Posts Tagged ‘bodywork salt lake city’

Eliminate Headaches With Bodywork

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Many people are commonly plagued by headaches.  And anyone who suffers from them can identify with the debilitating and painful affects.   Studies show that over 45 million Americans suffer from chronic headaches every year.  That is roughly 1 out of every 6 people. (InfoMed.com)

Headaches are such an ordinary affliction today that people do not realize what they actually indicate.    Did you know that headaches are the biggest way that stress will manifest itself to a person?  Let’s say that you estimate that you get 5 headaches each month.  To some this may not seem like a big deal, but it actually may suggest a legitimate stress problem.  If you notice a recurrence of headaches, even if the pattern is infrequent, your body might be warning you of a bigger issue.  Of course, no 2 people are the same and everyone experiences headaches differently.  To be able to identify what is causing your headaches, its important to first understand what type of headache you suffer from.

Tension Headaches

Tension headaches can be categorized as Episodic or Chronic.  Episodic headaches occur randomly and are typically the result of temporary stress, fatigue or anxiety.   Doctors will often tell you to take an (OTC) drug to defeat infrequent tension headaches.  But if you notice that you are taking something daily, or almost daily, to eliminate headaches, you may be suffering from Chronic Tension Headaches. The symptoms of Tension Headaches include an overall sensation of tightness in the forehead, pressure in your temples, and contracting head and neck muscles.

Migraine Headaches

Migraines continue to remain a mystery to people and researchers.  We do not know the cause but migraines often cause people to feel helpless due to the fact that they can strike at any moment and put your life on hold for a few hours or even days.  Approximately 29.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from migraines and 4 out of 5 of them report a family history. (National Headache Foundation)

Migraines tend to start out as a dull ache and get progressively worse very quickly.  However, there is a very wide range of symptoms and in my experience I have found that each person suffers these headaches in a unique way.  Symptoms often include throbbing/pulsating pain in the head, blind spots, sensitivity to light and/or noise, and sometimes even nausea or vomiting.  And although they can begin in childhood, they typically occur in people’s 20s and 30s.

Cluster Headaches

Cluster headaches are a more rare form of headaches.  I have maybe come across 2 people who have described these symptoms to me.  Cluster headaches will attack in groups of headaches.  It seems that the pain will arrive immediately with no warning and that it is quite intense.  These headaches last for up to an hour, sometimes longer, and will occur several times in one day.

Looking for Salt Lake City Utah Massage Therapy?  Contact me at  (801) 349-3934.

Now that you are able to identify what type of headache you are suffering from, lets talk about how to get rid of them!  Many of my clients have come to me specifically to eliminate headaches.  Once we have had our initial bodywork session, I will give them this list of things that have helped previous clients suffering from headaches;

  • Drink at least 10 cups of water a day
  • Exercise 30 minutes each day
  • Refrain from drinking Soda pop
  • Cut back on your sugar intake
  • Try not to chew gum very often
  • If you drink coffee on a very regular basis, cut back or cut coffee out completely

Sometimes their headaches will subside just by following 1 or more of these guidelines and they will not continue getting bodywork from me!  But if the headaches persist, I am always very confident that massage will dissolve their headaches for good.  In fact, any client who has complained of headaches has always had results after our sessions.  In my experience, headaches are more often than not, a muscular problem.  There are many muscles in our neck and face which, if addressed, can substantially release tension.

One specific group of muscles, called our Suboccipitals, lie very deep in the back of our neck.  In my opinion, massage is the most effective way to reach and loosen these muscles.  Massaging the Suboccipitals also helps restore proper blood flow throughout the neck and head to prevent headaches in the future.  Below is a posterior view of our Suboccipitals.

This is just one group of muscles that contributes to headaches.  Another group is called your Scalenes.  These muscles are sectioned into your Anterior, Medius and Posterior Scalenes.  It is important for me to work these muscles as well since they also make a huge contribution to causing your headaches.

And the last group of muscles that I like to spend some time on in a head and neck session, is your facial muscles.  Believe it or not, but over time your face acquires actual knots.  These knots are very small of course but they are partly responsible for the tension you feel during a headache episode.

The biggest reason I am so confident about massage dissolving headaches is because I have learned from personal experience.  I suffered migraines a few times a month, sometimes a few times a week, from ages 19-21.  Once I started receiving regular massage for about 3 months, my migraines completely went away.  If you suffer from headaches, please give massage a try.  You will most likely be pleasantly surprised at the results.

If you’re looking for massage and bodywork in Salt Lake City, Utah please contact me at (801) 349-3934.

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Be Aware of your Posture: Exercises for a Healthy Spine

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

Do you ever find yourself hunched over with your shoulders and head hanging forward?  Do you notice that your upper back, neck and lower back often ache?  I hear many people talk about the importance of good posture but how many of us really take the time to notice and correct it?

Our body structures work as one total unit.  Just as a building is held together by framing, beams, panels and rebar, our bodies are held together with bones, connective tissue and joints.  In a building, all of the materials must be sturdy enough to keep that structure from collapsing, and our bodies are no different.  If one part of our structural unit is not working correctly, a chain reaction occurs.  For example, if we slouch our shoulders, they will roll forward causing our upper back  muscles to become over-stretched and our chest muscles, or pectorals, to become contracted.  This can ,in turn, cause the head to roll forward and put pressure on our cervical (neck) muscles and adversely affect the curvature in our spine.

Before I explain a few simple exercises you can perform yourself to improve the curve in your spine, (and therefore helping to alleviate back/neck pain), here is an easy way to check how efficient your posture is:

  • Stand with the back of the head touching the wall. Heels should be six inches from the baseboard. With your buttocks touching the wall, check the distance with your hand between your neck and the wall. If you’re within two inches at the neck, you are close to a good posture. If not, the neck posture is too forward and can be subject to deterioration of joints and discs.

Looking for Salt Lake City Utah Massage Therapy?  Contact me at  (801) 349-3934.

In an ideal posture, your head should be standing tall, your shoulders back with your chest out, and your buttocks slightly sticking out to create a small but noticeable curve in your lower back.

The image on the right displays what your posture should look like.  As you can see, the body on the left, has his head hanging forward and shoulders rolling forward, with his abdominal muscles pulled forward which causes an unhealthy curve in the spine.

Re-Patterning Exercises for the Spine:

Coming up from the Top of the Head:

This is to help you become aware of the top of your head.  Slightly rock your head back and then pretend as if a skyhook is attached at the top of your head to pull you skyward.  As you come up from the top of your head, your neck should become longer.  Just let your arms and hands hang.  Try to focus on doing this every time you notice that your head is rolling forward, or when you are slouching.

Roll up/Roll Down:

Stand with your back to the wall.  Step with your feet out away from the wall a half step; your back should remain against the wall.  Vertebrae by vertebrae, slowly roll down, starting with the head, towards the floor  with your head, neck and shoulders as relaxed as possible.  As you roll down, bend your legs at the knees to help in this motion as needed.  Once you have completely rolled over, roll back up one vertebra at a time all the way to the head with your feet pushing into the floor as you roll.  Make sure to push into the wall as you go up.  This exercise will help to create length in the spine and decompress your vertebrae.

Stacking:

Start by standing with your feet parallel and less that shoulder-width apart.  Next, roll down as if you are going into a modified child’s pose (a standing child’s pose if you will) where you will remain with your body folded, or rolled forward as far forward as is comfortable, i.e. in a squatting position.  Rest the back of your hands on the floor (palms up) at your side, with your arms totally relaxed.  Once you are in the modified child’s pose with your feet as close to flat on the floor as possible, act as if a skyhook is grabbing the top of your sacrum and slowly pulling you upward.  Allow your upper body to just hang and be totally relaxed as your legs extend to the point just before your knees lock, keeping them slightly bent.  Keep your arms and head relaxed – hanging down as you now begin to roll your spine up, stacking one vertebra at a time on top of your sacrum.  As you are rolling up, you may feel spots that don’t move as freely as others. You should stop at any of the areas that feel stuck and take a deep breath into the back focusing on the area to loosen.  Repeat the breathing at each segment that is stuck.  Once you have rolled all the way up, relax your neck and shoulders and slowly let your head tilt forward, allowing the weight of your head to pull the rest of your spine along as you roll over one vertebra at a time.  Finally, roll down as far as is comfortable and slowly roll back up one vertebra at a time repeating the process 3 to 5 times.

Circles:

Stand erect coming up form the top of your head and arms at your sides.  Ball your hands up into fists with your thumbs out (as if you were hitch-hiking.)  Raise  your arms out to the side making sure both shoulders remain even.  Squeeze your shoulder blades together and with your palms facing down toward the floor (thumbs pointed forward), rotate your arms in a 6 inch diameter circle forward, toward your extended thumb.  To reverse the circles, turn your palms to face the ceiling and circle backward toward your extended thumbs.

NOTE:  Start with 20 circles each direction once daily.

Some of these exercises may seem technical but once you try them 3 or 4 times you will get it and be able to do it whenever you get a spare minute during the day.  Personally, I like to do these right when I wake up in the morning not only to get my spine loose and ready for the day, but it also helps me wake up and get the blood pumping through my veins.

At first, you may notice that your spine is not incredibly mobile and perhaps quite stiff.  But in my experience, I have seen my clients improve mobility and decrease back pain just by doing these exercises once a day.  It’s also a great way to stay aware of your body, your pain, and your posture.

If you’re looking for massage and bodywork in Salt Lake City, Utah please contact me at (801) 349-3934.

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Posted in Massage | 4 Comments »