“In the shadows lurk the opportunistic seed of all the hell of our existence.” Illness and chronic injury rarely appear overnight and out of nowhere. They start small and then a sedentary lifestyle opens the doors for it to get worse. Such is the case of CVI (Chronic Venous Insufficiency)

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“In all animals great and small there is a point of ease, of minimal energy expenditure where everything just works right. That point is not at work in bad posture!” Locking your knees, rolling your shoulders forward, head sticking forward like a chicken are all examples of bad posture. They are also some of the worst harbingers of injury and bad health.

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In every article I write you will find the same close “So, stand up straight, take a deep breath, another glass of water and get a massage” followed by some clever quip. But the real reason for this is they are very important steps to maintaining and improving your health.

Stand up straight. Structurally we are designed to be erect and mobile. If you slouch to change the dynamic of how the body functions. It usually is not for the good either. Slouching causes you to rest on your diaphragm and does not allow you to breathe fully, slowing and hampering a host of vital process from maintenance to improvement. (more…)

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month the next few articles I write will be on that topic. In my research on the topic of breast cancer from a lymphatic point of view I have found several points of interest. (more…)

Where the waters flow so flows health. I have found over the course of my studies in Lymphatic Drainage that it is probably the least understood and respected part of the massage Therapy tool box. Even with the extensive training and study I have done I still only scratch the surface of the depth of its benefits to health. Case in point shoulder problems (more…)

A client asked me the other day whether or not massage could improve one’s libido. My answer is yes! Now we are not talking Viagra here. Rx’s inflict a chemical response out of the norm to produce a specific response in the body. Massage influences the body by helping it to work easier. The more relaxed you are the better “everything” works, libido included! (more…)

Relax & Heal With Gary

Massage and Bodywork as therapy

Let me tell you straight up that not all LMT’s do therapeutic or medical bodywork. While all massage has a therapeutic value, not all massage is medical therapy.

First of all Bodywork is a term for massage Therapy more commonly used by those in my profession. It tends to approach illness or injury to the body more like a mechanic. I can already hear my peers cringing at this definition. But bodywork is more along the lines of restorative work, helping the body to rebalance itself and heal as opposed to the soothing and more relaxing oriented work commonly referred to as spa massage. (more…)

In previous articles I have described the various types of massage, the difference between therapeutic massage and relaxation and how to find a LMT. But I still hear the question how does massage help “my” condition. So I will start generally with this article and go on to other illnesses and injuries with future articles.

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So many times someone starts talking about stress and it gets so complicated. Stress is really simple “old math” (no to be mistaken with what they teach now as “new math”). Now here is the obligatory description of stress. “The body over riding desire to choke the stuff out of some idiot that is making your life miserable” But how does simple math come into that saying?

It is a simple rule of math that so long as you keep adding to your number it will get larger. As it is in the complicated world of math so it is with stress. As long as you keep adding to your stress you’re going to get more stress. But here is where it gets a little complicated. People think that when you stop adding to the stress that it automatically begins to go down. NOT TRUE.

Enter (key dramatic music) the pressure cooker. That is where you have already stopped the increase of stress but now you have put a tight lid on the boiling pot of your stress. True, you’re not getting any “more” stress. But that lid is putting a whole new quality to the stress you have. Lord help the silly person who happens to be nearby when this lid blows.

Here is where the subtraction comes in. 1. Subtract the heat. The heat is your expectations of forcing an outcome (ie: the illusion of control). Do your best and let it go. You actually have as much control over it as you do the nuclear roulette being played out in the Middle East. 2. Take away some stress with a breath. No matter how busy you are. Sitting back in your chair for 5 seconds and taking a deep breath “breaks the cycle of addition” (pun intended). 3. Subtract stress by adding a massage. Most of us (me included) get so ramped up in what we are doing that we forget that calming ourselves down is a part of that cycle. We forget what it is like to be relaxed, and just “not doing anything” IS NOT relaxing (verb, not adjective). Getting a massage reminds us that “normal” is not 2 degree’s from stroking out! Regular massage can bring down the stored stress level in our bodies and help you to remember to “feel” alive again.

So, stand up straight, take a deep breath, another glass of water and get a massage. So you can add relaxation to your life.

When is a LMT NOT an LMT? When they are a prostitute of course! While I am personally rather opinionated about things (I know that will surprise you) I do not bring that to the table nor anywhere near my clients and patients. However, a recent “episode” of The View and the ridiculously ignorant, sensationalistic and blatantly stereotypical comments made by the hosts and guests has just sent my blood pressure through the roof!! I find it necessary to clear the air!

I, and every LMT I know work very hard to bring help to our clients. Anyone with any education in massage therapy has been taught that sex is not within our scope of practice and highly unprofessional. We hold ourselves to a noble example and do not cross “that” line. There are from time to time cases that pop up in the media of masseuses that cross that line. They are the exception and not the rule! You can find them on Craigslist, and even in your local yellow pages under massage. Responsible LMT’s do what they can to influence media not to associate the two together. But want of a quick buck and professional  laziness make our job more difficult. It is the irresponsible media and the recent showing of “The View” where they were discussing “EX- Vice President Al Gore’s” alleged attempts on a self described “masseuse” which led them into a vitriolic thinly rational defense of their own insecurities about massage therapy, therapists and being touched.

While I am not about to venture a guess as to innocence or guilt of either party. I would like to point out a couple things. First, touch is touch! It is the intent of that touch that makes the difference. Intent is personal. So if YOUR intent is to be sexual that will come out in your touch or in the way you perceive the touch. Inflicting your personal fantasies on a massage session is an indecent accusation on a professional. I personally take GREAT offense at this! Do women have that same fantasy about a gynecologist, or men their proctologist? Maybe, (though I doubt it) but they would be the exception. NOT the rule!

Second, length of a massage again has nothing to do with sex. THe  not so thinly veiled accusation was that anything over an hour is indecent. While 1 hour is the standard measure of time for a massage it is not unusual for therapists to work 2, 3 and 4 hours on a client to resolve an issue. Measuring honest therapy which is the rule with the exception of ignoble lust due to a measure of time is a sensationalist tactic of titillation. As a professional I can tell you that working with soft tissue goes at the speed with which the tissue opens up and not on your consideration of minutes and hours. If a client is only in town for a few hours or days and needs concentrated work then you do the best you can with the time allotted. Which goes the same for someone doing short term chair massage at an airport.  

Third, supposedly she was paid $540 for 3 hours. I don’t know what her hotel contract states for payment. While I don’t charge anywhere near that rate I am not going to assume guilt by value either. Nor would I accuse someone of something so unprofessional and reprehensible by the value of what they get paid.

Massage Therapy is a medical profession here in Florida, as it is in many other states with Licensing (Portland included). We LMT’s (Licensed Massage Therapists) do our best to provide professional services to our patients and clients in a comfortable and safe environment. Ignorant assumptions and insecurity based back room humor disguised as fact from the irresponsible media does harm to us all.

Relax and Heal With Gary Gammon LMT, LLCC