Tips for Self-Care

Not everyone is able to make it in to the clinic for treatments as often as is necessary to achieve optimum muscle balance. Finances and time commitments often inhibit the suggested frequency of treatments. As a result, patients often accumulate so much unwanted muscle tension and adhesions between treatments, that most of the treatment is spent treating superficial tension or some resulting injury. When this happens, it may take a few treatments to bring the patient back to a more functional state that can be easily maintained by the patient and therapist.

To help prolong the benefits of each treatment, I offer home-care advice such as stretching, strengthening, hydrotherapy and posture awareness. Additionally, self-care tips such as self-massage and the use of self-care products may also be included in the home-care suggestions. These tips will also prolong the benefits of the treatment but may also be used as a short-term substitute for maintenance massages when finances and time commitments inhibit routine care.

How and when to do self-care?

Explore your sore spots and muscle tension with gentle compressions and gentle kneading in varying directions. Self-care can be done while sitting at your desk, in your car or lying down watching television, which can be a real time saver. Although self-massage and self-care products are not a replacement for your massage therapy or ART treatments, they will provide some relief to maintain you until your next treatment. Your therapist has the training and experience to work with your soft tissue at a deeper level. Discuss the use of any self-care with your therapist to ensure that you are not causing any damage.

Symptoms to be aware of during self-care

If you experience any symptoms such as tingling, numbness, pulsing or shooting pain, you must stop what you are doing as you may be compressing an artery or a nerve. If you are experiencing burning sensations, you may be breaking down adhesions (scar tissue), which will help to increase your range of motion. Bruising sensations typically indicate that you are working to relieve muscle tension or trigger points. Trigger points will occasionally cause a referral of pain that should diminish with compression typically within 90 seconds. If any sore spots persist or you are unsure of what you are working on, seek professional help from your therapist who is trained with many techniques to assess what your tissue requires.

Self-massage

While training for the National Capital Marathon in 1998, I was approached by a reporter from the Ottawa Citizen to assist with an article on self-massage. The article from May 5, 1998 that has been included in this option applies to the legs and feet since it was geared towards runners. However, the basic concepts about self-massage provided in the article can also be applied to other body parts. Note that runners should also focus on hips and low back tension. Also note that the referral source at the bottom of the article is outdated. The current referral source for massage therapists is the Ontario Massage Therapists Association (OMTA).