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Articles Of The Week December 2, 2018

This is a great post, not just because it discusses low back pain, but rather because it discusses change. Change is important for us practitioners, in fact (as the article points out) it is required of us. When new research or data shows there is a better approach to what we are doing, we are required to change. The beauty part of this article is that the researcher is actually having to adapt and change their own research and adapt for better outcomes in patients.

“Explaining Pain For Acute Back Pain – Reflections On Traeger et al. Part 2” – Lorimer Moseley

It has been proven that the language we use with our patients can have a lasting impact. This makes it our responsibility to stay on top of current information so we can convey proper information to those patients. Here we learn about the role our intervertebral discs play and the reality around pain and the “slipped disc” we’ve heard so many patients worry about.

“Discs Don’t Slip DAMMIT!” – Jarod Hall

In response to an article published by an insurance company this past week (which essentially denounced massage therapy and compared it to a good nap), Richard compiled this list of systematic reviews proving the value of what we do.

“A List Of Systematic Reviews Of Massage Therapy” – Richard Lebert

This one isn’t an article, but rather a video. In it, Rob discusses the intimidation massage therapists seem to experience with assessments and a simple way to address it.

“Assessments And Pain Science” – Rob Haddow

There always seems to be debate around applying new research and what “we’ve seen work” when it comes to treating our patients. The reality is, both have a place in what we do, and both should be used. Here’s some advice on how to apply both along with a few extra tips in using science to get results.

“Four Ways To Use Science To Get The Best Results For Your Clients” – Alex McBrairty

Articles Of The Week November 25, 2018

 

I’m sure most of us have been through at least a minor version of this in our careers. That moment when we examine evidence and theories, only to realize…we’re wrong. It can make what we do in our profession difficult, but it also brings about new opportunity.

“Reflections:4 Years In” – Tristen Attenborough

Non-specific low back pain is an explanation many of us may shy away from because it’s not really a diagnosis. However, it’s probably the most common type of low back pain and is it really necessary for us to come up with a diagnosis or explanation?

“Non-Specific Low Back Pain Exists, You Just Don’t Want To Admit It” – Greg Lehman

There is lots of discussion in our profession around placebo and it’s effects. There are plenty of modalities out there with grand explanations of what it does, however, research shows those techniques have more placebo effect than the explanations given. However, this article makes the argument that placebo effect is not a thing. Would love to hear your opinions on this!

“The Placebo Myth” – Mark Crislip

We know that research is important but sometimes it can be hard to figure out how to trust the research paper you’re looking at or the research that is being cited. This is a long but important post on how to figure all of that out!

“When To Trust Research Findings” – Greg Nukols

She seems to be making this list quite regularly, but I really like what Raechel is doing with her blog, as it should benefit other Massage Therapists greatly. Here are three legs that shape an evidence-informed massage therapy practice.

“What’s Evidence-Informed Massage?” – Raechel Haller

Articles Of The Week November 11, 2018

 

Quite often people end up living with an issue because they just think it’s a normal reaction their body has to a life experience. Pelvic floor issues are one of those things. People think that because they had kids, or are getting older that peeing a little when they workout, cough, or laugh is just part of life. Well, it doesn’t have to be!

“Does Working Out Make You Pee? Pelvic Floor PT To The Rescue!” – Jenna Jozefowski & Sarah Haag

Educating our patients is a crucial part of the treatment process. But is it more important than other aspects of treatment? Well, it turns out taking the time to listen, while giving your time and attention to patients may be just as important.

“Explain Pain Is Just As Good As Listening And Giving Attention For Low Back Pain Patients” – Nick Ng

It can be exciting to learn a new technique and start to apply them to your patients. At what point do we have enough ‘techniques’ and start to rely on clinical reasoning? This is a great and very important post which addresses this topic.

“Technique Isn’t Enough: The Importance Of Clinical Reasoning” – Whitney Lowe

It is always great to see massage therapy gaining momentum in healthcare and even better when it gains more recognition from other health professions. Great to see that a hospital in New York is making massage a priority.

“New York Hospital Makes Medical Massage Therapy A Priority” – Christina DeBrusk

Massage therapy is useful for many things and chronic pain is certainly one of them. Quite often by influencing anxiety and quality of sleep we can help make a difference not only in pain levels for our patients but also in the quality of life.

“Massage Therapy For Chronic Pain” – RMTAO

Articles Of The Week November 4, 2018

 

We shared a similar story last week and this one is just as important. There is a movement taking place for a push towards evidence-based practice within manual therapy. It looks like the change is going public as some chiropractors push back against their peers. This should be happening in all aspects of manual therapy and I hope to see all of our professions following suit.

“Chiropractors At A Crossroads: The Fight For Evidence-Based Treatment And A Profession’s Reputation” – Paul Benedetti and Wayne McPhail

Sometimes putting yourself out there and writing blogs can be a pretty scary thing. The author of this post did a great job of putting this post together to explain what massage can do. It’s definitely worth the share.

“What Can Massage Really Do?” – Leyla Rsk

We learned breast massage in college and the topic has come up several times in practice. I’ve never done breast massage in practice and would probably refer out to someone with more experience in this area. This is a great discussion on some of the issues related to doing breast massage including safety, consent, and respect.

“Examining Issues Related To Breast Massage” – Nick Ng and Rachel Scott

It is always important to consistently market your business, but sometimes it’s tough to come up with new and effective ways to do so. This is a great quick article outlining why with the holiday season coming up you should host a charity event to increase business and give back to your community.

“Quick Tip: Why You Should Host A Charity Event This Holiday Season” – Lou Schuler

There are many obstacles we have to overcome to be successful in business. Quite often some of these things are out of our control, so we just have to try and figure things out. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always go well. This post shows some examples of how things don’t go well and one of our colleagues ends up shutting down their practice. There are certainly some things to learn from this one.

“Why I Left Massage Therapy After 14 Years: The Career That I Loved!” – Massage Therapist And Body Worker

Articles Of The Week October 28, 2018

 

You know we love it when people promote evidence-based practice around here! Fortunately, these guys do that a lot and this week bring us the five most effective evidence-based ways to help with concussions.

“5 Most Effective Evidence-Based Treatment Options For Concussions” – Complete Concussion Management

We all know the importance of how we communicate with patients and the difference it can make. What about when negative messages are coming from mainstream media that could affect our patients? Well, they’re taken on with this post and as someone who works in women’s sport, this one is GOOD!

“Dear Runners World, Women’s Health & Amanda McCracken” – Ellie Somers

Super interesting article on how the body deals with and heals trauma. It shows a strong connection with the body and mind connection and the better understanding we have of this the better we can help our patients.

“The Science Of How Our Minds And Our Bodies Converge In The Healing Of Trauma” – Maria Popova

We have had articles and discussions on this blog around the topic of resilience and teaching resilience to patients. But, what is resilience and why is it important? Well, our buddy Ben Cormack has the answer for you and the best part is how many things you can do with your patients to help their resiliency.

“Resilience – What Is It And Why Is It A Big Deal For Recovery?” – Ben Cormack

We are all business owners, whether a clinic owner or a contractor. So, if there are ways to make business life easier, it’s worth taking the time to check it out. Here are 32 tools you can use to help with everything from accounting, to websites, design, and organization.

“32 Mostly Free Tools You Can’t Afford To Run Your Business Without” – Healthinomics

Articles Of The Week October 21, 2018

Richard is always great at putting educational resources together for our profession and he’s at it again. Here is a long list of educational resources for you to use and share with your network about the benefits of massage therapy.

“Open Educational Resources For Massage Therapists” – Richard Lebert

Review is always a good thing right!? This post was done way back in 2014 but we stumbled across it this week. It’s a great review of a peripheral nerve root, which helps us understand how they work just a little bit better.

“Anatomy Of A Peripheral Nerve Root” – Diane Jacobs.

Ever wondered how much you should increase the load or training demand when doing rehab with a patient? Well, its always a variable, but the 10% rule is a good place to start and this article sums up nicely how to implement that.

“When Progressing Training, Not All Load Is Created Equally” – Tim Gabbett

Sometimes research is done to try and prove what we “think” we are doing, as opposed to trying to prove a theory wrong, or prove what’s “actually” happening. Unfortunately this happens a lot in manual therapy. In this post some bias’ get challenged and research shows what is “actually happening” with some of our treatments.

“Model Issues” – Sam Jarman

This is a VERY important article to share because it could happen to ANY manual therapy profession, and SHOULD happen to every manual therapy profession. The College of Chiropractic here in British Columbia is telling all chiropractors to remove any advertising there is no acceptable evidence to support, or face discipline. Kudos to them for making their practitioners accountable to the public and pushing for evidence based practice.

“Chiropractor Crackdown: College Gives Ultimatum On Misleading Health Claims” – Bethany Lindsay