Archive for August, 2007
August 26, 2007 at 11:21 am · Filed under Rheumatoid Arthritis, Arthritis, Health
 |
|
stock photo |
|
If you have weird sounding knees, this article may explain why that happens. Read on…
Often patients will come to the office complaining their knees crack, or pop or snap. If your knees sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies, there are a number of possibilities.
Popping in the knees can occur at any age. Even young people will sometimes describe a popping sound with certain movements. Young women who present with this symptom along with some dull aching in the front of the knee usually have a condition called chondromalacia patella. This is a condition where the cartilage behind the kneecap softens. Usually this problem responds to conservative measures such as exercises, medications, and physical therapy.
read more
Original post by is_Staff
August 17, 2007 at 4:24 pm · Filed under Mind, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Arthritis, Health, Fibromyalgia
 |
|
stock photo |
|
[Best Syndication] Researchers found that being chronically stressed in a negative way is bad for your health, and can help increase inflammation along with having an increased risk for developing a central nervous system infection or a neurodegenerative disease. The researchers found inflammation of the central nervous system was promoted by chronic stress and was a measurable and potential cause of multiple sclerosis (MS) in an animal model study. The study results were presented at the 115th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA).
Researchers from Texas A & M University studied mice and the role of social stress had of the animal’s immune system in creating MS disease or similar neurological inflammation symptoms. The researchers believe that the stress causes an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines. These cytokines are proteins that help to regulate the immune system and inflammatory response. The cytokines can cause inflammation process to go overboard. Combine this with a viral infection and this creates an increased risk for developing a nervous system infection or a neurodegenerative disease such as MS.
read more
Original post by Mark Barone
August 12, 2007 at 6:43 pm · Filed under massage
So, the official one-year of professional practice mark has come and gone for me, with little fan fare. However, the one-year mark is a great time for me to re-assess where I am now and where I would like to be, professionally speaking, over the next while.
As I’ve mentioned before, my first RMT position was taking over the practice of another therapist who was moving out of town. This meant that I had the chance to retain some of her client list as my own clients. As is to be expected, some stuck with me, and some chose not to for a variety of reasons; any therapist taking over someone else’s client list will experience the same thing. I have also gained a good number of new clients who were not part of the other therapist’s practice, and the number of new clients on my list is growing by the week. All this adds up to mean that I have a good base to my practice. I never have a week with no bookings, and I have a decent stream of regulars in my schedule. For this I am very thankful, and I appreciate all the wonderful people I have met over the last year.
However, something didn’t seem quite right. I’d have a few weeks where I’d be booked quite solidly, and then several weeks where bookings dropped off to only 1 or 2 per day. I’ve always known that is the ebb and flow of a massage therapy business, and that it is to be expected. But something still didn’t add up for me. If I have a steady number of clients coming in, why are my bookings all over the place?
This past week I sat down with my client list and looked at how people are booking. I looked at two major things: how often people are booking, and what time of day they are booking.
With the time of day, I found what I had already known: I get a lot more bookings between 4 and 7 pm, although I do have a number who book when they have a day off or who work an irregular schedule. So I do have some who book in the morning or early afternoon, but they are certainly in the minority. Not surprising in a town where government and high tech are two key employers, which means there are a lot of ‘9-5′ workers.
As for how often people book, I found that the vast majority of my clients either book in to see me once per month or book when they feel like a massage, not with any regular pattern. Now, both of these situations are very typical of massage therapy clients. Many would like to come more often, but either they have no insurance coverage, or their coverage only allows for one ‘maintenance massage’ each month. Of course I completely understand that people need to do what is affordable for them, and I’m always happy to do my best to work my treatment plan around that. But what I didn’t realize is that I had very few bi-weekly or weekly client bookings!
I can now look at my books a bit more critically and look at ways to attract more people who can have massages more often, or people who are able to come during the day. For those of you wondering how to get more clients in the door, I recommend doing a client list assessment of your own practice. You will probably learn something you didn’t realize about your own clients’ pattern of rebooking, which will help you plan where to focus your marketing efforts. I know I did!
Original post by Candice
August 10, 2007 at 10:36 pm · Filed under funny, massage
I don’t know about the rest of the massage therapists reading this, but I’m certainly not capable of doing kneading and flapping at the same time. Also, I’m pretty sure kocking is way out of my scope of practice. 
Original post by Candice
August 8, 2007 at 4:22 pm · Filed under massage
I had originally planned to have my home study done by the end of July. However, life interrupted (as it tends to do!) and while I’d completed the reading and the test, I hadn’t completed any of the 5 required ‘practice massages’ until a few weeks ago.
Verdict? Learning this technique on your own is doable for sure, but I do agree that you need a bit of practice before unleashing your technique on the general public. I had no problems with the actual massage part, but I do have to practice getting the stones in and out of the heater quickly and efficiently, and also keeping it at a good temperature so the stones don’t cool off too much on you. Otherwise I’m having fun with the technique and would recommend learning it to others. It’s different than my usual massage style (if I can call it that), which is part of the reason I like it.
If you’re in Ontario, there are a few companies that offer home study Hot Stone Massage courses, including The Stone Massage Company (where I got my own course materials) and Stone Waters.
Original post by Candice
August 7, 2007 at 3:37 pm · Filed under Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Health
 |
|
Youhai Chen |
|
(Best Syndication) Pennsylvania researchers have discovered a key regulator protein called Bcl-3 which helps the body control the inflammation response to infections. The protein does this by interfering with a critical biochemical process called ubiquitination. Previous studies found that Bcl-3 plays a role in immunity, but this is the first research to suggest it regulates inflammation by blocking ubiquitination.
Diabetes, sepsis, and rheumatoid arthritis could be treated in the future by gene therapy. “The novelty of our study is the discovery that Bcl-3 acting on gene expression has a profound effect on inflammation,” according to Ruaidhri Carmody, PhD, Senior Research Investigator in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and first author of the Science paper.
read more
Original post by Jeffrey Workman
August 6, 2007 at 11:07 am · Filed under Food and Nutrition, AIDS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Arthritis
 |
|
stock photo |
|
Living with arthritis can be a very difficult challenge. Every movement hurts, from sitting down, to standing up to just walking across the room, you just can’t seem to be able to live comfortably. If you have problems with arthritis, try flaxseed oil. Studies have shown that flaxseed oil may help relieve the pain from arthritis. You may find yourself asking, why would I want to try flaxseed oil if I can get on prescription drugs? Some people don’t have the option of taking prescriptions, however, and others would rather use natural products to help relieve their arthritis pain. The thing you have to keep in mind is that flaxseed is natural and it doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars as many prescriptions do. The only drawback is that all natural ingredients such as flaxseed aren’t covered by insurance so you have to weigh the good and the bad before taking flaxseed oil for your arthritis pain.
Not Covered By Insurance
read more
Original post by is_Staff
