Is Your Job Hurting You? Are You Losing Your Grip?

by Laura Sos-now-ski

A decent Massage Therapist can do wonders for your aching arms and hands. Incipient cases of tendinitis or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can yield to the gentle touch of an MT. By gently palpating your extremities, he or she can tell which muscles are involved, and begin to soothe hypertonic (tense, hard, knotty) areas.

Be alert for symptoms like tingling or numb fingers in the morning, dropping items, not being able to squeeze a scissors, etc.

I have been working on friends and clients and it is very rewarding to know that I am making a difference. One friend felt like his arm was falling apart, and it was losing strength. Just a few minutes of palpating and kneading, and he felt good as new. Another woman friend handles packages at a shipping service, and was surprised I found a sensitive spot up near the elbow joint.

This service is so important for not just workers but anyone who directs Employee Wellness programs at a company. For those are the people who can make a difference in the company's bottom line by cutting not only absences due to arm/hand pain, but keeping the company's premiums low for Workman's Comp and health insurance.

Please email me at lauraalthea (at) yahoo.com or at lausosnows (at) aol.com. Let me know what is on your mind and how I can help you. AND in a special offer just for my readers, anyone who gets me into a company Wellness Program as a provider will get his or her massages fr*ee.*

*for as long as I am a provider of the Chair Massage service at your company.

Is it carpal tunnel or shoulder tension?

Here is a letter from a fellow massage therapist that ran in the American Massage Therapy Assn. newsletter.

Because the brachial plexus goes through the shoulder area, tension of the shoulder muscles can bring on what seems like classic carpal tunnel symptoms—numbness and tingling in the fingers.

As a massage therapist I find I have to be ultravigilant about keeping my shoulders down when performing massage or I start to get these symptoms. I’ve also found that many people experience these symptoms because of the tension they carry in their shoulders and neck.

Tensing of these muscles is usually totally unconscious, and it doesn't take much to cause the symptoms. Even very slight contractions, held all day, can easily cause symptoms that show up at night.

A simple way to help release this tension is to raise your shoulders and hold for a few seconds. Then pretend there is a heavy weight attached to your shoulders as you let them fall again.

This little exercise should be done often throughout the day.

Donna Lipson
Highland Heights, Ohio