Massage therapist heaven
Nov. 9th, 2004 05:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninevirtuesSo, say you have someone who complains of shoulder pain, or pain in the mid-humerus, right where the deltoid attaches. Say you want to assess whether muscle tightness is causing this problem.
Lay the person down on his/her back. Have her (for the sake of argument, let's say "her") raise her arms over her head. Whoops, you will notice that she arched her back to get them there. (Why? Because the lats attach to the front of your humerus on one end, and to the thoracolumbar fascia on the other end. To do a true test for tightness, you'd have her do a posterior pelvic tilt, flattening her spine into the massage table, and try again.)
Let's say she does have tightness, and you know, because her arms don't go all the way over her head. If it's due to adhesions in the joint capsule, naturally you send them to me. ;-) But if it's due to muscle tightness, you can fix it. Here's how:
a) Assess the subclavius for tightness. Stand behind the person and pull their straight arm up and back toward you (so if you looked at them from the side, their arm would be at 150 degrees). Use your other hand to palpate the subclavius. Have the person breathe in, then exhale deeply. You should feel the ribcage sink and the subclavius soften. If you don't, have them inhale and exhale again, this time pressing into the subclavius until you feel it soften.
b) Try the range of motion again, making sure the person has a posterior pelvic tilt.
c) Assess the subscapularis for tightness by massaging it. (Yeah, yeah, I know. Not a moneymaker.)
d) Try the range of motion again, making sure the person has a posterior pelvic tilt.
e) Stretch/and or massage the latissimus dorsi.
f) Try the range of motion again, making sure the person has a posterior pelvic tilt.
Have fun with that one!
Lay the person down on his/her back. Have her (for the sake of argument, let's say "her") raise her arms over her head. Whoops, you will notice that she arched her back to get them there. (Why? Because the lats attach to the front of your humerus on one end, and to the thoracolumbar fascia on the other end. To do a true test for tightness, you'd have her do a posterior pelvic tilt, flattening her spine into the massage table, and try again.)
Let's say she does have tightness, and you know, because her arms don't go all the way over her head. If it's due to adhesions in the joint capsule, naturally you send them to me. ;-) But if it's due to muscle tightness, you can fix it. Here's how:
a) Assess the subclavius for tightness. Stand behind the person and pull their straight arm up and back toward you (so if you looked at them from the side, their arm would be at 150 degrees). Use your other hand to palpate the subclavius. Have the person breathe in, then exhale deeply. You should feel the ribcage sink and the subclavius soften. If you don't, have them inhale and exhale again, this time pressing into the subclavius until you feel it soften.
b) Try the range of motion again, making sure the person has a posterior pelvic tilt.
c) Assess the subscapularis for tightness by massaging it. (Yeah, yeah, I know. Not a moneymaker.)
d) Try the range of motion again, making sure the person has a posterior pelvic tilt.
e) Stretch/and or massage the latissimus dorsi.
f) Try the range of motion again, making sure the person has a posterior pelvic tilt.
Have fun with that one!
