring.
Krystle Shapiro is founding member of The Sandpoint Wellness Council. She can be reached at (208) 290-6760 at Stepping Stones Wellness Center.
March 9, 2010
“You can’t think your way into a new way of living; you must live your way into a new way of thinking!!” I can’t remember who said that but I remember when I read it a few years back it had a profound meaning to me.
I believe for me it is intentional to wake up most mornings and feel great in my way of thinking, rejoice that my body is limber and my mind is clear. I intentionally wake up feeling blessed in every way and excited about my day. To be able to feel this way myself is a direct reflection on the steps I take each day to feed my mind, soul and body.
For me food is one of the main ingredients for wellness. Food is one of our basic fuels for life and most the time we have a choice. Just like we have a choice to pay attention to when our car needs service. We take it in to someone that was referred to do a great job. We use the best oil, we choose the best gas and take care of it wanting it to be in good shape and last.
I would never put junk in my gas tank so why does it sound so fanatical to many to want to eat healthy? I think eating healthy is fun and enjoyable.
I recently came up with a great new salad idea that I wanted to share. I was out of greens to make a salad so I thought I just make a vegetable salad. It was amazing so here is the recipe.
In the bottom of a bowl put ½ cup of any organic nut oil. We love toasted sesame oil. Add ½ cup of organic rice wine vinegar.
Stir in 1 Tablespoon of local honey, 1 Tablespoon of organic Tamari, and 1 Tablespoon of Nutritional yeast. Mix well.
Grate in two carrots. Thin slice two sticks of celery. ¼ head of both red and green cabbage. Add some broccoli and cauliflower. Add ½ of a red onion. As an option you can add cilantro to taste. We love it so I add quite a bit. Stir it up well and serve. We like adding toasted almonds at serving. Be creative and enjoy eating 7 to 8 wonderful, organic raw vegetables in one serving!!
By Robin Mize
March 2, 2010
How many of us walk around rubbing our necks?? Neck pain is quite common. I think if we look back in time to the early days when we were hunter- gathers and then farmers, we can see how humans were meant to be upright and mostly active. Since the industrial revolution however, our lives have become increasingly more sedentary. Many of us sit for much of the day. Whether you work on an assembly line or in front of a computer, sitting in a slouched position will put our necks in a forward head posture. This position will automatically put us in a mechanical disadvantage and will lead to muscle imbalance all around the neck, front, back and on the sides.
Many of us have simple muscle tension of the upper trapezius which is the muscle that most of us are rubbing on the top of the shoulder leading to the neck. This is very common with slouching or in stressful situations when we tend to hold our shoulders slightly elevated without even knowing. Some of us have joint dysfunction which may occur as a result of trauma, poor posture or even just sleeping incorrectly. This joint dysfunction may feel like local pain and if left untreated will involve the surrounding muscles. Often the simple neck pain will resolve with stretching, ice, and rubbing the tight muscle. Some people get headaches from unresolved joint dysfunction or muscle tension.
A more serious problem in the neck is a disc herniation or nerve root irritation, “pinched nerve”. These injuries may come on gradually with time or result from trauma. The symptoms may include local neck pain or burning with numbness, tingling and/or pain down the arm to the fingers. These symptoms are of a more serious nature and people should not delay treatment.
Treatment of the neck may require joint or soft tissue mobilization. People may seek treatment for simple muscle tension from a massage therapist or Physical Therapist. More serious injuries of the disc or nerve root can often be treated with Chiropractic, Accupuncture or Phyical Therapy. Your local physician may help you if you feel you need prescription medication for inflammation or pain control or of course if your symptoms require MRI imaging or are of a surgical nature.
Mary Boyd, MS, PT is the owner of Mountain View Physical Therapy and can be reached for questions at 290-5575 or on the web at www.MtnviewPT.com.
February 23, 2010
If you are one of the 800,000+ adults in the USA with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), you know how miserable you feel and how many will tell you to learn to live with it or worse, you are just lazy. CFS is one of those chronic illnesses Andrew Weil, MD speaks about when he says medicine is useless in healing and holistic health offers many possibilities.
Causes
One cause that gets little attention because it is not an external cause, and in my experience is the most frequent cause, is chronic stress and/or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Over years of your body constantly dealing with stress that it experiences as a survival response, it gets worn down. I don’t care how strong you are, at some point continual exposure to stress will exhaust your body.
We are not designed to always have our resources oriented towards survival. Something will give. For some it is depression, for others it is fibromyalgia, and for many it is CFS. It is no surprise that medical research has linked the three. I have seen patients where unfortunately they had all three.
There can be biological co-causes such as toxicity and nutritional deficiencies. Twenty years ago I had a client who after several years of medical and holistic treatment was referred to me. She was tense, exhausted, and so frustrated she flushed all her psychotropic drugs down the toilet. We discovered that part of her problem was her father dumped his old dry cleaning fluid in the backyard she played in. With the Rolfing and a detox program, within a month she was feeling better. In six months she felt better than she ever felt.
Solutions
First – release the chronic stress. Good bodywork such as Rolfing, skilled massage, or possibly acupuncture will allow the old, deep tension to release. Slow yoga where you are learning to relax can help as well as a Mindfulness Stress Reduction Program.
So often with my CFS patients they tell me they are exhausted, but they can’t sleep. They can’t sleep because their nervous system is wired. Sleeping pills or antidepressants don’t release that tension. Releasing the physical tension in the body will relax the nervous system.
Owen Marcus, MA Certified Advance Rolfer, www.align.org, 265.8440.
February 16, 2010
Image via Wikipedia
I have often heard my patients refer to their coccyx or tail bone as their tails. I also have heard many horror stories about their treatment, or lack thereof, after falling on the ice, getting bucked off a horse, or falling while snow boarding. We ALL have fallen on our bottoms at least once in our lives. One of the local doctors told me she thought that 20% of women fracture their coccyx during childbirth!! Most of my patients have told me that they were advised to use a doughnut to sit on following injury and even with that they were in pain for two years following their injuries with limited ability to sit!! Ouch!
As a Physical Therapist in my 23rd year of practice specializing in manual therapy, I myself never learned to evaluate and treat coccyx dysfunction until 3 years ago when I took a course on the pelvis. I now know that the coccyx is surrounded by ligaments on each side, and when injured can be deviated in any direction (front, back, left or right) depending upon the pull of the injured ligament. After taking courses on Women’s Health and treatment of urinary and fecal incontinence, I understand that the coccyx is like the anchor of the pelvic floor; it is the place where many of the muscles attach and in this way, coccyx dysfunction may be related to bladder dysfunction.
I now try to check the coccyx of all my patients who complain of low back pain and or urinary incontinence. Although many of my patients deny coccyx pain or injury (some of us have poor memories), I still may find pain and dysfunction upon evaluating the coccyx. For some, the pain may be referred to other areas in the low back or pelvis. In fact I have treated patients who complained only of low back pain without lumbar spine dysfunction that resolved after treating the coccyx. Evaluation of the coccyx is a very simple procedure that I perform in the sitting position. By placing my finger under the coccyx (the patient is sitting on my hand) I can move the coccyx in all directions and evaluate ligamentous tightness or pain which results in coccyx dysfunction.
So, in my humble opinion, we do need our tails and they are very important. So remember, if you have coccyx pain, don’t ever have your coccyx removed!! (yes, some doctors really do that!!).
Mary Boyd, MS, PT is the owner of Mountain View Physical Therapy and can be reached at 290-5575 for questions or on the web at www.MtnViewPT.com .
February 2, 2010
All of us have been so concerned about the state of affairs in our communities as well as the global situation affecting us in so many ways—especially financially and with health care. I am sure we are all wondering what “we” each can do to make a difference for ourselves. I am no financial expert and will leave that advice to those who study money market trends, but I do feel, as a medical massage therapist, there are many things each of us can do to improve our overall health and well being that in turn supports our immune function and thinking patterns.
Several years ago an associate of mine made this statement: “If you don’t take care of your body, where are you going to live?” This made so much sense to me, and I keep this concept ever present in how I think and feel about taking good care of myself. Naturally my profession has taught me the importance of regular bodywork that stimulates all of our senses and helps put us “back together” when our lives feel so out of sorts. It is more than the momentary “recovery” of ourselves through the power of touch and nurturance that restores us, but the ongoing effects that linger following massage within our body systems.
Muscles, organs, tissues, and cells are meant to move, stretch, and contract. When people become sore, achy, or injured in some way, muscles can become locked into holding patterns, and if left unaddressed, can become a chronic problem much harder to recondition. A well trained licensed massage therapist with a thorough knowledge of anatomy and physiology (the internal workings of the human body), and kinesiology (how the body moves, its levers, angles, and spaces), can purposefully restore the synergistic actions of the body to return a client to proper posture, improved range of motion, normal activity and function of muscles, bones, and connective tissue, and personal vitality. Receiving regular massage is something we can do for ourselves.
For all of our muscles, organs, tissues, and cells to function at their optimal best, the right kinds of fuel must be provided. Here again, this is something we each can do for ourselves. We must be conscientious about the quality and amount of foods and liquids we ingest—whole foods and a variety of them free from additives, dyes, antibiotics, and growth hormones that clog our body’s ability to detoxify them. Pure clean water is a must and lots of fresh clean air (oxygen) our cells need to perform their ever changing operations keeping us alive and well.
Learning relaxation techniques is something we can do for ourselves. This reduces not only mental tension, but body tensions as well, allowing us to place our concepts of daily stress into improved perspectives. Stress reduction and management are crucial for our ongoing well being. Life is beautiful when we give ourselves time and space to breathe and experience its myriad offerings.
And finally, a most important task we each can undertake to make things better is to actively get ourselves to our optimal weight. Excess weight puts so much stress on all systems of the body and begins to break down our joint capsules, stresses our internal organs surrounded by excess fat tissue and burdens their operations. Slowly and gently reduce your weight by movement, eating wholesome foods, drinking clean water, resting often, and believing in all you can do for yourself because you want to live a long life in the precious body where you now dwell.
January 26, 2010
Massage therapy provides many benefits besides the nurturing touch to the skin, our largest organ. Gentle, purposeful, and directed strokes to the body get blood and lymph fluids moving along, open energetic transmission pathways, loosen tight and spasming muscle fibers, and improve range of motion and posture. When we overwork our bodies, these benefits get us back to our optimal best quite quickly.
For older folks, especially those who may live alone or who are fairly inactive, regular massage is extremely beneficial. As we age, many of our systems slow down. Often older people suffer from dehydration which further slows the transmission of fluids and vital nutrients to all cells of the body. Many conditions may be bothersome to older folks, like arthritis, achy joints, gastrointestinal disorders, balance issues, and possibly diminished vision and hearing, all contributing to a loss of self confidence.
Massage therapy provides an opportunity for helping elders get back in touch with the vital sensations of their bodies and to feel nurtured and cared for. It accelerates the removal of normal cellular wastes that can cause fatigue and malaise when backed up from a person being more sedentary. It also offers the therapist the opportunity to check the condition of the skin and to look for any abnormalities.
Many of my elder clients report they feel more energized and alert and the quality of their sleep improves. Digestion often improves and pain sensations diminish. They begin to feel “like their old selves” again.
The power of purposeful nurturing touch cannot be overstated. Too often our older folks become confined in rooms or homes and seldom get to enjoy the fresh outdoors during the seasons, to interact with a variety of people of all ages, and to keep themselves busy with hobbies and activities. Massage therapy is just one way to assist our older folks to begin to feel alive and get moving again, which in fact they do as their health improves with the many benefits massage therapy provides.
As the new year hurries forward, I recommend the gift of massage for our older loved ones. It is a gift that keeps on giving by improving health and well being physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
January 22, 2010
Killian Mansfield produces his first and last album before he dies of cancer with some today’s top musicians. This 15-year-old boy wanted to do an album with his ukulele for those whom gave him his integrative care throughout his illness.
January 17, 2010
We all know Sandpoint is an art town and a green town. Now it is developing a reputation for being a holistic town. We are in the lead of a national trend that a recent article in the Washington Post speaks about: “More than one-third of adults and nearly 12 percent of children in the United States use alternatives to traditional medicine, according to a large federal survey released today….”
Sandpoint Wellness Council is the POAC of our holistic town
We live in Sandpoint because of the quality of life supported by these organizations:
art - Panida Theater and POAC
progressive education – Wardolf School and Garden Company
environmental protection – Rock Creek Alliance Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper
sustainable living – Sandpoint Transition Initiative and Farmer’s Market
With the growing number of massage therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, physical therapists, naturopaths, homeopaths, energy medicine practitioners, biofeedback providers, yoga studios, and Rolfers in Sandpoint, we are recognizing the increasing value of complementary health care practices. Our community now is choosing to utilize these therapies to support their wellness. People are seeking out healthcare providers that support them in getting or staying well.
Who is the Sandpoint Wellness Council
A group of leading holistic practitioners formed the Sandpoint Wellness Council (SWC) to educate the community about wellness. SWC in its third year of publishing articles in local papers, interviews on the radio, and over 100 blog posts is looking for even greater community involvement. The growing frustration about our healthcare system is moving more of us to become more responsible for our health. Wellness and holistic therapies are now the personal healthcare system of choice for many.
For those new to holistic health or those wanting to learn more, please look for our articles in the Daily Bee, the River Journal, and our 12:10PM second Tuesday of the month show on KSPT – 1400 AM.
Use us
Please call any of us or visit our blog (web site) at www.sandpointwellnesscouncil.com to learn more, ask questions or leave comments. Our goal is to be a resource for our community; our blog is your forum to interact with us and other readers as we all support Sandpoint in being a holistic town.
Owen Marcus, MA Certified Advance Rolfer, www.align.org, 265.8440.
January 17, 2010
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=2709e165-fc00-4764-be8a-be5b96a62ec8)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=54ca0872-faa3-420f-bc9b-c7b8d8159f51)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a29e6f59-f98a-4a4f-8174-a7dc5b5ababf)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=380c7d85-224a-4d0a-b23a-906e3f24e5e8)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7820ba96-3077-4641-8798-3df5f70b1bea)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=2013639d-a1de-4b6f-b784-8b45a587f09f)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=55ae5994-cdbe-449e-8865-951a166be812)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ff51de15-3fc8-4baa-9f96-9fe5b933ce0f)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=559f9ca8-be1e-4860-b89d-4254bf674939)
