Erica Curless LMT

Women with dense breast tissue will now get more guidance after a mammogram about their cancer risks with new FDA guidelines.

Mammograms will better explain what it means to have dense breasts Nearly half of women over 40 have dense breasts, which raises their risk of breast cancer. Mammograms should now include an assessment of breast tissue density.

Enjoying laboring on this Labor Day. Always thankful for the ponies.

Completed my CPR recertification today. Dragged my daughter along for the in person class. If you know CPR, teach someone else. You could save a life.

😂 Not wrong.

Birthday love from one of my clients: Chinese Lanters.

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“The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly.”
- Thoreau

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How's your portfolio looking?

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Happy Saturday 💙☕️

Truth for horse owners. And people too.

If all you’re doing with your horse is chiro and/or PEMF then you aren’t taking care of your horse’s musculoskeletal system. You may think you are, but you aren’t.

You’ll also find that each individual massage therapist, and other types of soft tissue workers, will differ in their approach, and so will vary in their effectiveness.

Function will follow form which means if the muscles are tight, imbalanced or set in a particular functional pattern, that’s how your horse will go. To interrupt the set in their ways muscle (and neuromuscular) patterns and help your horse move forward towards a more functional, higher performing ambidexterity, find yourself an effective, experienced massage therapist, preferably one with a solid sport horse background. Even your backyard horse will benefit from it.

Why Hands On Massage Is The Best Way To Care For Sore Muscles - https://koperequine.com/why-hands-on-massage-is-the-best-way-to-for-sore-care-muscles/

The Box Analogy – (And Why You Need To Know It) - https://koperequine.com/the-box-analogy-and-why-you-need-to-know-it/

A lot of us have an intellectual understanding of fascia in the body. Only when working through layers of tissue on cadavers does one gain a full appreciation of the sheer magnitude. Our muscular connections are practically an afterthought. Structurally speaking, fascia definitely rules the day.

Remind your clients about the benefits of regular massages! 💆🏻 From reducing stress and tension to improving circulation and flexibility regular massages can have a positive impact on your mind and body.

The Far Side by Gary Larson

This concept that pain equates to a good massage can be a hard one to navigate, however, as a manual therapist you need to remember that you’re in a position that can provide knowledge about what is a good massage, an effective one versus a beating.

If people are coming to your practice misinformed that pain means a massage is going well, you need to communicate that this is a myth. I find it helpful to remind people that they wouldn’t associate pain with things going well in any other aspect of their lives, so why would massage be any different?

I assure my clients that deep work can be effective, but need not include the badge of honour of having bravely suffered a mind-numbing and painful massage, which included the multiple bruises to prove it!

Deep work, applied mindfully is effective, and so when they come to me and say I want a deep massage, that equates to pain, I do not say 'Well that is not going to happen here' I just work methodically, slowly, and deeply applying strokes that do not activate tension, but keeps the muscles relaxed. None of my clients have walked out the door saying that was not deep enough, the tone of their comments was more like, wow, I feel great, I am surprised it was not painful but I could tell you were deep, it was perfect.

It is about education, expectations, and the reality of what you as a therapist can achieve working mindfully.

If you find you cannot work deeply without effort or pain please take my advice and do the one day refresher course with North London School of Sports Massage, it will teach you how to modify what you know so you can work both deeply and with ease: https://www.nlssm.com/massage-refresher-course/

Happ Massage week! Massage is not meant to be a luxury for just a lucky few - massage is for EveryBody. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Shout out to for 25+ years of focusing on diversity and inclusion during their annual Massage Is for EveryBody Week as well as every other day of the year! 💫

📸 .by.kat