Tag Archives: shoulder

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  Can SMRT Be Used on the Arm?

  Posted on September 29, 2017 by Dawn in Arm & Hand, bodywork, Elbow, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Shoulders, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique

  Recently I spent an entire day working on arms. The first woman I worked on was a client I have seen for about the past 6 months for an ankle break that required 3 metal plates. She had a second accident and broke her proximal radius about a year ago. That required an L shaped […]

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  Can SMRT Work in Just 15 Minutes?

  Posted on September 15, 2017 by Dawn in bodywork, massage therapy, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Shoulders, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique

  I recently did several 15 minute sessions at the AMTA Convention. One of the sessions that stood out to me was a man who asked specifically for subscap work. He had been struggling with shoulder pain and tension during movement in his left shoulder for a few years. He said, “I still have full range […]

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  Using SMRT on the Shoulder

  Posted on September 1, 2017 by Dawn in Arm & Hand, bodywork, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, Shoulders, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique

  One of the student therapists in my last class asked me to look at her left shoulder. She had limited flexion and abduction. With palpation and assessment, I believed that she had a facilitated latissimus dorsi on her left side. Assessing the Shoulder As I began to work on her, most of the class gathered […]

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  Anatomy of the Elbow, Part 2

  Posted on April 3, 2013 by Dawn in Anatomy, Human Body, Muscle Pain

  Before we get into the ligaments and muscles of the elbow, I want to relate an experience I had yesterday. Recently I began to work with a fellow massage therapist. She has been booking 2-hour sessions, which is fabulous for me. The index finger on her right hand has developed some arthritis. It is swollen, stiff, and the range of motion is fairly limited. She has had these symptoms for two years! I said something to her about how she should have had it worked on before now (because massage therapists chronically do not get enough bodywork!), and she responded that she had tried a few times, but she couldn’t find a therapist that knew what to do with her arm and hand.

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• Pectoralis Release Experience

  Posted on August 8, 2012 by Dawn in Anatomy, Human Body, Muscle Pain, Questions and Answers, Self Responsibilty

  While I was on vacation in Seattle, WA recently, I taught a four hour class at Northwest Academy, the school we hope to hold a class in at the end of October. I wanted to give the students a protocol they could incorporate into their regular massage and use, but not too much because we […]

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• Symptoms of Rotator Cuff Tear

  Posted on August 15, 2011 by Dawn in Anatomy, Human Body, Muscle Pain, Physiology, Questions and Answers, Self Responsibilty

    What are the symptoms of a rotator cuff tear?  Generally, if the tear is a supraspinatus tendon tear, which most are, the symptoms begin with abduction of the arm.  Remember, supraspinatus is responsible for abduction (when the arm moves away from the side of the body) of the arm to the first 15 degrees […]

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• Stretching Shoulder

  Posted on August 12, 2011 by Dawn in Anatomy, Human Body, Muscle Pain, Physiology

  On to muscles.  Remember that muscles move bones at joints, which means that all shoulder muscles cross the shoulder joint and perform some movement or action at that joint.  Also, muscle tissue has two very distinct characteristics.  First, it has contractibility, the ability to shorten and then return to its normal.  Second, muscles have extensibility, […]

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• Anterior Lateral Shoulder

  Posted on August 12, 2011 by Dawn in Anatomy, Human Body

  Let’s talk about the shoulder.  Beginning with the lateral (outside) and anterior (front) shoulder.  I make this distinction because people will point to three different areas when talking about their shoulders.  We will begin with lateral and anterior shoulder, and we will begin at the beginning with the anatomy.  The glenohumeral (shoulder) joint is an […]

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• Shoulder DVD

  Posted on August 10, 2011 by Dawn in Anatomy, Human Body, Muscle Pain, Physiology, Questions and Answers, Self Responsibilty

  The first video we are doing is about the shoulders.  The advantage, I think, about having all of this information on video is that you will pick up what you are ready for each time you watch the video.  Unlike watching one demonstration in a class while taking written notes, the video allows you to […]

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• Rotator Cuff Tear

  Posted on August 9, 2011 by Dawn in Anatomy, Human Body, Muscle Pain, Physiology

  Before I start giving you things to do for the shoulders, there is one common injury we have to talk about – a rotator cuff tear.  Most of the exercises and/or stretches that I give you in the blog and that will be on the video will be contraindicated for a rotator cuff tear.  You […]

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