What's the difference between massage and Medical Massage?

People ask me all the time. What is the difference between massage and Medical Massage?

This video by Dr. Ross Turchaninov is a perfect example. I see clients like this all the time. They are frustrated and tired of going through the medical ringer with no answers or results. The use of science and clinical thinking turns massage into a powerful tool.

It's all about knowing what to look for.

Daily Herald Article – July 17, 2022 – Misinformation and corrections

On July 17, 2022, an article was published in the Daily Herald about alternative therapies. Teri Dreher’s publicist contacted me about the article to discuss medical massage. Her question to me was, "What is the difference between a medical massage and a regular massage?"

I was quoted in the article. However, the quote had nothing to do with medical massage and the article had little information about medical massage. In fact, it muddied the waters about alternative therapies altogether.

I am listing the article here as well as the email I sent to her publicist about medical massage. I have also sent a letter to the editor following up on this article and its inaccuracies.

You can read the original article here: What are alternative and complementary therapies

Email to publicist

Thanks for reaching out.

One from The Science Of Massage Institute provides a couple of videos from Dr. Ross Turchaninov. He is the editor-in-chief of The Journal Of Massage Science and my medical massage instructor. I spent three years training with him learning to be a certified medical massage practitioner (CMMP). On the website under certification, you can see the list of CMMPs. There are currently only fifty practitioners in the country that have completed this program. I am proud to be on that list and currently the only one in Illinois.

Dr. Ross explains what separates the different types of massage. He is from Ukraine and a little hard to understand so I will try to summarize.

Another link is from a case study that I wrote that was just published in The Journal Of Massage Science.

The Last link is for an open house we are having in our new location on May 1. I realize this won't article won't be out by then but just to mention.

What separates spa, relaxation, and sports massage from medical massage? First of all, any massage can have medical benefits from a general point of view. However, when dealing with chronic pain or a specific injury a relaxation massage is not going to provide you with clinical results.

For instance, when I was fresh out of massage school and a client came in with a rotator cuff diagnosis, I would massage the whole shoulder area and hope for the best. Now that I have much more training I have a complete protocol I am going to follow. First a detailed intake form with specific questions. All designed to help me narrow down the problem areas I need to work in. Next specific muscle testing to further narrow down the areas that need attention. Then the use of multiple modalities including but not limited to lymphatic, kneading, friction, stretching, electric vibration massage and trigger point work all in a specific order for this certain individual. Then send the client home with exercises or homework to complete in-between visits.

There are specific protocols for each injury such as tennis elbow, migraines, knee or hip rehab, carpal tunnel, plantar fasciitis, etc. There are subsets to those injuries as well. For instance, Plantar Fasciitis may be localized in the foot or start all the way up from the lumbar vertebrae. The only way to know this is to go step by step from the back down. Every single client is different and every session will usually be different as well.

My personal take on medical massage is that the body is a puzzle. Chronic pain can be a mystery. We are like a body detective tracing back clues that solve the mystery. Sometimes you hit a dead end and have to redirect your path. But the solution is usually hiding somewhere. Once you find the culprit recovery is possible.

You do not need a prescription and we do not take insurance as we are not a hospital or chiropractor. We do take Health Savings Accounts. I suggest to clients get a prescription anyway to be able to write it off on their year-end medical for tax purposes.

There is much more I could explain and go on all day about this subject. I hope this gives you a brief overview.

The reason I reached out to Teri is to explain my frustration with our medical system in general. I read medical articles all the time which never mention massage as a viable alternative or stand-alone treatment for chronic pain. The clients I see have been everywhere else through the medical ringer. I am not patting myself on the back when I tell you how many of my clients said that I was the only one able to help them.

My goal is to tell people that there is an alternative to surgeries and drugs but that's where they are typically directed. In many other countries, Medical massage is part of the healing process, not an afterthought. I would love to see an ask your medical Massage therapist article somewhere. Dr. Ross sends out monthly tips with medical massage information. I would love to see that reach more people.

I have added staff because of the growing need in our field. We have also moved into a larger office space. My wish is to bring back Dr. Ross to Chicago to train more medical Massage therapists. Clients are looking for ways to avoid drugs and surgery. Medical Massage can make that possible.

Please let me know if you need anything else or need further explanation on anything.

Again thanks for reaching out.

Letter to editor in reply

This is in response to Teri Dreher's column, "What are alternative and complementary therapies." 

Because I was quoted in the article, I feel the need to respond. For Teri's article, I was asked the question, "How does regular massage differ from medical massage?" I gave a detailed response which included a link to The Journal Of Massage Science and its editor-in-chief Dr. Ross Turchaninov. Dr. Ross has written several books on medical massage and has been instrumental in bringing these protocols to our country, as well as training therapists. Myself included. 

These methods have all been researched, tested and proven effective. In many other countries, medical massage is an integral part of the healing process. It is tested as such. Whether it be for frozen shoulder, chronic back pain, migraines, etc. There is a specific protocol for each which is based on science.

Where my practice is concerned the statement in the article, “And that’s despite the fact there’s no research-backed evidence that it’s effective” is inaccurate.
I reached out to Teri to talk about the benefits and misconceptions there are about medical massage. If anything, this article mentioned nothing of what I represent and only added more confusion.

Thank you for attending our Open House!

Thank you to everyone who came to the open house yesterday. We hope you enjoyed seeing the new office space, the food and getting to meet all of our therapists.

Congratulations to Julie for winning the Guess the Number of Jelly Beans contest and a FREE Massage! There were 434 jelly beans in the jar and Julie guessed 437!

If you weren't able to attend, make an appointment to come in and see Mike, Nita, JaimiLynn or Jenny, check it out for yourself and get a massage in the process!

MEDICAL MASSAGE VS SEVERE SOFT TISSUE CONTUSION

Mike recently had a case study posted on the Science of Massage institute’s website.

This Case of the Month is contributed to JMS by Mike Devo, LMT from Chicago who recently graduated from SOMI’s Medical Massage Certification program. From the very first seminar Mike took, it was obvious he had great promise to be an excellent Medical Massage practitioner. He was very thoughtful, paid attention to details, which are so important in MM practice, and took his time to move forward while immediately testing on his clients the clinical information he learned from SOMI.

You can read the full study here.

Source: https://www.scienceofmassage.com/2019/06/m...

Medical Massage Seminar on Chronic Low Back Pain

Let's Talk About Pain!

Onset of Pain
Character of pain

Question: How would you describe the pain you have or had (sharp, aching, burning, pulsating)?

Sharp pain
Sharp pain in a patient is the most difficult to differentiate because it can be caused by various reasons from nerve compression by the herniated disk to muscle trauma and active periostal trigger points.

Aching pain
Aching pain is more frequently associated with hypertonic muscular abnormalities (hypertonus, trigger point, myogelosis). Other examples are Osteoarthritis, Fibromyalgia, and referred pain from abnormalities of inner organs (e.g. pain in the right upper shoulder in patients with liver diseases).

Burning pain
If the patient had or has even short episodes of burning pain, the practitioner can be 100% certain that the nerve that innervates this part of the body is under pressure.

Pulsating pain
Usually pulsating pain is accompanied by two major conditions: acute inflammation and venous stasis as a result of insufficient drainage.

Type Of Pain?
Local Or Radiating 

Visceral Pain
Internal pain/ Send to the doctor for treatment

Time of Pain

  • Morning Pain? Typically related to muscle tension. The heart is at rest overnight and does not pump as much blood.

  • Late Afternoon/Evening Pain ? More likely related to a mild herniated or bulging disk. As the day progresses the vertical compression on the disk affects the spinal nerve, hence increasing pain and discomfort.

  • Night pain? If the client is tossing and turning all night it is sign of severe muscle spasm or pressure on the nerve. Usually continuous night pain means that we are dealing with a more difficult case.

Correlation of the Pain with Movement
Pain increases with movement
Pain decreases with movement
Movement has no effect on the pain intensity 

Pain Intensity/ 1-10

Evaluation of Sensory and Motor Abnormalities 

Lumbago/Lumbalgia
Lumbago is the result of acute bulging  or herniation of the intervertebral disk with the resulting irritation or compression of the spinal nerve.

Spondylolysis
In spondylolysis, a crack or stress fracture develops through the pars interarticularis, which is a small, thin portion of the vertebra that connects the upper and lower facet joints.

Most commonly, this fracture occurs in the fifth vertebra of the lumbar (lower) spine, although it sometimes occurs in the fourth lumbar vertebra. Fracture can occur on one side or both sides of the bone.

Spondylolisthesis
If left untreated, spondylolysis can weaken the vertebra so much that it is unable to maintain its proper position in the spine. This condition is called spondylolisthesis.

In spondylolisthesis, the fractured pars interarticularis separates, allowing the injured vertebra to shift or slip forward on the vertebra directly below it. In children and adolescents, this slippage most often occurs during periods of rapid growth—such as an adolescent growth spurt.

Five major causes of Lumbalgia

Lumbosacral Spondylosis,trauma or chronic overload, Sacroiliitis,chronic visceral disorders and Fibromyalgi
Today we are going to focus on low back pain caused by Sacroiliitis and tension in the Quadratus Lumborum (QL) muscle.

The QL was called The Joker Of Low Back Pain by Travell and Simmons(1983). The pain from this muscle can be identical to that of a disk herniation. Clients will complain of intense pain in the low back area. The QL is very important in humans as it is a key muscle responsible for our vertical posture. Animals do not have a QL muscle or have it in a very minor form.

By its unusual anatomy you can see how it affects many different parts of the body. Hips ,lumbar spine and ribs are all involved in its movement.

Erector Spinae Muscles

These muscles originate from the iliac crest, the sacrum and the spinous processes of the lumbar and thoracic vertebrae. The erectors assist with extension and lateral flexion of the spinal column,

 Iliopsoas

The Iliopsoas muscle is a combination of the psoas and Iliac muscle.The psoas is attached to the transverse processes of T12-L4 vertebrae. They join together inside the hip and attach at the lesser Trochanter of the Femur.


What is the Quadratus Lumborum?

What is the QL? Is it that little square box with the strange designs inside? No that would be a QR code.

The QL is short for Quadratus Lumborum. The quadratus lumborum is a muscle of the posterior abdominal wall. It is the deepest abdominal muscle and commonly referred to as a back muscle. It is irregular and quadrilateral in shape and broader below than above. There are many cases of low back pain(Lumbalgia) and some are due to tension in the QL muscle

The QL is attached to the spinous processes along the lumbar spine L1-L5 and forms a box in between its attachment to the twelfth rib and the iliac crest or top of the hip bone (picture)?
The QL plays an integral role as one of the key muscles that support our vertical posture. It also forms a cushion for our kidneys.
The QL is bilateral on either side of the spine. In many instances, if one side is dysfunctional it can cause a spasm on the opposite side
 
With bilateral contraction, the QL provides vertical postural support and extends the vertebral column. If the erector spinae muscles are weak it puts more pressure on the QL.
Since the QL has an attachment on the 12th rib it also plays a large role in our respiration while assisting in our inhalation and forced expiration. Many people with chronic respiratory disorders can develop tension in the QL.

The Ql also assists our lateral flexion and rotation of the vertebrae. In short our bending and twisting muscles. If you have done excess raking, shoveling, bending, moving and lifting boxes chances are you have aggravated your QL muscle. 
The QL does a lot of work and affects many corresponding muscles when not performing correctly.

Don’t suffer needlessly. If you are in pain, please come in for a clinical evaluation. We can diagnose the problem and develop a treatment plan for the QL or many other conditions. Feel free to call anytime with your questions or comments.

Can massage help with Edema or swelling of arms, legs and/or feet?

Yes. The use of Lymphatic Drainage Therapy  (LDT) is a technique commonly used by massage therapists in the treatment of lymphedema. LDT consists of specific movements that are used to lightly push lymph through the system, helping it to drain out of the tissues and move throughout the body. Lymphedema can be caused by heart problems, wearing tight fitting clothing, and injuries like sprains and fractures. It also sometimes happens as a side effect of chemotherapy treatments and cancer surgeries where the lymph nodes are damaged or removed.

During an LDT session, a massage therapist gently presses and moves his or her hands along the body in specified directions using light pressure strokes. This is an attempt to “reverse” the flow of lymph away from the area of swelling. This treatment is generally used together with other treatments, like exercising to promote circulation, compression therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs, and ice packs. Ask your therapist if this treatment may be right for you.