Solstice Massage Therapy

02/13/2024

🤣😅🤣😅🏈

01/10/2024

06/26/2023

I love my clients. Thanks Charlene Schuman.

04/01/2023

Only today......🤪

12/21/2022

WINTER SOLSTICE

A simple alter is decorated: evergreens, candles, sun images, apples, pomegranates and nuts

This is the night of Solstice, the longest night of the year. Darkness triumphs momentarily, then gives way into light. The breath of nature is suspended. Water turns to stone and the world is bleached white as bone by snow and ice. We are in awe of earth’s motionless grace. All wait. Deep within the Dark King is transformed into the Infant Light. We watch for the coming of the dawn, when the Great Mother again gives birth to the Divine Child who brings hope and the promise of abundant life. This is the stillness behind motion, when time itself stops, the center which is also the circumference of all. We call the light from the womb of darkness. Blessed B

09/26/2022

It's all good. ❤️

07/18/2022

This is my client Jack. He's 79 and still running. I went to cheer him on this past Saturday at the Maine Senior Track meet. He got two silver medals and a 4th place ribbon so he qualifies for the National Seniors Olympics. He's and inspiration and a great guy. Proud to be his massage therapist.

06/21/2022

Happy Solstice from Solstice ❤️

04/11/2022

🔈 ROTATOR CUFF SYNDROME
What Does A Torn Rotator Cuff Feel Like?

Rotator cuff injury is one of the common causes of shoulder pain in individuals. To ensure that your shoulder pain is only because of torn rotator cuff, it is important to study the causes of pain, symptoms and also the reason of such condition. It is important to know what it feels like to have a torn rotator cuff and how long does rotator cuff injury take to heal. This information can give you an insight into understanding the possibility of rotator cuff in your case and prompt you to seek timely medical opinion.

Torn rotator cuff can be defined as a tear in one or more of the tendons of the four rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder. This rotator cuff tear can be chronic or acute due to pathological reason or traumatic injury.

What Does A Torn Rotator Cuff Feel Like?
When you wonder what it feels like to have a torn rotator cuff, you need to know the signs and symptoms of torn rotator cuff. Some of the commonest signs of what rotator cuff looks like include:

Pain
The pain occurring from rotator cuff injury occurs at the outer side of shoulder and the upper arm. Such pain also occurs while performing overhead activities or usually happens in the night. If in case the torn rotator cuff is serious, then the pain might awaken the patients from sleep and make them feel stressed.

Decreased Strength
Strength of each rotator cuff tendons can be tested separately by the doctor. They can isolate each tendon and work to find out the extent of tear on each one of them. If in case, significant tears have occurred, the patient will find it difficult to raise their arms over head. Individuals might also find it difficult to hold arm directly out from the body and this is one of the prominent signs of rotator cuff tear.

Inability To Do Normal Tasks
Individuals suffering from rotator cuff tear find it difficult to perform their day to day activities, which include combing their hair, sleeping on the affected shoulder, hooking or unhooking their bra buttons etc. While approaching the doctor patient should ensure to specify activities which have got limited due to shoulder pain.

On average, with appropriate treatment for a torn rotator cuff, it may take around four to six months to heal. However, it depends on the severity of the injury, type of treatment and the rehabilitation.

EXERCISE TO PREVENT SHOULDER PAIN

Pendulum exercise
Stand with your good hand resting on a chair. Let your other
arm hang down and try to swing it gently backwards and forwards and in a circular motion.
Repeat about 5 times. Try this 2–3 times a day.

Shoulder stretch
Stand and raise your shoulders. Hold for 5 seconds. Squeeze your shoulder blades back and together and hold for 5 seconds. Pull your shoulder blades downward and hold
for 5 seconds. Relax and repeat 10 times.

Door lean
Stand in a doorway with both arms on the wall slightly above your head. Slowly lean forward until you feel a stretch in the
front of your shoulders. Hold for 15–30 seconds.
Repeat 3 times. This exercise isn’t suitable if you have a shoulder impingement.

04/08/2022

Interesting stuff

🔊 WHAT'S UNDER THE SACRUM?

The sacrum is a large wedge shaped vertebra at the inferior end of the spine. It forms the solid base of the spinal column where it intersects with the hip bones to form the pelvis. The sacrum is a very strong bone that supports the weight of the upper body as it is spread across the pelvis and into the legs.

The female sacrum is shorter, wider, and curved more posteriorly than the male sacrum to provide more room for the passage of the fetus through the birth ca**l during childbirth.

Many nerves of the cauda equina at the inferior end of the spinal cord pass through the sacrum. These nerves enter the sacrum from the vertebral foramen of the lumbar vertebrae through the tunnel-like sacral ca**l. From the sacral ca**l these nerves branch out and exit the sacrum through four pairs of holes on the sides of the ca**l called the sacral foramina or through the sacral hiatus at the inferior end of the ca**l.

The nerves that compose the cauda equina innervate the pelvic organs and lower limbs to include motor innervation of the hips, knees, ankles, feet, internal a**l sphincter and external a**l sphincter. In addition, the cauda equina extends to sensory innervation of the perineum and, partially, parasympathetic innervation of the bladder.

The sacrum serves several important functions in the skeletal, muscular, nervous, and female reproductive systems. Acting as the keystone of the pelvis, the sacrum locks the hip bones together on the posterior side and supports the base of the spinal column as it intersects with the pelvis. Several key muscles of the hip joint, including the gluteus maximus, iliacus and piriformis, have their origins on the surface of the sacrum and pull on the sacrum to move the leg.

04/07/2022

🔈 CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME AND PHALEN'S TEST

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which the median nerve, a major nerve in the upper extremity that travels down the arm and enters the hand through a very small gap called carpal tunnel located in the central part of the wrist, gets compressed in the carpal tunnel. This causes irritation of the nerve leading to tingling or pain. Typically, this disease affects the thumb, index, and middle fingers.

Athletes participating in golf, bowling and tennis are generally affected with carpal tunnel syndrome though the most common cause remains keyboarding activity.

The main cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is pressure on the median nerve, which may occur due to swelling or any other injury resulting in narrowing of the size of the carpal tunnel.

Carpal tunnel syndrome causes numbness, weakness, pain, or tingling in the hand or fingers. Some individuals experience pain in the arm between their elbow and hand.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is first treated by conservative method. The general treatment includes complete rest for the wrist by wearing a splint. Cold therapy helps a lot to relieve the swelling and inflammation.

Physiotherapy for carpal tunnel syndrome is important in speeding up the healing process and to get the optimal results. Physiotherapy also decreases the likelihood of recurrences in the future. Physiotherapy may include:

🔑 Soft tissue massage
🔑 Electrotherapy
🔑 Joint mobilization
🔑 Heat and ice treatments
🔑 Bracing or splinting
🔑 Exercises to improve strength and flexibility
🔑 Activity modification and training
🔑 Appropriate plan for return to activity

🚑 PHALEN'S TEST

This test for CTS or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is also known as wrist-flexion test. During the test which is known as Phalen’s Test, the patient is asked to flex his wrist for about 60 seconds and ask to report all the symptoms patient experiences. This CTS test has been described in several positions. G.A. Phalen reported in the year 1966 that when the patient held his forearm vertically and let his wrist drop at 90 degrees. Alternately, the wrist can be made to hang down while the arm is held horizontally.

Another way of performing this test is to hold both the wrists at 90 degrees flexion against each other with the elbows being flexed too. The fingers will also be pointing in the patient’s direction. The Reverse Phalen’s test is one where the patient is made to hold their wrist and fingers, which are fully extended and experiences symptoms which indicate or confirm the diagnosis of CTS or carpal tunnel syndrome.