It is impossible to eliminate stress because it is an integral and inescapable aspect of life. It can be managed, however. By managing stress, you can prevent and treat stress-related problems in spite of stressors that may exist and thereby improve your client’s ability to function without the damaging effects of distress. In this lesson, […]
Lesson 03: Stress Management and Relaxation Read More »
Tension can be problematic as it causes pain, decreases normal range of motion, and disrupts normal muscular coordination. One of the most common symptoms of muscle tension is pain and tenderness. This occurs because the tense muscles squeeze off their blood supply, causing muscle ischemia. Because the muscles are working without adequate oxygen (i.e., anaerobic
The Trouble with Tension Read More »
We are all aware that we can use our muscles voluntarily to complete a task, for example, reaching out to pick a book off a shelf. However, we are seldom aware of the constant muscular activity underlying these voluntary movements. For example, we are aware of our arm muscles contracting as we reach up toward
The Science of Tension Read More »
Stress is first and foremost a musculoskeletal response, a primitive motor response designed to assist us with fighting or fleeing potentially harmful situations. Most people understand firsthand the effects of stress on their muscles. Think of some of the common phrases we use when describing the pressure we’re under: I feel like I’m carrying the
Lesson 02: Muscle Tension Read More »
The concept of stress is relatively new. It was developed in the 1930’s by Dr Hans Selye, a Canadian researcher. Selye stumbled upon the idea quite by accident while doing research in the area of endocrinology. Since that time the field of stress research has expanded dramatically and hundreds of thousands of articles have been
Lesson 01: What is stress? Read More »
Psychosomatic disorders are conditions in which a person’s state of mind triggers or mediates physical damage in the body. They serve as a concrete illustration of the mind-body connection whereby psychological stressors affects the function and the structure of the body in measurable ways. The types of disease that are related to stress and the
Stress and Disease Read More »
The general public doesn’t typically come to you, as a massage therapist, for rehabilitation. In a recent AMTA consumer survey, only 5% of respondents said they received a massage specifically for injury recovery or rehabilitation. Why do most clients book an appointment to see you? It’s for your superpower ability to destroy their stress, ease
Although we’ve been focusing on the negative aspects of stress, the response is not in itself bad. It is a necessary response that has ensured human survival. In fact, even in today’s relatively tame society, you would die quickly if the response were absent. The stress response prepares you to deal with situations where there
Good Stress, Bad Stress Read More »
When we think of stress, we typically think of what’s commonly called a “fight or flight” reaction that happens when immediately confronted by a stressor. But it’s important that we look at a temporal aspect of stress, that is, we need to look at the stress response over time. In this respect, we can compare
Beyond Fight or Flight Read More »
Once the brain has appraised the stressor as threatening, the stress response is triggered. The stress response is a very specific response by the body that is mediated through several pathways. Every individual reacts in the same way with the only variable being the intensity of the reaction. THE STRESS RESPONSE: Once a stressor is
The Stress Response Read More »
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