South China Morning Post - Friday, June 30, 2006

INDULGE Edited by Suzanne Harrison

Hour of knead

Not all massages are created equal. And as Karen Pittar and Tara Jenkins find out, clinical massage can be beneficial for anyone who wants a healthier body.

When 49-year-old M. J. Jennings was invited to a pole-dancing night with the girls, she thought the worst she’d wake up with next morning was a hangover. But instead of a throbbing head, she had a searing, needle-like pain in the shoulder.

“I couldn’t lift my arm higher than my shoulder, and as time went on, it got worse,” she says. “I couldn’t push open a sliding door or open a cupboard. I couldn’t put my luggage in the overhead locker on planes. I couldn’t even do up my bra because of the sharp pain from putting my wrist behind my back.”

The diagnosis of adhesive capsulitis – a condition that restricts the motion of the shoulder joint, and is commonly know as frozen shoulder – was devastating. Jennings was told that rehabilitation would take about 12 months. “Sometimes I got depressed. It’s tough when you can’t move your arm. When I was in those low places I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry because it hurt so much.”

Instead of using drugs or cortisone injections to stave off the pain, Jennings found relief through professional massage therapy, which is different from what’s offered in many day spas.

It’s a combination of different types of massage, including clinical, sports and relaxation. Therapists take a medical approach, assessing each client and tailoring treatment accordingly. Practitioners can train for up to two years to be certified by recognized groups.

“Massage therapy is a hands-on manipulation of the soft tissues of the body specifically the muscle, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and joints,” says Canadian-trained Jenny Woolsey, director of the Sutherland-Chan Centre in Central and registered with the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario. “It has a therapeutic effect on the body, and improves health and well-being by acting on the muscular, nervous and circulatory systems,” Woolsey says. “It recharges your energy, improves circulation, releases tension points and stimulates the body’s natural healing powers.”

She says it can also be used successfully in conjunction with physiotherapy. “If you have an ankle sprain, a physiotherapist will help you work on the joint, whereas a massage therapist will help with the scar tissue and the relief of muscle spasm.”

Jennings says Woolsey sent her to a medical specialist to ensure there was no skeletal damage. The centre’s therapists then manipulated her shoulder blade to give her back mobility, and combined to regular massage and hot gel packs with home-based exercises.

“I had regular massages, but I was also given reassurance and empathy,” Jennings says. “They told me it was going to hurt, but they reassured me there was nothing skeletally wrong and that they would make it better. I believe that without this I would have had limited mobility for the rest of my life.”

Family doctor Kath Reynolds says massage can help with injuries and chronic conditions, but should be used as part of an overall approach. “Most practitioners of any stream cannot do all of the above by themselves,” Reynolds says. “Medical treatment is only a part of good care – a team approach is required. I don’t think you always need to see a doctor before a sports massage. But if you have an undiagnosed problem, or it’s not improving in a reasonable time – despite massage or other treatment – then the original diagnosis may need to be reassessed. It may be a problem of referred pain from another site, which can be deceptive.”

Reynolds says that those who have sought medical help or have stress-related problems are better off with clinical massage than spa treatments. “These types of massage focus on the mechanics of the body as opposed to a routine taught n a beauty college. If you want lasting therapeutic benefits from massage it has to be more than just a rubdown.”

Caroline Rhodes, a physiotherapist with the Body Group in Central, says that’s why they offer specialized massages designed to solve specific problems. This includes trigger-point release, developed by Lawrence Hones from the US to release muscle spasms.

Unlike the usual relaxation treatment, this entails shortening the muscle fibres fro 90 seconds. “This allows the nerves going to the muscle to cease firing and will stop the contraction,” Rhodes says. “These spasms are at the spinal cord level and not at the conscious level.”

She says it’s effective for someone who has tightness in one area, but doesn’t know why – and stretching or relaxing isn’t working or only provides short-term relief. “There can be dramatic changes in the way a person may use a muscle or joint, or the way they move or stand.”

Practitioners such as Woolsey say that professional massage therapy can also help with serious illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s through to everyday conditions such as asthma, constipation and insomnia.

For 37-year-old Karen Griffin, it’s these irritating everyday problems where massage therapy can make a real difference. “I suffer from TMJ (temporomandibular joint) dysfunction, which basically means I grind my teeth at night,” Griffin says. “This gives me significant jaw and neck ache, and ultimately, headaches.

“It was a hot, muggy day and I’d had a headache from early morning. As soon as the therapist started to work on the base of my skull, the headache disappeared. Apparently I have a slight curvature of the spine, which means I favour my right side. The therapist honed in on the relevant areas of my body and explained what she was doing.

“It certainly wasn’t a spa experience. There was no whale music, candles or aromatherapy oils, just a confident and clinical massage that left me feeling energized and pain-free.”

Woolsey says that, unfortunately most masseuses at spas and salons are taught a formula that they then routinely apply to every client.

To get to the root of each individual’s problem, therapists must have an intimate understanding of the physiology of the muscles, something Woolsey says she feels is lacking in Hong Kong.

“Everyone who gets onto the massage table has a problem. People think they simply want a relaxation massage, but when you begin asking questions they way they have knot in their shoulder, lower back pain, or a headache.

“A therapeutic massage means you’ll get more thorough treatment tailored to the specific area you want to relax.”

Jennings agrees. “We can all go to a slap-your-back massage sauna,” she says. “But when it comes to remedial work I wanted somebody with a qualified background. It’s been 10 months now, and I am almost ready to go for another pole-dancing lesson.”

FLEX YOUR MUSCLES

Jenny Woolsey, a massage therapist with and director of the Sutherland-Chan Centre, has the following advice to keep your muscles healthy during the hot summer months:

• Stretch

Stretching can reduce muscle tension and make the body feel more relaxed, preventing injury and making strenuous activity easier. It helps maintain flexibility, and aids co-ordination by allowing freer and easier movement. Stretch in the morning, at work to release nervous tension, or after standing for a long time.

• Stay Hydrated

Water is second only to oxygen as essential for life, and most people don’t drink enough. The body’s signal of dehydration are frequent joint pain, stomach pain, and ulcers, back pain, low energy and disorientation. The more your exercise the more you need. Drink at least eight glasses a day.

• Gentle exercise

Try to schedule a daily workout at the local gym or pool. If this isn’t possible, then walk a few blocks instead of taking a taxi. You can even burn calories while shopping: walk up escalators instead of standing still, and use stairs instead of lifts. Plan physical activities whenever you can.

• Regular massage therapy

You don’t have to be sick or injured to benefit from massage therapy. It can be a powerful part of your ongoing health-care regimen.

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