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East West College of the Healing Arts

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So far East West College of the Healing Arts has created 179 blog entries.

Massage Therapy for Hospital Workers: Soothing Frontline Caregivers

2021-01-12T16:14:48-05:00January 12th, 2021|

Even before the Coronavirus hit, healthcare workers were more likely to experience mental disorders. For instance, physicians are at a significantly higher risk of alcoholism and suicide than the general population. Moreover, 35-41% of U.S. nurses experience depression symptoms, compared with 9.1% of the general population. A 2018 survey revealed that 63% of nurses fear burnout, despite loving their job. The intense stress of providing care to those with COVID-19 has further threatened healthcare workers’ mental well-being. Massage therapy can help nurses and doctors refresh and refocus, as a recent AMTA article discusses. Let’s review how massage […]

How Massage can ease Menopause Symptoms

2021-01-11T11:44:43-05:00January 11th, 2021|

Did you know that menopause brings bothersome symptoms such as hot flashes to 80-85% of women? Moreover, as the AMTA has recently highlighted, 75% of women are interested in non-hormonal treatments for menopause symptoms. Read on to discover how massage can help ease menopause symptoms.

What is Menopause?

Menopause occurs for many women in their fifties, as their bodies transition out of the childbearing years. The three stages of menopause are:

  1. Perimenopause, which occurs in the years prior to full menopause, and is defined by erratic periods and decreased hormone production.
  2. Menopause, the second phase, when periods stop completely, and many women […]

Cultural Competence in Massage Therapy: An Introduction

2020-11-11T13:26:46-05:00November 11th, 2020|

The Black Lives Matter movement has brought cultural awareness to the forefront. What is cultural competence, and how can massage therapists apply cultural competency in their massage practices? How does cultural competence in clinical settings improve health outcomes? This blog provides a broad-strokes introduction to the idea of cultural competence in massage therapy, with an eye toward the fact that an Oregon massage therapist license renewal now requires an hour of cultural competence training.

What is Cultural Competence?
According to the CDC’s information for healthcare workers, culturally competence “emphasizes the idea of effectively operating in different cultural contexts, and altering practices to […]

Effective Massage Client Communication During Covid-19

2020-10-06T11:33:30-04:00October 6th, 2020|

The Coronavirus pandemic has redefined many aspects of massage therapy, including client communication. Excellent communication is not only a good idea for your massage business—it’s now a requirement for all massage therapist clinics under COVID-19 restrictions. As we explained in last month’s post, “How to Safely Practice Massage Therapy in Coronavirus Times,” the state of Oregon requires clinics to ask screener questions before massage therapy appointments.

At our student clinic of massage, Portland clients receive and reply to these screener questions via email. For optimized safety, we have eliminated all paper forms. Post-massage, clients provide feedback via email as well. Developing […]

How to Safely Practice Massage Therapy in Coronavirus Times

2020-08-28T13:15:10-04:00August 28th, 2020|

Five months ago, Oregon Governor Kate Brown issued Executive Order 20-12, which closed all “non-medical massage services” to limit the spread of the Coronavirus. Unless prescribed by a doctor for medical purposes, massage therapy was prohibited across the state. Most massage facilities closed at that time, including our own on-campus Portland massage clinic. Three months ago, the Governor outlined reopening procedures, specifying requirements for each phase of restarting the economy. If their county was approved for Phase One, non-medical massage providers could reopen. As of late August, every county in the state has been approved for Phase One reopening. Assuming massage […]

Questions for LMTs to Ask Themselves Before Reopening a Massage Clinic following Covid-19 Lockdown

2020-07-24T10:37:28-04:00July 24th, 2020|

Portland massage therapy practitioners may now set client appointments as part of stage one Coronavirus reopening. At the same time, state guidelines set strict reopening criteria for the safety of clients and LMTs. In such amorphous times, how can therapists decide if the time is right to go back to the tableCovid-19 LMT Questions?

This question isn’t covered in massage therapist schooling, as modern times have never featured this sort of extended lockdown. To help LMTs assess their own readiness to reopen, we are providing the following relevant questions. These standards are set by the Oregon Health Authority’s Phase […]

Forward Movement in Tricky Times: Tips for LMTs in the Age of the Coronavirus

2020-04-29T12:23:53-04:00April 29th, 2020|

Early in the coronavirus crisis, many were hopeful that Oregon’s massage businesses would be able to reopen by April 15th, the original end date in Kate Brown’s first executive order. Then, on April 14th, the governor outlined three indicators for when the economy can be reopened: 1) a “flattened curve,” meaning fewer recorded cases of COVID-19; 2) adequate protective gear for essential frontline workers, and 3) increased testing capabilities, to track any resurgence of the virus. When can we estimate these three items will be in place? Experts predict that flattening the curve will extend through at least mid-May, and […]

How the CARES Act Affects Massage Therapists: Individual Payments, Unemployment Benefits and SBA Loans to Battle the Coronavirus Crisis

2020-04-02T18:55:54-04:00April 2nd, 2020|

Congress worked fervently last week to complete the CARES Act. This $2-trillion, bipartisan deal, short for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act, includes cash payments to individuals, expanded unemployment benefits, and Small Business Administration Disaster Loans. If your massage therapy career is facing a major hurdle in the form of COVID-19, financial relief may be on the horizon. Let’s analyze how massage therapists can access the CARES Act’s resources.

Individual Cash Transfers
The CARES Act includes direct payments to individuals, to be distributed in the next couple of weeks. Eligible families will generally receive $1,200 per adult and $500 per child. […]

Updates & Support for Massage Therapists in the Age of Coronavirus

2020-03-24T17:39:56-04:00March 24th, 2020|

Life in the era of the novel coronavirus would have been unrecognizable ten days ago. Day by day, we are witnessing enormous shifts, from how we greet others to employment prospects. To date, almost 400,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed across the globe, with nearly 16,500 deaths. To “flatten the curve,” i.e. slow the rate of infection, many leaders are limiting interactions through social distancing measures. Here in Oregon, the governor has just announced a “Stay Home” executive order which closes all gyms, day spas, fitness studios, and “non-medical massage therapy services.” Clearly, life is changing rapidly […]

Proactive Massage: PNF, Range of Motion and Client Engagement During Massage

2020-03-18T16:03:39-04:00March 18th, 2020|

Ask the average person why they get massage, and they might answer “for stress relief” or “to feel good!” It is unlikely that the first words out of their mouth would be “To improve communication between my nervous system and my muscles.” Yet mind/body proprioceptive learning is at the heart of proactive massage techniques. In proactive massage, the client participates through stretching, awareness of sensation, and mindful breathing. By improving the connection between brain and body, these unique massage approaches can successfully decrease pain, increase range of motion, and empower clients to become aware of their own muscular holding patterns. Let’s […]

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