Silly Stuff Massage therapist say from Myths and still say

Yes I have been down this road before and yes I have said/taught some of these things however as science and evidence starts to dispel these I now teach differently ebp as all Massage teachers and Schools should. Sadly they will not and sadly they are still being taught and must stop both from Authors of Text books to Teachers who still believe these myths . Below are a list of some of these and my thoughts .

Myths of massage
Some of these myths are very common and I have heard about them from massage therapists from around this country and others. Some are local as well…

Massage removes toxins from the muscles—- nope not true
Lactic acid is responsible for DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)—- nope not true
Massage can get rid of cellulite — If it did I would be a rich man …
It is contraindicated to massage a person who has cancer (or had cancer).. the belief is we can spread cancer ..ugh not true…
If you massage a person who has consumed alcohol, it will increase the effects and make them more intoxicated… nope
You can strengthen muscles by performing tapotement… why go to the gym ?
You can straighten a scoliosis by doing tapotement on the weak side and stretching on the tight side…. plain silly thinking here ..
Manual Lymph Drainage causes the lymphatic channels to collapse for 20 minutes so you cannot do any other manipulations after MLD… only taught by Gurus
You should never do more than 3 trigger point releases in a treatment (no reason stated for this one – it was just stated as a fact)… again by Gurus
Ischemic compression for trigger point release should be done as deep as possible…. no comment
Only deep massage is therapeutically effective – as deep as possible. Lighter massage is just for relaxation…. they seem not to understand the Central nervous system and its relationship to human movement
You should not massage pregnant women during the first trimester…  people are afraid of lawsuits is why this is taught…
You should not massage the feet and ankles of a pregnant woman as it may cause her to miscarry….We are not that powerful  This goes for Reflexology people as well..
Drinking lots of water flushes toxins out of the system ..  People need to listen to Laura Allen speech… I  encourage the client to drink water after a massage because it taste good …
You cannot massage a person who has “high blood pressure” – no words
You must massage toward the heart or you could damage the heart valves….old wives tale
It is contraindicated to massage pitted edema…. that one is still debatable
You can only do ischemic compression for one minute – after that the muscle will die, or something. egads this one is just silly….

Some extra Health myths.
Vaccinations / vaccine can cause autism…
You need Alternative health remedies are  to “detoxify” the liver. Guess what the liver does not need any help .

Archives

SOHMAR © 2012 - 515 Ogden Ave, Suite 300, Downers Grove, IL 60515 • 630-968-7827