Category Archives: Articles
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Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Posted on December 15, 2020 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, bodywork, Human Body, SMRTLately I have seen a rash of clients diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome for shoulder pain. Myofascial pain syndrome is defined as a disorder in which pressure on sensitive points in the muscles causes pain in seemingly unrelated body parts. Symptoms include persistent pain or a tender muscle knot. Two years ago, I saw the […]
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Vagus Nerves and Inflammation
Posted on September 18, 2019 by Dawn in Articles, Human Body, Physiology, Questions and Answers, SMRTAlthough chronic inflammation progresses silently, it is the cause of most chronic diseases and presents a major threat to the health and longevity of individuals. Inflammation is considered a major contributor to several diseases, such as: Cardiovascular diseases Diabetes Rheumatoid Arthritis Cancer Allergic Asthma Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Alzheimers Chronic Kidney Disease Inflammatory Bowel […]
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Floating Pain
Posted on April 26, 2019 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, Back & Spine, Hips & Sacrum, Human Body, Lower Back, Lower Extremities, Lower Leg, massage therapy, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueFloating Pain I want to describe a session I recently had with you. Client’s complaint was hip and pelvic pain that “floated” into the lower back once in awhile. I started at the feet. I checked the plantar flexion and dorsiflexion in each ankle. The right ankle moved easier into plantar flexion with limited dorsiflexion. […]
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SMRT Basic Series
Posted on November 12, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, bodywork, Hips & Sacrum, massage therapy, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueSMRT Basic Series After the class I just taught, one of the students wanted to take her practical test for her full body SMRT basic series certification. The way this practical works is that I give the therapist a real issue with my body (in this case, right hip pain) and they use SMRT in […]
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Hip Girdle
Posted on October 12, 2018 by Dawn in Abdomen, Anatomy, Articles, Hips & Sacrum, Lower Back, massage therapy, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueHip Girdle I was in an airport (what else is new) after teaching a fantastic SMRT hip girdle in NY. Typically in any hip girdle class, we have a few people in class who end up with immobilizing lower back pain from having their posterior hips, sacrum, abdomen, and lower back worked. Plantar Flexion This […]
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Pectoralis Major
Posted on September 14, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, bodywork, massage therapy, Shoulders, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniquePectoralis Major Let’s talk about pectoralis major. Recently I taught an SMRT lower extremities course. During classes therapists/students finish their trades at slightly different times. There was a table in the room that finished with about 5 minutes left before I called time. The person working began to work on a tender spot their partner […]
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Erythema Nodosum
Posted on September 7, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, bodywork, Legs, Lower Leg, massage therapy, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueErythema Nodosum One of my newer clients has erythema nodosum, a condition in which any pressure through touch on the lower leg causes tender nodules in the subcutaneous fat that can take weeks to resolve. Typically this condition resolves itself in a few weeks. This client has had it for years. Her pain complaints are […]
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Thyroidectomy & Vertigo
Posted on August 31, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, Back & Spine, bodywork, Head & Neck, Hips & Sacrum, massage therapy, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, Ribs, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueThyroidectomy What happened in SMRT class in Pittsburgh? So much!! First, we had a therapist in class who had a thyroidectomy. The scar tissue in the front of her neck was pulling her chin and trachea inferior and posterior. On Saturday, we did SMRT for the anterior neck and I did some extra work on […]
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SMRT Changes
Posted on August 10, 2018 by Dawn in Articles, bodywork, Human Body, massage therapy, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Self Responsibilty, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, Testimonials and ReviewsStudent Interaction Recently I had the an interaction with a student/therapist in one of my SMRT classes about “new” bodywork. He came into class assuming that this SMRT class would be a breeze for him because he had 30 years experience and had been made to take CE classes every 2 years for license renewal. […]
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SMRT & Foot Pain
Posted on May 4, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, bodywork, Feet, massage therapy, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueFoot Pain Last week I worked on a teenage girl with foot pain. She had not had a direct injury, just foot pain. When I began, her metatarsals had extremely limited space between them and she was very tender. Mild pressure elicited a squeal of pain. SMRT allows me to get results using very light […]
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Have You Ever Worked on Someone with a Knee Replacement?
Posted on June 3, 2017 by Dawn in Articles, Knee Replacements, Knees, Legs, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, Special Issues, Special Offers, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueHave you ever worked on someone with a knee replacement? I’m full body trained in SMRT, so I know how to work on a knee. From the bones to the most superficial tissues, I got this! But what do you do when ligaments have been removed? When muscles have been cut and tendons stretched? When […]
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Manual Therapy for the Anterior Neck
Posted on May 26, 2016 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, Head & Neck, Human Body, Physiology, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueRecently I read an article about a woman suing a massage therapist and Massage Envy. The woman believes that the massage therapist was aggressive enough on her anterior neck that it lead to a stroke. I do not know if this is possible, but I do not know that it is impossible. Since that article […]
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Ashley’s Story
Posted on May 26, 2016 by Dawn in Arm & Hand, Articles, bodywork, ShouldersFor many years I have been doing private internships with my SMRT students. Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the day working with Ashley and her clients. We had several dramatic changes in people’s pain and alignment throughout the day, including a woman whose entire face looked different and a woman whose full body […]
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Pelvic Floor Damage in Childbirth
Posted on March 17, 2016 by Dawn in Articles, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, Trouble UrinatingBy Dawn Lewis A recent experience has me wondering about women’s health. Three weeks ago, in an SMRT class I was teaching in Tucson, I had an experience with a young woman I will call Ayla. Throughout the first day of class, I could hear Ayla telling her partner that she was uncomfortable and that […]
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An Assessment of the Shoulder
Posted on November 27, 2015 by Dawn in Articles, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Shoulders, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueBy Dawn Lewis One of my teaching assistants recently asked me how to alleviate tension deep in the shoulder. The tension he is talking about is high up in the shoulder and posterior, between the inferior belly of omohyoid and the levator scapulae. He believes it is the upper posterior fibers of serratus anterior, […]
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Tibialis Posterior and Foot Dysfunction
Posted on November 3, 2015 by Dawn in Articles, Feet, Knees, Legs, Lower Extremities, Lower Leg, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, NCBTMB approved continuing education, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueBy Dawn Lewis Tibialis posterior is located deep in the posterior compartment of the lower leg. It originates from the lateral side of the posterior tibia, the medial aspect of the posterior fibula, and the interosseous membrane between the tibia and the fibula. It inserts on the plantar surface of four of the tarsal bones […]
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The Iliotibial Band
Posted on August 3, 2015 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, Legs, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueBy Dawn Lewis What do we know about the iliotibial band? It is a thick band of fibers that originates at the anterior superior iliac spine and the anterior aspect of the inferior lip of the iliac crest, and inserts on the lateral condyle of the tibia and Gerdy’s tubercle (which is slightly distal and […]
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Research on Craniosacral Therapy
Posted on July 27, 2015 by Dawn in Articles, PhysiologyHere is an interesting blog post from the Upledger Institute by Tim Hutton Ph.D., CST-D. on recent research on CSF and the Upledger Pressurestat Model. https://www.facebook.com/notes/upledger-institute-craniosacral-therapy-study-group/a-comment-from-tim-hutton-phd-cst-d-recent-researchon-csf-and-the-upledger-pres/10151575767747856
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The Posterior Sling
Posted on May 4, 2015 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, Back & Spine, Elbow, Feet, Knees, Legs, Lower Back, Lower Leg, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Physiology, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueBy Dawn Lewis The posterior sling is comprised of the latissimus dorsi muscle on one side of the body, the ipsilateral or same side thoracolumbar fascia and then transferring to the opposite side or contralateral thoracolumbar fascia and the opposite side gluteus maximus. We will explore the implications of this in 3 ways: 1) Latissimus […]
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Massage Therapists: Business Owner or Employee?
Posted on November 5, 2014 by Dawn in Articles, massage therapyBy Dawn Lewis Many years ago while teaching an ethics course at my massage therapy school the students and I got into an interesting discussion. One woman, we will call her Kay, said that her intention was to obtain a job at a spa in our area (Full Circle was originally a massage school in […]
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