Spinal Stenosis and Massage: Easing the Muscular Tension, With Your Doctor
Quick answer. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal that puts pressure on the nerves. It is a medical condition, diagnosed and managed by a physician, and massage does not change the narrowing, relieve nerve pressure, or reverse the condition. What hands-on work can do, with your doctor’s clearance, is ease the tight […]
Repetitive Strain Injury and Massage: Releasing the Overloaded Muscles
Quick answer. A repetitive strain injury is what builds up when the same motion loads the same muscles over and over- typing, using a mouse, using a tool, a sports movement- until the tissue is chronically overworked, tight, and painful. That muscular overload is squarely what Iler Method® work addresses. Where an RSI involves nerve […]
Chronic Pain and Massage: Working the Whole Pattern, Not Just the Spot
Quick answer. A lot of chronic pain has a muscular pattern behind it. Muscles that have been overloaded and compensating for years, developing trigger points that ache and refer pain elsewhere. That muscular side is what Iler Method® work addresses, following the whole pattern rather than chasing the sore spot. Chronic pain can also have […]
Work at Iler Method: For Austin Massage Therapists
For therapists. If you are a licensed massage therapist in Austin who wants to do focused, clinical work rather than one-off relaxation sessions and learn a structured method built around real pain patterns, the Iler Method® practice may be a place worth joining. This is not a weekend course. It is an invitation to work […]
Interested in Mindfulness and Meditation? A Beginner’s Guide
Healing the mind is just as important as healing the body. Incorporating strategies from different disciplines can help lead to a healthy and balanced life. If you have ever been interested in practicing mindfulness and meditation, this post is for you. Australian artist Xavier Rudd’s song “Follow the Sun” is a beautiful meditation on this […]
The Myth of Ergonomics: Why Moving in More Directions Beats the Perfect Desk
Quick answer. Sitting or standing at a computer all day is not what the body is built for. The problem is not your chair, and no perfect ergonomic setup fixes it. The problem is that a desk keeps you facing forward for hours. The fix is not a better posture. It is a greater variety […]
Searching for My Why: The Story Behind This Work
Every so often, it’s worth stopping to ask why you do the work you do. Not what you do, or how, but why. For me, that question surfaced during a stretch when I was cut off from my clients and, with it, from the non-verbal channel I rely on most. I’m a massage therapist. So […]