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11/4/18 Therapeutic Massage and Colds It’s November. Cold and flu season is upon us. Both are contagious. Should you get a massage when you have a cold? No, it’s not wise. Not because it will make you feel better or worse; yes, it will likely do one or the other. Rather because you expose other people, including me, to the virus you have. I’m fortunate to have a reasonably strong...

3/6/18 Continuing Education Acupressure Continuing education is a challenge. Massage therapy is mildly regulated in Iowa, with 16 hours of continuing education required every two years for re-licensure. Much of what is available regionally is basic, not particularly challenging, and doesn’t add much to professional growth. It often boils down to paying an instructor to learn the routine they...

Trigger Points and Headaches Trigger points, a common cause of headaches, can be found in the neck and shoulders, and of course the head and face. Massaging trigger points may help relieve referred headache pain. A trigger point is a tender point in the muscle that refers pain to some other location in the body, typically an area around or close to the trigger point, but occasionally to a distant...

10/24/17 Scheduling Online at Iowa City Shiatsu & Massage Therapy Scheduling your appointment online is easy. If you’re reading this, you’re already in the right place, IowaCityMassageTherapy.com. On each page you can find a red “Schedule Appointment” button. Click on it and it will give you several choices for the length of time you’d like your appointment to be. Click on the...

10/12/17 Pronator Teres Muscle Pain Pattern Carpal Tunnel Syndrome pain may be mimicked by pressure on the Median Nerve somewhere else along its pathway. In the forearm, the median nerve passes through the Pronator Teres muscle before it reaches the carpal tunnel itself. It ultimately enervates the tissues of the first three digits of the hand. The Pronator Teres turns the forearm/hand palm...

9/11/17 Primary Types of Massage I Provide I have been practicing massage therapy in Iowa City since 1997. I provide integrative massage, drawing on a wide variety of therapeutic techniques, but most are built around Shiatsu and Swedish Massage. No two massages are the same; each is tailored to the client’s individual needs. In other words, a 60-minute massage may be a “full-body” massage,...

Client/Practitioner Expectations I’ll ask you to fill out a brief physical history form at your first session, and speak with you about the reason for your visit. I will ask you questions to help develop a plan for your massage. Your privacy and confidentiality are maintained at all times. During the session, you may remain clothed if you wish. Or, you may undress and be covered with sheets...

7/10/17 Hip Adductors and Massage The hip adductors are a group of muscles covering the the inside of the upper leg. Their primary function is to squeeze the thighs together and flex the legs at the hip. Adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, pectineus, and gracilis can all be massaged without contacting the genitals, but they are located in a sensitive area, so I prefer to speak...

5/10/17 The 30-Minute Massage I schedule massage therapy treatments for a specific amount of time, not type of service. Within the time frame you choose, we will customize a session specific to your needs. We may stick to shiatsu or Swedish massage, or we may decide to add gua sha or cupping to the treatment. If you are pressed for time or perhaps want to receive massage therapy for the first...