2016 in Review - Ten articles about low back pain

2016 in Review - Ten articles about low back pain

With the many documented biological and psychosocial benefits to a massage therapy, we are uniquely suited to help those who suffer from low back pain. One speed bump still in the way is the lack of systematic reviews and randomized control trials of massage therapy. There has been some movement it the last couple of years, but because because of the lack of a research culture in the profession these things take time.

To help massage therapists understand the issue of low back pain here we provide a break down a list of 10 articles on low back pain, this list is representative, not exhaustive. 

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Do you need to stretch before and after exercise?

Do you need to stretch before and after exercise?

"But do we really need to stretch when we exercise? And does stretching increase flexibility, reduce the risk of injury, reduce soreness and enhance sporting performance? The answer is neither yes nor no."

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How to prevent injury from sport and exercise

How to prevent injury from sport and exercise

"Regular physical activity is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, protecting us from a host of modern ills such as heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression and some cancers. Sport and exercise are great ways to accumulate regular physical activity, but what about when they do us harm?"

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10 Open Access Papers from 2016

10 Open Access Papers from 2016

We provided massage therapists with tools & resources to simplify the complex - taking a intensive processes and break it down in to manageable chunks. Here we break down a list of 10 open access articles for massage therapists. 

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The effect of triggerpoint compression for acute low back pain

The effect of triggerpoint compression for acute low back pain

From a clinical perspective, myofascial trigger points certainly describe a phenomenon — aching spots, that seems to at least be partially helped by massage. The issue is that there is still uncertainty on the subject of triggerpoints.

To help provide some insight and perspective for therapists, I am working on compiling studies that look at the practical application of triggerpoint compression. Here is a study out of Japan that looks at the effects of compression at myofascial trigger points in patients with acute low back pain.

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Manual therapy for post-concussion headaches

Manual therapy for post-concussion headaches

One of the most persistent symptom after a mild traumatic brain injury is post-traumatic headaches. It is proposed that a portion of post traumatic headaches are cervicogenic in nature, due in part to the concomitant whiplash injury suffered at the same time of the concussive force. Any “Acceleration/deceleration of the head–neck complex of sufficient magnitude to cause mTBI is also likely to cause concurrent injury to the joints and soft tissues of the cervical spine. These types of injuries have been shown to cause headaches, dizziness, loss of balance, nausea and many other signs and symptoms considered synonymous with concussion.” (Marshall et al. 2015)

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