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I’m Susan Epperly. Welcome to another edition of our Clinical Massage Therapy vlog.
Recently, I viewed a slide show on WebMD.com, which went over some myths regarding back
pain, which is what inspired the topic for this vlog entry.
If you’d like to view the slide show yourself, you can go to our Facebook fan page by going
the the address below, clicking on our “discussions” tab, and selecting the discussion topic titled
“Back Pain Myths Slide Show on WebMD.com.” There, you’ll find a link to the slideshow
on WebMD.com, and, if you’d like to, while you’re there, you can also respond to the
content of this vlog.
I found this statement from the slide show to be interesting:
"The American College of Physicians and American Pain Society guidelines for treatment of lower
back pain recommend that patients and doctors consider spinal manipulation -- either by
a chiropractor or a massage therapist -- for patients with back pain."
This comment may be confusing to some, because, of course, spinal manipulation or chiropractic
adjustments are not within a Massage Therapist's scope of practice (at least here in the state
of Texas).
However, when a Massage Therapist is able to relax and release tight, over-contracted,
hypertonic muscles, the bones to which those muscles attach are often free to return to
their "natural" position on their own.
Essentially, soft tissue manipulation (which is very much within Texas Massage Therapists'
scope of practice) can facilitate passive and / or spontaneous chiropractic adjustments.
Massage Therapists do not "put" or "force" the bones back into place, but rather "allow"
or "facilitate" the bones' finding their way back into place by affecting and balancing
muscle tonicity and / or flaccidity.
While sudden, high-velocity chiropractic adjustments (wherein the bones are "put" or "forced" back
into place) are sometimes warranted, many clients find Massage Therapists' gentler,
less forcible approach to spinal manipulation to be more comfortable and less anxiety-producing.
Thanks for joining us for this edition of our Clinical Massage Therapy Vlog.
Be sure to join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, where we discuss all kinds
of topics related to the practice and business of Clinical Massage Therapy.
And to keep updated on new vlog entries, subscribe to our YouTube channel, which you’ll find
by searching for TigerLilyStudios (with no spaces) on YouTube.
Be well & keep in touch.