about me Penny has been practising massage since 1987 and Herbal Medicine since 1996. She has also taught massage since 1989. Penny's commitment to you is to make a difference to your health and wellbeing.

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Massage and herbal medicine news
Issue: February 2013

Happy New Year to everyone. Time to get back into the groove workwise, healthwise and tackle other projects put on the back burner from last year. The topics of  this newsletter are detoxification programmes for the New Year, a health project to improve your energy and immune system amongst other health issues and  the use of trigger point therapy for treating shoulder pain. 

Create a healthy start for 2013

Detoxification programs

Xmas has passed and so has Australia Day. Over Xmas most of us have over indulged on more rich food and alcohol than normal. So some of us look into getting fitter in terms of losing weght , general fitness or maybe internal fitness? So what is internal fitness you may ask? If you have food allergies, poor digestion, bad constipation, bad breath, unexplained headaches, sinus problems or recurring colds then these are signs that you need a detox. 

Benefits of a detox

• More energy
• Less stress on the immune system
• Greater mental clarity
• Improvement in gut flora which helps skin disorders and the bodies abitity to fight off infections and allergies.

Spring Clean With a Safe and Effective Detoxification Program

Natural supplements are used in the program that support your body to naturally detox without any side effects.

Make a Clean Start To 2013

If 2012 has left you feeling tired, sluggish and less than your best, a detox progtram can help you make a clean start to 2013 with renewed health and vitality. E-mail me or give me a call to find out more about the programme.

Trigger Point Therapy for Shoulder Pain

Some of my clients will have experienced deep tissue massage, which can sometimes be painful if I hit a specific spot. This spot is called a Trigger Point. These trigger points can be perpetuated by mechanical stresses such as poor posture, prolonged immobility or muscle overuse. Examples are sitting at a computer for too long, or overuse such as weight lifting in the gym, garden or carrying something heavy in the home. Acute trauma such as a fall or accident will also set them off as will sudden changes in climate. We have plenty of that in Australia!

No wonder shoulder pain is one of the major reasons people present for treatment.

Apart from rotator cuff tears and shoulder dislocations, the most common cause of shoulder pain is subacromial impingement. Simply put if it is painful to raise the arm up to the side in a certain way subacromial impingement may be the issue. This can occur secondary to the incorrect activation of the surrounding muscles. An inflamed supraspinatus  tendon or a bursa can be the end result. It is thus very important to use trigger point therapy and other types of massage to relax off the tight muscles and then strengthen the weak ones to rectify the situation. For some of you computer sitters, theraband use will come to mind here for strenthening.

In this scenario, most of the trigger points are found in the infraspinatus muscle( a rotator cufff muscle) and the upper trapezius( on top of the shoulder). 

For competitive swimmers shoulder pain is very common because of the internal rotation of the shoulder in freestyle. It is best to mix up swimming styles, some back stroke to open up the shoulder, to avoid this problem. Dysfunction was slightly higher than in the general population, 42-72% higher. Swimmers with pain had significantly higher numbers of trigger points in the upper trapezius, levator scapulae and infraspinatus muscles than non swimmers. Also, the number of latent trigger points was higher than in those with pain. Which means that these latent trigger points need to be deactivated before they effect the way muscles move in the shoulder or become pain producing!

Quote of the Quarter

On Gratitude

'Whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will increase in your life' from Living with Joy by Sanaya Roman

To your increased energy levels and a pain free body.

PENNY WADE

Massage Therapist and Herbalist