Pain Between The Shoulder Blades And Massage Therapy

Pain between the shoulder blades, called Interscapular Pain, is never pleasant and can lead to frustration while trying to relieve it. Massage Therapy and Bodywork are very effective in treating Interscapular Pain arising from musculoskeletal issues. In my San Antonio, Texas based Massage Therapy and Bodywork practice I often treat Interscapular Pain. Like many painful conditions Interscapular Pain responds quite well to massage therapy and bodywork.

What is Interscapular Pain?

Interscapular Pain is pain felt between the shoulder blades (scapula). The pain may be felt all across the area between the two shoulder blades but is very often felt only on one side between the shoulder blade and spine.

What is the cause of Interscapular Pain?

There are a number of possible causes for Interscapular Pain including:
- Direct trauma to the area from impacts.
- Cervical Acceleration/Deceleration (whiplash) injury affecting the lower neck and upper back area from motor vehicle accidents or sports injuries.
- Overwork or injury to the upper back’s paraspinal muscles or shoulder muscles such as the rhomboids or serratus anterior. The overwork/injury of muscles in the area can come from excessive or improper exercise, occupationally based repetitive stress, or even postural disorders like Upper Crossed Syndrome.
- Slight displacement of the joints between the ribs and vertebra. This is actually quite common and often the displaced ribs are mistakenly believed to be muscular knots.

Massage Therapy and Bodywork for Interscapular Pain

There are many ways that massage therapy and bodywork can be used to treat Interscapular Pain. The massage therapist may employ a number of techniques to relieve the condition. For example the massage therapist may use Neuromuscular Therapy or Trigger Point Therapy to eliminate myofascial trigger points in the muscles of the area including paraspinal muscles, lower neck muscles, and shoulder muscles. The massage therapist could also use Myofascial Release techniques or Deep Tissue Massage techniques to release adhesions between the muscles and surrounding tissues. Positional Release therapies such as Ortho-Bionomy and Strain-Counterstrain may also be used to encourage the body's nervous system to release muscles and improve joint movement of the shoulder, ribs and vertebrae in the area. Additionally the massage therapist might use Myoskeletal Alignment Therapy* to gently encourage movement of painful joints. Comprehensive treatment with massage and bodywork, in conjunction with a home program of stretching and gentle exercise, usually helps to completely resolve Interscapular Pain.

Other Treatments for Interscapular Pain

While massage therapy and bodywork are an excellent treatment for Interscapular Pain there are other treatments you should discuss with your physician:

Chiropractic or Osteopathic Adjustment
Anti-inflammatory & pain medications (NSAIDS)
Ultrasound
Therapeutic Exercise

The information on this page has been provided for information purposes only. It is not meant to provide a medical diagnosis, only a licensed physician may diagnose Interscapular Pain. If you feel that you have the symptoms of Interscapular Pain please see your physician for a proper diagnosis and plan of treatment which may include massage therapy and bodywork. There are a number of serious conditions that seem similar to Interscapular Pain caused by muscular issues that could require immediate medical attention.

If, after consulting your physician, you would like to pursue treatment of Interscapular Pain with Massage Therapy and Bodywork please contact me at my San Antonio Massage and Bodywork practice, Massage By Ben at 210-269-3314 or contact a Massage Therapist near you.

*Myoskeletal Alignment Therapy is a non-forceful, soft-tissue based system of body therapy. It is not a Chiropractic or Osteopathic adjustment system.

Follow Me On Twitter - Get Really Cool Massage Specials

No doubt you've heard of Twitter. Maybe you even tweet. For those of you that have no idea what Twitter is, here's a primer. Twitter.com offers free accounts that allow you to create short, 140 character, entries in a blog-like format. The messages are visible to the public and can be sent from any internet connected computer or even a text capable mobile phone. Well, now you can use that free service to save you some money on Massage.

Follow me on Twitter and starting June 1st (maybe sooner) I'll start offering massage specials via Twitter. How cool is that? These specials will be placed by tweet (twitter message) and will be available only for a short time...so you need to pay attention. There are a few ways to see these money saving massage tweets. First, you can stay on this blog where you'll see the tweets in the right hand column section called "My Updates". The "My Updates" block automatically updates each time I tweet. You could also go to my Twitter page that I use exclusively for massage tweets www.twitter.com/ibenunot which is also where you can sign up for a Twitter account, start following me, or read the massage tweets. That's really the best way. But, you could also read the massage tweets on my main website MassageByBen.com in the "About Us" section.

How Often Should You Get Massage?

The question of how often to get massage therapy and bodywork in San Antonio comes up quite often. As a Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Neuromuscular Therapist, and Certified Advanced Myoskeletal Therapist I've formed some general conclusions over the past 10 years of practice. These are just examples - your individual condition and goals may lead you and your massage therapist to come to different conclusions about the frequency of massage for you.

Massage for General Health and Relaxation

For general health and relaxation I recommend massage 1-2 times per month for people under light to moderate stress. This would also include people who are sedentary or who exercise only occasionally. Receiving massage therapy once or twice per month can have excellent health benefits and help reduce the effects of stress.

Massage for Stress Management

For people who have high-stress occupations or living conditions, or who travel frequently, I recommend a higher frequency of massage therapy - weekly or bi-weekly. In this case, massage therapy helps the individual in coping with their stress. Tension builds up from stressful situations can be more easily managed with weekly massage. Additionally, just knowing that you will be receiving massage therapy each week or every-other-week can be very comforting.

Massage Therapy for Pain Reduction and Management

Reduction of, and management of, pain requires a different type of frequency. I call it a "diminishing frequency". People in severe pain not requiring medical intervention can and do receive massage therapy 1-2 times per week in the first week. Although rare, this may continue in the second and third week of treatment depending upon response of the client to the massage therapy. When the pain is reduced so is the frequency of massage therapy. At first it may be reduced to once per week, then every other week or less often. Even chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia, lupus, carpal tunnel syndrome, tmj-d, sciatica, headaches and migraines, and chronic low back pain can have a diminishing frequency. This type of diminishing frequency is typically used with Neuromuscular Therapy, Ortho-Bionomy, Medical Massage, and Myofascial Release which are powerful massage methods for relieving pain.

Massage Therapy for Athletes

For Athletes the frequency of massage therapy depends on the sport, training schedules, and athletic goals.

If you'd like to discuss the optimal frequency of massage therapy for you, or if you'd like to schedule a massage session please call 210-269-3314

Can Massage Therapy Stimulate The Economy?

It's a simple question...Can Massage Therapy Stimulate The Economy? I say, Yes it can! I know it sounds strange but it's true. If you get a massage you're helping the economy more than everyone in the government combined. How? Read on.

The economy of this country, or any other country, depends on people spending money rather than holding on to it or saving it. So, when you buy a massage session for yourself the money spent enters the economy. You pay the Massage Therapist then the Massage Therapist in turn spends the money in other establishments. The money you paid for a massage is spent over and over...stimulating the economy. Isn't that cool? By getting a massage you're helping your country's economy and by extension, all American citizens. You...are an economic force to be reckoned with.

So, getting a massage isn't just a great way to relax, de-stress, and relieve muscular aches....it's kinda like your civic duty. And, you want to do your duty...right?

What Is Shiatsu Massage?

Guest Contributor: Tony Edwards

There are a multitude of massage techniques. Knowing what a massage technique is or what it can do for you is sometimes confusing. One of the more popular massage techniques is Shiatsu massage. We will see what it is and how it works.

Shiatsu derives from both the ancient healing art of acupuncture and from the traditional form of Japanese massage, amma. It is a Japanese word: "shi" meaning finger, and "atsu" meaning pressure and is based on acupressure. It can be likened to acupuncture without needles - using finger and thumb pressure instead. This type of massage can be done through light clothes or directly on the skin.

Shiatsu balances the body's QI (energy, or life force) to keep your body's systems in perfect harmony. The goal of each of the different types of Shiatsu being practiced, Zen shiatsu, tsubo point therapy, shiatsu massage, and water shiatsu "watsu", is balancing energy flow. It can also stimulate the healing of specific injuries and improve symptoms of poor health such as chronic pain, soreness, stress, insomnia and other conditions that are not effectively treated by Western medical practices.

In shiatsu therapy, practitioners can promote the prevention and recovery of illnesses by stimulating the immune system and natural healing power that people already possess without treating a specific problem. Treating the body as a whole, so they say, helps to restore the physical functions of the nervous system, circulatory system, bone structure, muscles, and internal secretion and stimulates the whole of the mind and body to find harmony. Skilled practitioners can contribute considerably to regional health and medical treatments.

This type of massage can help you if you experience any of the following conditions: anxiety, stress, jet lag, back pain, sciatica, neck and shoulder tension, headaches, insomnia, depression, digestive disorders, PMT or low energy levels. It can be very helpful for postural and muscular-skeletal problems and stress related conditions. This massage method can be beneficial for people of all ages from infant to elderly. It can also help to create improved body awareness and ease childbirth. The mother, birth partner or midwife can also use the massage in labor.

Zen Shiatsu teaches that the abdomen reflects conditions of health and un-health in the body and that we can influence our health directly by massaging and self-massaging our abdomen (self-hara). Self-Hara is part of Do-In, a self-therapy that involves principles of self-massage. In the practice, each person is primarily responsible for his or her own health and well-being and immunity towards all disease.

Barefoot shiatsu includes walking on the person's back, leg, and feet, are commonly practiced. It also uses techniques such as rolling, brushing, vibrating, grasping and in one particular technique developed by Suzuki Yamamoto, pressure is applied with the feet on the persons back, legs and feet (special set up is required for the "foot" Ashiatsu). Thai similar to acupressure and shiatsu combined with stretch movements and yoga positions.

Watsu is the combination of hydrotherapy and shiatsu developed by Harold Dull. The work entails much movement in the water and practitioners believe that it incorporates the activation of the energy lines derived from shiatsu.

Early on, George Balanchine, Ivan Nagy, Martha Graham and many other dancers experienced regular shiatsu sessions to relieve their pains and restore and maintain their vitality. It is well known that Liza Minnelli and Henry Kissinger have received this type of massage treatments to promote and maintain good health.

Massage Therapy can be relaxing and extremely beneficial for your health. If you are interested in massage therapy as a profession or you are a massage therapist and want to increase your business, you can find out how at http://amenmassage.kteweb.com/