I had the great pleasure to take Montreal-based therapist, BetsyAnn Baron’s Structural Myofascial Therapy (SMFT) course in May and have been employing it with clients with great success and positive results.

SMFT looks at the body’s connectivity as a whole and addresses aches, pains, dysfunctions and postural limitation holistically because the location of your pain may not be the source. (“The victim sp eaks outlouder than the perpetrator” concept).

SMFT is a deep and slow manual technique that opens the dialogue with stiff and painful areas and areas of reducing mobility to:

• rehabilitate, better adapt and increase body potential;
• create a better ‘organized’ body;
• increase balance and alignment;
• increase respiratory capacity and body support;
• encourage more efficient energy use; and
• discover a new dynamic posture that can be maintained without effort or pain.

Call 360 Degrees Health Centre at 830.6600 to book your appt, or online at http://www.360healthcentre.ca

I had the opportunity recently to take a soft silicone Cupping Course (Tissue Distraction Release with Movement) and have been employing it with successful reviews from clients. The soft silicone contours with your body and is meant to be moved across the skin, not left stationary (as the hard plastic cup style does).

It is effective for :

• any area that soft tissue massage and release is indicated;
• treating musculoskeletal aches and pains by creating a negative pressure in the cup on your skin (pulling the tissues up rather than pushing down on them);
• releasing the interfaces between the skin, myofascia, neural tissue, muscles, ligaments and tendons;
• increasing circulation;
• increasing lymphatic flow (reducing inflammation /congestion);
• releasing scar tissues; and
• relaxing muscles and myofascial trigger points.

February is National Heart Health month, why not celebrate by booking a massage! Click HERE to hear a Cardiologists recommendation and reasons why.

Do you experience any of the following symptoms?

• continuous pain / tenderness in a muscle?
• muscle weakness but no muscle atrophy / wasting?
• recent increased muscle ‘tone’ or thickness without increased activity?
• a palpable tight band of muscle that is painful / makes you jump when pressed upon?
• pain when contracting or stretching a muscle?
• a recent decrease in circulation to an area / muscle?

If so, you may have a Myofascial Trigger Point (TrP)..  In a nutshell, a Trigger Point is an angry, hyperirritable segment of muscle that causes specific pain referral patterns in the body. It can also exhibit neurological symptoms like numbness and tingling, restrict your range of motion and muscle strength.

There are 5 different types of TrPs. Some are painful at rest, while others are only felt when palpated / compressed, or while under mechanical strain or overload.

A healthy muscle does not contain TrPs and should not be point tender. Referred pain should not be present. If you experience any of these above symptoms, you should consider contacting your favorite massage therapist for a treatment.

The exact cause of TrPs is unknown, but contributing factors include (and not limited to)..

• trauma (ie: muscle strains)
• direct or indirect trauma (ie: muscle overload, overwork fatigue, visceral pain and emotional stress)
• leaving a muscle in a shortened position (ie: sleeping on your belly with one leg out to the side)
• mechanical stresses (ie: bony assymmetries / imbalances such as leg length differences)
• postural stresses / body mechanics
• muscle constriction (ie: wearing a backpack / purse on your shoulder)
• metabolic imbalances (ie: hypothyroid, hypoglycemia)
• psychological factors (ie: depression and anxiety)
• chronic infection (ie: sinusitis, herpes simplex)
• impaired sleep

This first week  of practice has been beyond my expectations! Thank you to all the wonderful clients that I’ve seen this week whose stories and life experiences humbled and inspired me, the fantastic support system at 360 Degrees Health Centre, and everyone that has helped me along my path.