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Although the practice of cupping has been around for many years, it gained popularity during the summer Olympics and has continued to grow as word gets out that it works! What is cupping? Using glass, plastic or silicon cups placed strategically on the body a vacuum is created by using either a pump, by manually pressing or the traditional way of inserting a cotton ball set on fire into the cup and quickly removing it and placing the cup on the body.  Each of these techniques serve differently to treat a varying array of ailments, but all of them work on the principal of creating a vacuum which  pulls up the skin and the fluids beneath.  Does it work? There has been thousands of years of documented evidence through clinical and historical research that cupping is safe and effective. You would be hard-pressed to find western scientific studies, due to the nature of cupping. In a truly scientific study, you need a placebo and preferably the gold standard ...

Ouch! The dynamic and forceful twists and turns of tennis unfortunately can lead to many risks of injury. Knees, lower back and shoulders are most prone to muscle strains for tennis players. Keeping an eye on proper form can greatly reduce problems in these areas. Understanding the causes of this can help develop strategies to improve functional movements that help reduce painful injuries and keep you on the court! Know the Source If you're having pain in your shoulders, the problem might actually originate with your hips. The legs pivot in the hip sockets, allowing the spine and shoulders to rotate and the arms to swing during the back-swing and the follow-through.  For a more powerful hit, tennis players often jump during the swing, which intensifies the stress on the body.  Ample ability to rotate the hips is fundamental to proper form for many tennis moves. If the hips are overly tight and not freely moving in full range of motion, other areas of the body compensat...

The alignment of your knees greatly affects your gait and your gait greatly affects the way your body feels. If you have genu valgum, known as knocked knees, or the opposite problem, valgus angulation, your body is going to eventually let you know that it is not happy with the situation. When that happens, it's time to act quickly to find a remedy! Just like the vehicles that we drive, when the alignment is off, the tires (or in our case feet) start to wear improperly. If your knees bend in, it puts more weight on the inner foot. For knees that point outward the opposite is true. The negative chain of events can unfortunately spread upward to hips, back and eventually the neck area when the foundation of our structure is compromised. To make matters worse, for every pound over your ideal weight that your knees are carrying around, the problem intensifies. Our bodies are amazing at adapting to less than perfect dynamics, but after a bit of time of being forced to comprise it...

When pain is felt between the shoulder blades, it would be assumed that there is a problem somewhere in that area, but it could actually be coming from your neck area. Knowing where the pain originates from can help in formulating a treatment plan to alleviate discomfort. Better yet, knowing how the problem started, can help the pain from developing to begin with. Nerves: The Struggle is Real Pain is caused by the nerves becoming entrapped within tight muscles. The area around the neck and shoulders is especially prone to entrapment due to the crowded nerves that run from the neck area down into the scapular (shoulder) area. They twist and turn in tight spaces around and through muscles that run along your spine from the base of your skull down into your shoulder area.  When the muscles become tight and inflamed they further compress and crowd the nerves. That causes the nerves to become grumpy. The grumpiness runs all the way down to the muscles between your shoulder blades. ...

So many tools, so little time!  We are in an era where tools for myofascial release abound. There are so many choices, that it can become confusing as to what tool to use for what issue and how often, how much and....  The confusion can go on and on. Let's try to unpack some of this to make it easier to understand. First of all it is important to understand what the purpose of these tools are for. Muscles build up tension from such stressors as exercise, poor posture, work and lifestyle habits and even from emotional stress. Have you ever been in terrible traffic for a long amount of time and found yourself reaching for your neck to give it a rub because it feels tight? Tightness that stress has caused initiates the body to respond by sending more fascia to the muscles in the area that is feeling stressed. Fascia is a thin sheath of fibrous tissue that encloses muscles and organs in the body. When extra is needed, it is produced with a stickiness to it...

What can Massage do for YOU??? Benefits of Massage Therapy Tammara and Barbara massaging Massage Extraordinaire clients Reduce ANXIETY and DEPRESSION Lower levels of certain stress hormones by 50% Improve mood by increasing serotonin and dopamine      2.  Improve SLEEP ISSUES      3.  Reduce  HEADACHES May reduce the number and severity of migraine headaches Relaxes muscles in the shoulders and neck that can lead to headaches      4.  Improve IMMUNITY Increases white blood cells, that ward off disease       5.  Reduce PAIN Improves circulation to aid in inflammation and healing Helps with acute and chronic pain Improve lower back pain       6.  Improve HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE       7.  Improve EATING DISORDERS       8.  Improve FATIGUE       9.  Improve OSTEOARTHRITIS ...

Did you know that an estimated 9 out of 10 people deal with low back pain at some point in their lives? "Back pain relief maybe in the hands of a skilled massage therapist." (from Focus on Healthy Aging) A study found that both structural and relaxation (Swedish) massage are effective in relieving chronic low back pain and improving daily function. Swedish massage uses a combination of five different massage strokes and varying degrees of pressing, rubbing and stretching muscles to improve circulation and release tightness. Structural massage techniques usually focus on loosening connective tissue, such as tendons that have grown short and tight due to trauma or wear and tear. Joseph Elder, MA, LMT, a massage therapist at Mount Sinai states, "Swedish and structural massage therapies have been shown to help reduce muscle tightness that causes postural imbalances, injury and limited, painful movement." If you experience low back pain, call (619) 275-3270 t...