CE INSTITUTE LLC BLOG

by Selena Belisle, Founder/Instructor, CE Institute LLC & 3x WAF World Arm Wrestling Champion

Sports event massage is usually performed clothed. It can be provided on a massage table, portable chair, regular chair, and I've even worked on some athletes on the ground. In the world of professional athletics, time is usually of the essence so massage therapists must make do with what they've got!

Sports massage therapists must find quick and efficient practical methods when there is little time to practice all required elements, which includes ruling out potential contraindications and observe precautions plus provide the bodywork itself.

Sacral rocking is a great opening ritual to practice when therapists have 10-minutes or less to provide sports massage at a sporting event. Sacral rocking allows a practitioner to view the client's body in passive motion, and observe if any regions are "holding" or not moving as they should.  Any form of guarding of any regional area is usually a good indicator that bodywork or additional attention is needed in that region.

While some athletes may have experienced physical impairments prior to their sporting event that would create a loss of motion, it's important to address these losses whenever possible.  So whether you're working at a pre-sporting event or post-sporting event, this sacral rocking can be practiced at both.

Here's a free quick youtube instructor explanation and demonstration of what sports massage sacral rocking looks like in the prone position on a massage table: 

 

by Selena Belisle, Founder/Instructor, CE Institute LLC

Prenatal massage therapists should always screen their pregnant clients over the phone prior to their appointment.  Sometimes a pregnant women could be contraindicated for massage, and would need to either be rescheduled for a different form of bodywork or cancelled altogether.  It would be extremely inconvenient for any client to show for an appointment, only to learn that they are not eligible to receive it which is why prenatal clients must be screened prior to the actual visit.

In addition to a thorough screening and health intake process, practitioners should also discuss what areas will be worked, such as a back massage or full body, etc. Determining this prior to allowing the client to get onto the table will determine what type of positioning or bolstering the client will receive.

Pregnant women who are a little past their first trimester should not lie flat in prone or supine position on a massage table. Special prenatal positioning and bolstering is usually provided for mid-second to third trimesters pregnancies.   

Prenatal massage can be provided in semi recumbent or side lying positions.  Prone position can also be achieved with professional prenatal massage cushions for the latter stages of pregnancy.

Side lying position can be accommodated fairly economically with three pillows as explained in this instructor demonstration video:

To learn professional prenatal massage, please register at: https://ceinstitute.com/collections/prenatal

#prenatalmassage #pregnancy #prenatal #massage #massagetherapy #massagetherapist #bodywork #bodyworker #sidelyingposition #sidelyingbolstering #relaxin #relaxinhormone #sidelying #sidelyingmassage 

 

 

by Selena Belisle, Founder/Instructor, CE Institute LLC

Foot reflexology practice usually starts with grasping both feet at the same time.  A reflexologist might traction both legs, inspect the feet, apply lotion or all of the above as their opening ritual. 

Reflexology closing rituals usually end with a bilateral solar plexus hold prior to wiping any massage medium off from the client's feet, prior to their table dismount.

A foot reflexology closing ritual solar plexus hold would include the reflexologist to singular place their thumb pads on the solar plexus point which is between 1/3 to 1/2 way from the medial portion of the foot, under the ball of the foot.  The practitioner will press their thumb pad into this plexus reflex point with their thumb pad only, and slowly decrease pressure and allow the thumbs to gradually exit the feet.

It is common practice to ask the client to take a deep breath during the solar plexus hold, and then upon the exhale to start the release of the thumb pads.

Here is an instructor video demonstration explaining the technique and more:

To learn foot reflexology and more, please register with us at: https://ceinstitute.com/collections/reflexology

#reflexology #massage #massagetherapist #bodyworker #massagetherapy  #foot #feet #solarplexus #solarplexuspoint #solarplexushold #footmassage 

 

 

by Selena Belisle, Founder/Instructor, CE Institute LLC

Myofascial release bodywork is usually started with skin rolling  Skin rolling is achieved by lifting dry skin and rolling it through an opposing thumb and fingers. In this video demonstration, we are skin rolling the back from superior around C7 of the spine to inferior, just above the client's iliums.

It is thought that myofascial release is like peeling an onion, where a practitioner would start by stretching the superficial fascia with techniques such as skin rolling, prior to applying deeper myofascial techniques with different applications such as palming or using an elbow to stretch the underlying fascia.

Here is an instructor demonstration video exhibiting skin rolling:

To learn myofascial release, please visit and register with us at: https://ceinstitute.com/collections/myofascial-release

#massage #massagetherapy #massagetherapist #LMT #bodywork #painrelief #MFR #myofascialrelease #myofascialreleasetherapy #bodyworker #bodywork #increasecirculation #scartissuerelease #scartissue

by Selena Belisle, Founder/Instructor, CE Institute LLC

Lomi Lomi Massage is part of an ancient Hawaiian healing approach.  Pule is commonly practiced as an opening ritual for both Ancient Temple Style Lomi Lomi Massage and Aunty Margaret Machado's Big Island Style Lomi Lomi Massage. It is a small blessing that's said silently or aloud prior to the session.

Pule can include:

• calling for guidance
• calling for help
• wishful thoughts
• positive intentions

Pule can also be practiced with your hands on or off the client, as  well as one hand on each.  Here is a brief video explanation and demonstration of pule:

Pule is open to interpretation and practice by each unique massage therapist for every individual treatment. While pule is often used to start a lomi session, the ways it can be provided can largely vary.

Providers do not have to practice pule to provide LomiLomi massage; however, it is a fairly standard practice and one of the elements that qualifies the treatment in the lomi modality.

To learn Lomi Lomi Massage, please register at: https://ceinstitute.com/collections/lomi-lomi

#lomi #lomilomi #lomilomimassage #hawaii #hawaiian #hawaiianhealing #aloha #massage #lmt #massagetherapist #massagetherapy #bodywork #bodyworker

 

 

 

By Selena Belisle, Founder/Instructor, CE Institute LLC

Hot Stone Massage Operating Temperature & Placement Stone Practice
Massage stones must remain fully immersed in water to maintain consistent temperature throughout for safe and best practices. At an operating temperature of 135-degrees, stones must be placed through two physical barriers on a client, or kept in motion while using them for massage.

Of course, anyone wishing to practice hot stone massage should seek professional training to do so.

Why Working Stones are Also Called Palm Stones
Also, the 135-degree stones used for massage are frequently called "palm stones" because they are kept in the practitioner's palms during massage, which is some of the thickest skin of the body. A practitioner can usually handle a 135-degree hot stone because it is continually rotated in their palm, and the palms have less sensory neurons than our fingers too.

Proper Stone Bath Retrieval with Hot Stones
We teach that practitioners should use a red or lighter colored slotted spoon because the water is too hot to stick fingers into a stone bath for stone retrieval.

Potential Hot Stone Massage Injury When Utensils Are Not Used
Sticking finger tips which are loaded with sensory neurons and about 1/3 of the thickness of palm skin into a scalding 135-degree bath could desensitize a practitioner's digits to the heat, if they could tolerate it.  Inserting fingers into the hot water bath also risks burn injuries to the practitioner. This is why we use tools to retrieve fully immersed stones in a hot stone bath.

Using Slotted Spoons and Tong Tools to Retrieve Hot Stones
Using tools to retrieve stones have their own issues, but for now this is the best and most commonly practiced method for these reasons and more. We prefer the use of slotted spoons instead of tongs for hot stone retrieval, because tongs tend to drop more stones with 130+degree hot water splashing which can also be dangerous. While it's easy to drop stones in the bath with a slotted spoon, we feel this happens more frequently with tongs.

For proper training in hot stone massage, please visit and register at: https://ceinstitute.com/collections/hot-stone

Here's some more info about skin thickness:

Knowing where skin is thinner or thicker in the body may help you determine a better service for your client.  For example, a hot stone during hot stone massage will be more tolerable over the thicker skin areas of the body which would be more tolerable to heat.  And services such as hot stone massage will require more attention in the thinner skin areas of the body, because the skin is thin and could easily be sensitive or burn to excessive heat.

Thin Skin:  Above is a diagram of thin skin in the axilla/underarm region.  Here, you can see that the outer layer of the epidermis (the stratum corneum) is much thinner than in the previous picture of thicker skin. 

You can also see there is no stratum lucidum, but there are apocrine glands (labeled #8 on the pictured diagram above) which can produce a scent or odor.  Most apocrine glands are found in the armpits, groin, and breast area.

Thick Skin:  Below is a diagram of the skin of the human palm.  Skin is regularly thicker on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.  This thick skin on the soles of the feet are what can lead to excessive dead skin and calluses. 

The thick skin of your palm is also an ideal place to hold a stone, hence the nickname of "palm stones", also known as "working" stones, which are used to perform the majority of the hot stone massage in motion.

In this image below, you can also see the stratum lucidum layer of the epidermis.  This is an additional translucent layer of skin of the epidermis that is found in few select places such as the palms of hands and soles of the feet, which helps makes the skin thicker than other areas of the body.

As such, it's common to hold hot working stones in your palms during hot stone massage.  The skin of your palm is usually thick enough to tolerate this heat. However, sticking the extremely think skin of one's finger tips into scalding water to collect stones out of a hot bath is an extremely bad idea, and could result in thermal injuries to the practitioner's fingers or any human soft tissue that is placed into close to scalding water of a hot stone bath.

_____________________

Author Selena Belisle is the Founder of CE Institute LLC in Miami FL.  She is a retired professional athlete and has been practicing massage therapy for over 30 years.  Selena is an approved CE Provider with NCBTMB & the Florida Board of Massage.  She now teaches full time for the Complementary and Alternative Health Care Industries. You can learn more about Selena’s training and CE classes at www.CeInstitute.com

#hotstonemassage #bodywork #massage #massagetherapist #lmt #massagetherapy #stonemassage #bodywork #bodyworker #hotstone #hotstonetools #properpractice #LMT #hotrock #hotrockmassage #massageontherocks

 

 

by Selena Belisle, Founder/Instructor, CE Institute LLC

Research Shows Chair Massage Reduces Anxiety

A 1996 study titled: The Effectiveness of Massage Therapy Intervention on Reducing Anxiety in the Workplace by Karen R. Shulman, Gwen E. Jones, showed chair massage can reduce anxiety:

“For 15 minutes weekly, subjects either received a massage or were allowed a break, depending on their assignment to either the treatment or control condition…Significant reductions in anxiety levels were found for the massage group.”

Corporate Onsite Chair Massage Reduces Stress

Back in 1998, the Boston Business Journal featured our onsite chair massage work on their cover with a full-color photo.  The full-color photo that mentions us is no longer available in their online archives which can be accessed here:  https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/1998/04/13/story3.html

The title of the Boston Business Journal article is:  "Massages, exercise help accountants deal with stress."

The Ease of Onsite Chair Massage

Onsite chair massage is fairly easy to execute with proper education.  In fact, after a couple events and experience, some therapists prefer these quicker sessions over private one-hour full body massage sessions.

Chair events allow practitioners to see a greater number of clients each day.  Seeing a greater number of clients allows for a greater number of positive changes with each massage session, which is extremely rewarding.

Chair massage events also lead to innumerous referrals for a greater amount of massage appointments.  Some clients will want additional massage time which can lead to another appointment, back at the office when one is provided.

LMTs who want to learn more about how to offer their own corporate onsite chair massage event, or how to practice chair massage itself can register for CE class with us at:  https://ceinstitute.com/collections/chair-massage-event-work

#LMT #chairmassage #onsite #corporate #massage #massagetherapy #massagetherapist #bodywork #bodyworker #onsitemassage #corporatemassage #onsitechairmassage #businessperks #employers #employeebenefit #painrelief #rom #increaserom #increasedrom #happy #employmentbenefit #office #officeworkers #secretarial #staff #computerjob #deskwork

 

 

 

 

by Selena Belisle, Founder/Instructor, CE Institute LLC

As evidence-based massage becomes more prevalent in the massage and bodywork industry, we've seen a growing number of LMTs dismiss an increasing number of studies due to perceived study deficiencies.  Sometimes these dismissals are for good reason, and sometimes the dismissals of research are for reasons that do not seem to be fully understood nor appreciated.  Here's some examples:

Health Care and Medicine Does Not Provide 100% Cures for All
There are no absolutes, such as any method being 100% effective in health care practices. That is just unheard of and an unreasonable expectation in the healthcare arena given human factors and variables. As such, many massage and health care studies will adopt soft language that generalizes conclusions, without absolute certainties. Expecting a study to conclude more than a generalization is arbitrary.  Massage therapists should not be seeking hard language that massage cured something, or was proven without a doubt, given the many human variables that will prevent this for the entire study population.