Category Archives: Special Issues
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Massage Therapy for Sinus Trouble
Posted on April 14, 2019 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, Head & Neck, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Sinus Trouble, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueHeadaches, Watery Eyes, Pressure, Pain One morning recently, I had a massage session at 7 am for an hour and a half. This particular client began to see me for sinus issues. He had 2 sinus surgeries. When I began to see him, he suffered from constant headaches, his left eye watered constantly, he felt […]
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A Mean Headache
Posted on December 26, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, Elbow, Head & Neck, Human Body, massage therapy, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, NCBTMB approved continuing education, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, Tennis ElbowA Mean Headache A client this week presented with “a mean headache”. She said that it began in the suboccipital area, and traveled up the back of her head. It landed at her right temple. Her right eye hurt, and she said, “her jaw felt weak” and she had an uncontrollable urge to swallow. Palpation […]
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Pelvic Floor Scarring
Posted on October 5, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, massage therapy, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, Trouble UrinatingPelvic Floor Scarring I am on my way to Albany to teach SMRT: hips, lower back, and abdomen. As I think about this class, I am reminded of a therapist who took this class several years ago. She had a 3-year-old son. Since giving birth, and having tearing in her pelvic floor, she had only […]
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Cold & Sinus Problems
Posted on May 11, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, Head & Neck, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Sinus Trouble, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueCold & Sinus Problems I did the coolest thing on a client today. The client came in having had a cold and a sinus infection for a few weeks. The sinus infection had cleared with the antibiotics, but she still had an airy cough. My first thought when I hear this is that anterior scalene […]
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Lower Back Pain
Posted on April 13, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, Feet, Lower Back, massage therapy, Muscle Pain, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueLower Back Pain A few weeks ago a new client came to me with a complaint of lower back pain. This was not chronic. He had only developed it about a month before, but it was severe enough that he had gone to the doctor and gotten imaging, which did not show the cause of […]
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SMRT & Neck Pain
Posted on March 16, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, Head & Neck, massage therapy, Muscle Pain, NCBTMB approved continuing education, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, Trauma Stored in BodyNeck Pain Recently I worked on a man who told me he had his neck “wired together” about 25 years ago. I think he was talking about a surgery in which they create spinal stabilization by wiring the posterior cervical vertebrae together after trauma. This man was in horrible pain. His ROM in both rotation […]
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Working SMRT on the Axillary
Posted on January 5, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Back & Spine, bodywork, Head & Neck, massage therapy, Questions and Answers, Ribs, Sinus Trouble, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueRelieving Chest Pressure the SMRT Way I had some SMRT work done yesterday. I got sick on December 3rd. It was a strong virus that attacked my sinuses first, quickly traveled into my throat, and eventually landed in my lungs. By the fourth day, the cough began and I coughed until my entire body hurt. […]
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SMRT Can Help Pinched Nerves
Posted on October 27, 2017 by Dawn in Head & Neck, Hips & Sacrum, massage therapy, Muscle Pain, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Questions and Answers, Ribs, SMRTOne of my new clients is a very muscular police detective who had pinched nerve or a nerve impingement at the base of his neck. I think he was shocked when I began by assessing his rib cage. His left rib cage was shifted to the right and his entire rib cage was rotated to […]
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Will SMRT Work Where Deep Work is Contraindicated?
Posted on August 25, 2017 by Dawn in Anatomy, Head & Neck, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Special Issues, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueA new client of mine is a woman who had throat cancer and had 6 lymph nodes removed from her neck. She was sent to a physical therapist after the surgery to teach her to do lymphatic drainage on herself and to receive this treatment. The physical therapist told her that her scars were creating […]
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SMRT and the Lower Extremities
Posted on August 11, 2017 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, Feet, Hips & Sacrum, Knees, Legs, Lower Leg, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, SMRT, Special Issues, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueOne of my regulars presented a few weeks back with pain in her right hip. She pointed to the pain in the right hip and pointed out the pain as I worked on that hip. I only spent a few minute on the hip before I moved to her left knee, lower leg, & foot. […]
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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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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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SMRT for Chronic Rib Pain
Posted on March 17, 2016 by Dawn in Muscle Pain, Ribs, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, Testimonials and ReviewsWhile in Austin, TX I met a 36-year-old woman who was in an intense amount of pain in her left chest and breast. Apparently she had been this way for about 5 years. She had seen many doctors and therapists, had many tests, and still had no idea why she was in pain. I want […]
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Effective Deep Pressure Massage
Posted on November 3, 2015 by Dawn in massage therapy, Muscle Pain, Questions and Answers, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueYesterday I saw a new client, an acupuncturist who used to play a lot of soccer. She is having neuralgia in her hands and fingers, as well as neck, shoulder, and upper back pain. She has seen numerous massage therapists and receives consistent acupuncture treatments. She absolutely loved the SMRT work, which I did […]
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Head bones and Tension Headaches
Posted on July 20, 2015 by Dawn in Head & Neck, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, WhiplashIn the past, I have written a lot about the neck and why it is important to release the anterior neck to decrease tension in the suboccipital muscles. This time I would like to talk to you about why you want to take a class on working with the head. The relationship between the individual […]
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Whiplash and Neck Pain
Posted on February 20, 2015 by Dawn in Head & Neck, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, WhiplashA client I have not seen for a couple of months came in last week. He has taken up Jiu Jitsu and had pain all over his body, but his main complaint was a shooting pain at the base of his skull on the left that was sending numbness and tingling down the left side […]
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SMRT for Sprained Ankles
Posted on February 20, 2015 by Dawn in Lower Leg, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, Muscle Pain, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueA twelve year old girl was in my office a few days ago with a sprained left ankle from cheerleading. Her inflammation was mild, but she was in a lot of pain. Her inflammation was mostly on the dorsal lateral aspect of the foot over the cuboid, and that is where the pain was […]
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Unblocking the Sinuses
Posted on January 27, 2015 by Dawn in Head & Neck, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Sinus Trouble, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueBy Dawn Lewis Sinus work is something I get asked to do quite a bit at this time of year, 3 times in the past week as a matter of fact. Yesterday a client that I have been seeing for just over a year asked me if I could do anything with her sinuses. I […]
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Muscle Attachments and Lower Back Pain
Posted on January 6, 2015 by Dawn in Anatomy, Back & Spine, Hips & Sacrum, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, Muscle Pain, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueLast week I had a new client come in for low back pain. During the intake she told me that she had been having chiropractic adjustments and ultrasound on her lower back for several weeks and it did not seem to be helping at all. I was watching her as I was listening to […]
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Massage Therapist Self-Care — Restore Yourself!
Posted on November 20, 2014 by Dawn in Massage Therapist Self-Care, Questions and AnswersI am bound and determined to break myself. That is my conclusion after the third time I bump my right elbow (read: olecranon process) on a variety of things. The other thing that has happened seven times just this week is that I have rammed some part of my right foot into chairs, walls, […]
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