A couple of years ago, one of my Pain Patterns & Solutions Bodyworkers asked me to write a post about PPS bodywork as a resource for clients so that they could understand how PPS works. I have started this post several times but honestly it has taken me a couple of years to really bring all those thoughts together in a way that made it simple to explain. I don’t think she knew at the time how much her request has inspired me. Ever since she asked me to write this, I have been trying to find a way to simplify what PPS is. It was hard to pull all…
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What is Massage?
This is my first blog post in almost 2 years. I have been MIA since the world changed in the pandemic which changed my world as an online massage educator and trainer. I have done a lot of thinking and changing in that time, reorganizing businesses and discovering what I truly wanted to do. It’s funny that I chose to do the exact same thing that I did before – which is to teach and train in business and advanced pain management massage techniques – just in a more simple and profound way. I believe in massage therapy as a healing art and holistic practice. I always have. So, I…
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5 Questions to Ask Yourself BEFORE Investing in Massage CE Training
In the beginning of my massage therapy career, I participated in CE classes just because they were available. In not even sure I can tell you what I learned. Don’t take me wrong, I am selective in what I learn but when you live in rural Idaho, you kind of take whatever ends up being taught locally. That was almost 30 years ago when we were limited in our training options and on-line training was not even born yet. Those were the days of good old-fashioned mail and no google searching.
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How Do You Find Success as a Massage Therapist?
When you are just starting out in massage, you have this vision of success that you are striving towards. That place has a secure feeling in your mind. It is the place where your schedule is full of paying clients. It is the place of financial freedom and achievement. It is an accomplishment to get to this place in any career where you are so busy that you actually can’t take more clients.
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The Missing Link to Break the Pain-Spasm-Pain Cycle
In the old model, one would target the pain or muscle tension to try to break the cycle – anything that would put you closer to the original problem of the cycle which is typically pain. In the Pain Patters and Solutions (PPS) model, it shows you that you target the healed outcome of the injury – Scar Tissue patterns – to create the greatest possible change in the muscular system. When you target Scar Tissue instead of muscle tissue or areas of pain, you have found the bypass or stop-switch you have been looking for to stop the pain-spasm-pain model As you can also see there are 2 additional…
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EASY Pectoralis Major Solution
PAIN PATTERN: Pectoralis Major Trigger Points or “Tight Pecs” THE ANSWER: Scar Tissue on the Forehead I know what you’re thinking. What does my Forehead have to do with my pecs being tight? LOTS This is a solution that I find works GREAT with athletics, specifically bodybuilders. But it is not limited to just those trying to build and improve their muscles. This is a common problem for anyone who has a repetitive motion syndrome that uses the Pec muscles. Some other considerations are: If you have been trying to get your client’s pecs to release and they continually stay tight, locked, and painful the PPS Reverse Trigger Pointing Solution…
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Self-Care, Salt(?) and YOU – the Massage Therapist!
As bodyworkers and massage therapists, we know that we need to GET bodywork to keep GIVING bodywork. But, what else do we need to do that is classified in the realm of “self-care”? Working with people in the way that we do- touching for prolonged periods of time- makes our self-care a bit more involved and perhaps a little different than you’d think. There are 3 areas to consider about our bodies when it comes to self-care: Regular bodywork The Scar Tissue Patterns our body creates Electricity and Salt Regular Bodywork Getting frequent bodywork is only part of this equation. But overall, you have to realize that you are using…
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The Biggest Problem with Selling Gift Certificates for Massage Therapists
The #1 problem massage therapists face when trying to sell gift certificates is that they are typically not available in-person in sell them. Most of us are working our little hearts out, in a room with a client for 60 minutes, with the door shut. It is unrealistic and unprofessional to leave a massage to sell a gift certificate to someone else. This works if you work in a multi office setting and there is someone managing the front desk. However, if you are a single-person entity, it just doesn’t work! If this is you, then it’s time to come up with a solution on how to create a process…
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Where Does a Lumbar Bulging Disc Start?
Your back is really hurting, and the Doctor tells you that you have a bulging disc in your lower back. There is pain down your leg and your foot is tingly and numb. Now what? The first thing I tell my clients is that you don’t just “get” a bulging disc one day. There are certain factors that start creating a bulging disc, typically years before it ever shows up. The question you have to start asking yourself is this: If the reaction to those factors ends up being a bulging disc, then what are the actions that caused it to begin with? Because if you work with those factors…
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Do You Have a Pain in Your Neck?
We have a treat for you in today’s blog post for Cervical Neck Pain! Included in this post are 3 short hands-on videos from our series PAINLess which are “quick fixes” for Trigger Point Patterns for the general public and hands-on for therapists as an introduction to the PPS Concepts. PPS (Pain Patterns & Solutions) Bodywork has a couple of unique solutions for Cervical Neck Pain. Today, we are going to cover: Back of the Neck (C2-C7) Base of the Skull (C1 Release Technique) Back of the Neck Pain from Whiplash (Platysma) Back of the Neck (C2-C7) We teach what is called a Direct Correlation for Cervical Neck Pain in…
