Page 97 - Massage Therapy School Program

Forearm, Wrist & Hand Treatment – Presentation Outline
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As part of self care, it is very important to stretch the muscle groups of our forearm, wrist and hands. Getting muscles lengthened back out, after they shorten all day doing massage, can prevent or eliminate joint inflammation, tendon pain and arthritic joint pain. This will give the manual therapist a pain free and rewarding career.
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View Forearm, Wrist and Hand Treatment video
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Prossage Heat Treatment Quiz
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If your goal is to balance out muscle groups in the forearm, which muscle group would you work on first to create length? Answer b - The wrist flexors; We use our forearm and hand flexors for most daily activity, like doing massage, driving our car and working on the computer. Therefore, they are short and tight, compared to the weak antagonist wrist and hand extensors
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Why is it important to have a controlled glide when doing myofascial release to the soft tissues? Answer d - All of the above; To move the superficial to deep investing fascial layers, you cannot be slipping on the skin, nor just doing deep effleurage. The therapist must go slow to allow the fascia to respond without stimulating a stretch reflex and without initiating muscle splinting due to pain.
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What conditions of the forearm, wrist and hand can be prevented by doing therapist self care on a regular basis? Answer d - All of the above ; Joint pain is often due to muscle tension and muscle imbalance around the joint; tendon pain is often due to muscle belly tension; and a portion of carpal tunnel syndrome is from short tight wrist flexors, which leads to overdeveloped flexor tendons that pass through the wrist tunnel , known as the carpal tunnel.
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What are the most important muscle groups for the massage therapist to stretch after doing a full day of massage to prevent or help resolve common forearm wrist and hand conditions? Answer a - Short tight muscle groups such as the forearm and hand flexors; Our day to day activities such as doing massage, working on the computer and driving our car result in overuse of the flexors of the forearm, wrist and hands. If muscle groups shorten throughout the day, we need to stretch them back out at the end of each day. This is a critical part of therapist self care to prevent forearm, wrist and hand pain.
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What can the massage therapist do to prolong their career and prevent common soft tissue injuries of the forearm, wrist and hand? Answer c - Self care treatments and stretching; If certain muscle groups shorten over and over throughout the day, they need to be stretched back out to prevent myofascial pain and joint pain. Often times the antagonist muscle groups become weak. If we stretch tight muscle groups throughout the body and strengthen weak opposing muscle groups, we can keep our bodies in balance.
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James Waslaski, LMT, has pioneered a unique approach for the treatment of chronic pain and sports injuries. With over 20 years experience in the medical profession and extensive work with professional and Olympic athletes, he has presented at state, national and international conventions. His work has been published worldwide and he has received many awards including his 2008 induction into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame. In 2011, James authored the book Clinical Massage Therapy: A Structural Approach to Pain Management.
©March 2012, P05507, Rev. 0