Everything RMT

Getting a good night’s sleep! Bouncing out of bed excited and ready for the day ahead is a challenge for many people. Time spent in a solid sleep zone is so important for feeling rejuvenated. Not getting enough sleep results in chemical changes in the body and can lead to increased pain levels. The good news is that research has shown massage therapy can help with the quality and duration of sleep! I do not get offended when a client snores on my massage table, that means they are really relaxing into the treatment and it is actually a compliment. Massage helps promote restorative sleep, therefore giving you more energy for your day!

We got out for a backcountry ski tour behind Blackcomb yesterday, beautiful bluebird weather! The avalanche conditions were listed as considerable, however, we made safe and smart terrain choices and still managed to find some fresh powder. I find it so rewarding to skin up a mountain and earn your turns, definitely a good workout. Glad we didn’t need to test out our new ice axes, bringing all of the safety gear for mountain adventures is a healthy habit. Another awesome day in the backcountry, grateful to live in Whistler!

I bet a lot of people were outside playing in the sunshine this past weekend. If you are feeling joint or muscle pain this Monday morning, massage can help! If you don’t immediately see an appointment time that works for you. add your name to the online booking waitlist as things may change and open up.

Mountain biking can be everything from adrenaline pumping double black slabs and drops, to flowy single-track blue trails. Whether you ride the bike park or Lost Lake trails, one commonality are issues with forearms and hands. Mountain bikes these days have amazing shocks, however the upper body also absorbs a lot of the bumpy terrain. Feeling like you cannot brake properly near the end of a ride is not a good feeling! Massage therapy can help with addressing forearm and hand tension, which minimizes muscle cramping and nerve compression. This is for all types of riders, and it feels awesome have your hands massaged!

As an RMT I have taken extra training in a treatment technique called craniosacral therapy. It is a light-touch manual therapy that seeks to locate and treat restrictions throughout the body.

Essentially it works with the nervous system to help restore balance. The term craniosacral breaks down to Cranio/cranium (head), and sacrum (base of the spine). Applying craniosacral techniques can be very effective at treating concussions, headaches, vertigo, dizziness, jaw pain, and visual issues.

As part of my RMT sessions, I can incorporate craniosacral therapy to help you on your path to feeling better!

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This is a question that i am asked often, and my best answer is that it depends. There are many factors to consider, it is not as straightforward as prescribing once a week as a gold standard. If you are in pain, massage can help. If you have elevated stress levels, massage can help. If you are sore from exercise, massage can help with recovery. Essentially massage is a not only for helping fix broken bodies, but hands on manual therapy is part of a healthy self care routine. Everyone deserves to feel good!

The snow is melting and springtime adventures are just around the corner. Golfing, biking, trail running, paddle boarding, kite surfing, hiking…so many fun outdoor activities!

It is also a time of year that as an RMT I see an increase in injuries. This is mainly from overdoing it with movements that haven’t been performed for many months. One important factor to consider is warming up prior to getting out to the driving range or jumping on your paddleboard. Research has shown that holding static stretches may not be the most efficient way to warm up for exercise.

Instead, I recommend trying a few dynamic stretches and movements, essentially increasing circulation and waking up the nervous system. For example, bodyweight squats, all 4 are reaching out opposite arm and leg, or rotational exercises. If you are feeling sore from new springtime activities, come see me for a massage to help assess and minimize the pain!

Recently there has been more attention given to concussion research and treatment. Concussions are a serious injury, symptoms may last for years.

Most likely the person will not lose consciousness or have any visible injury, however it should not be considered a mild incident. There is a cascade of events that happen with a head injury, blood flow to the brain is disrupted and nerve cells may be damaged. Registered massage therapists (RMT”s) are trained to assess and treat head and neck injuries, thus helping to alleviate accompanying symptoms. Your RMT can help develop a detailed plan for return to full function, never rushing back into activities too soon. There are also fantastic online resources for more information, such as the site: http://www.cattonline.com.

It is awesome that so many people are out skiing and snowboarding around Whistler! I have also had quite a few people coming to see me for massage experiencing back pain, especially after backcountry adventures. Exploring the backcountry terrain safely requires carrying extra gear. Lugging a heavy backpack up and down mountains may cause strain on the shoulders, back and hips. Aside from purchasing the most light weight gear and finding the best fitting backpack ever, here are a few other tips for minimizing back pain:

– Take breaks and hydrate. Remembering to drink water when out on your adventure can help minimize dehydration, which is not good for working muscles.
– Engage your core muscles with a subtle drawing in of the bellybutton towards the spine. Bracing with a gentle contraction of the abdomen may help take the pressure off your back muscles.
– Sometimes low back pain may be a referral from tension in the hip muscles. Specifically the glute muscles can get quite tense from a day of skiing or snowboarding, and that may refer to the back. Stretching and applying heat to the glutes may help alleviate the back ache.
– Book in for a massage! An assessment and treatment with an RMT can help you get back out there playing in the backcountry pain free.

It’s been a long winter with plenty of fresh snow and I am excited that we have more snow in the forecast, Whistler winter continues!

It also means the risk of back injuries continues, and not just from mountain sports. One of the most common causes of back pain is shovelling snow. The action of flexing forward, lifting a load of snow, and rotating to unload is quite a lot for the spine to handle. A few safety tips for minimizing the risk of injury:

– Warm up before getting out the snow shovel. A few simple stretches can help wake up the nervous system and prepare the body for the upcoming workout. Especially if you plan on shovelling first thing in the morning, your spinal disks are the most hydrated and the risk of disk injury is higher.

– Core engagement. Drawing the belly button towards the spine to engage the abdominal muscles will help stabilize the back. During my massage sessions I can teach core engagement techniques for better back health.

– Switch sides. Everyone has a favourite side they like to shovel, however too much repetition with rotation under load is not good. Try challenging yourself with alternating sides often, and adding in back extension stretches as quick breaks.

– if you do feel sore and stiff afterwards, try heat and gentle pain free movements. Applying a heating pad to your back may help, or try a hip flexor and glutes stretches.

Injuries do happen, however to speed up the healing process massage therapy treatments will help!

The spine is a complex structure that balances the need for stability versus mobility.

In general, the range of motion available in your low back is greater than your mid back. It is ideal to be in the middle range of the mobility spectrum, not too tight, and yet not too loose. Our primary stability comes from the core muscles, bracing around the spine.

Unfortunately, when one sustains a back injury, the supportive back muscles can become inhibited and less able to contract. Studies have even shown the multifidus, a stabilizing muscle in the back, completely decreases in size and that space becomes filled with fat tissue.

When a client comes in experiencing back pain I assess whether the core musculature has sufficient tone to provide stability for the spine. Stimulating the core muscles and maintaining mobility is part of the massage therapy session, and my home care recommendations.

There are plenty of exercises that help to engage the core, stand up paddle boarding is a fun outdoor summer option otherwise try to incorporate little stretch breaks and posture checks frequently throughout your day! It is possible to incorporate preventative exercises anywhere and everywhere!

Over the past few months I have noticed an increase in people coming to see me with jaw pain. Wearing face masks frequently is the primary cause of the pain, and increased stress levels may also be a contributing factor. A few tips to help decrease jaw pain:

– Check the fit of your face mask. Are you jutting your chin out to ensure it stays on? This action engages the jaw muscles and will result in soreness after a few hours. I am a big fan of getting a face mask properly fit for you, and using a strap that links around your head versus relying on ear loops. The ear saver strap helps keep the mask snugly in place.

– Breathing patterns can be negatively influenced by wearing a mask. Assess if you are breathing a bit more shallow, and try to focus on rib expansion and taking full breaths.

– Placing the tongue on the roof of your mouth automatically relaxes the jaw muscles. As a subtle posture check, try incorporating throughout your day.

– Massage can definitely help! If you are not seeing a RMT, try self massaging the muscles along your check bone and jaw line.

Let me know if you have any questions or tips of your own, it may be a few more months of wearing face masks everyday.

Clients come into my massage clinic frequently complaining that they have woken up with neck pain. One likely cause is their pillow, either too big or too flat. Back and side sleeping positions are the best for spine alignment, however the pillow height and firmness make a difference. One quick test, if you fold your pillow in two and it doesn’t bounce back to it’s original form, then it is time to purchase a new pillow! Pancake flat pillows do not provide enough support, your neck muscles will tense up while you sleep to compensate. On the other end of the spectrum, a big extra firm pillow may exacerbate a head forward posture and irritate the nerves in your upper back/neck. If you notice you are waking up with neck pain and headaches, massage therapy can help relax the muscles and improve ease of motion of the spine. Hopefully you can find the perfect pillow for your restorative sleeps!

Proprioception is the fancy term for knowing where our body is in space. There are receptors in our joints that send signals to the brain to sense what is going on without having to look. Balance relies heavily on proper proprioception, allowing us to move fluidly without falling down. If you have ever sprained an ankle, you will notice that balance is tricky even weeks after it has healed. This is due to the change in sensory input to the brain, therefore restoring proprioception after an injury is a vital part of the rehabilitation process. Massage therapy is an effective way to treat the connections between the nervous system and the joints and muscles. RMT’s use specific techniques to integrate the joint receptors and develop better movement patterns. Hands on massage therapy improves balance, regardless if you have sustained an injury or not. Once you have trained your balance, climbing over rocks and up mountains is a lot Easier!

A simple posture tip is to place your arms at your sides with your palms facing forward. In this position, you will naturally lift your head up and draw your shoulder blades together behind your back. You may notice you are able to breathe easier, there is less compression down on your lungs and diaphragm. During our daily activities it is common to be looking down, this results in tighter muscles of the chest and front of the shoulders. Palms forward posture can provide a gentle stretch of the whole front side of the body, which is good for the nerve and blood supply to the arms and hands. I like to give my massage therapy clients posture awareness tips and little stretches to incorporate into their day.

Checking in with your posture and breathing can be a effective way to positively change how your body feels!

It has been a common practice for many years to use cold therapy for injured joints and muscles. There is new research that shows applying ice to an injury may slow down the healing process. Localized increased blood flow and inflammation is the body’s natural response to an injury. Inflammatory cells release hormones and other mediators to help with tissue healing. Ice application impedes circulation to an injured area, thus slowing down the recovery. The latest research recommends only an initial protocol of short duration applications of ice, mainly to help with minimizing the pain. Depending on the injury and specific situation, recovery may be expedited with movement versus rest and ice. If you do sustain an injury, always consult a health care professional as this is a very general guideline.

The most common type of headache is a tension headache. The dull achy pain is caused by tightness of the muscles around the head and neck. It is difficult to perform regular daily activities when suffering from a terrible tension headache. Massage therapy is an effective way to treat headaches by helping to release the constricted muscles. There is a group of four muscles called the sub-occipitals found at the base of the skull. These short muscles are related to vision and posture, frequently they are the cause of tension headaches. Interestingly, the sub-occipitals are directly connected to the tissue layer that surrounds the brain. There are specific massage therapy techniques to decrease sub-occipital muscle group strain, as a result dissipating headache pressure. Fresh air and exercise are also good ways to treat tension headaches, managing stress with outdoor activities! If you’re experiencing tension headaches, contact me and let’s see how Massage therapy can help release the pressure!