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Triggerpoints vs “Knots”: Understanding Adhesions and How Massage Helps

2025-08-04T13:45:25-07:00August 4th, 2025|

Have you ever complained to your massage therapist about a knot, only to have them reply with words like adhesion or triggerpoint? Are all three words truly synonymous? Understanding such definitions can help us appreciate how these stuck spots are formed in the body, namely through muscular overload. Muscles can be overloaded through acute, sustained, and repetitive movements. After a primer on each, we’ll explore how massage therapy can provide relief, and invite you to experience tension release at our Portland school of massage’s […]

How Massage Can Assist PTSD & Trauma Healing

2025-07-09T10:13:43-07:00July 9th, 2025|

Exposure to frightening, shocking, and/or dangerous events such as combat, abuse, or disasters can result in the experience of trauma and development of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). At any given time, about 24.4 million people are struggling with PTSD (McCafferty, 2016). While trauma is a universal experience, those with PTSD experience ongoing trauma reactions, leaving them feeling out of control and perpetually unsafe. Today we’re reviewing how individuals who have experienced trauma and PTSD can benefit from massage therapy.

How might the experience of trauma manifest in the mind/body? Here are a few common symptoms of PTSD:

Hypervigilance may show up as holding […]

Massage for Immunity: Research Reveals Weekly Massage Increases Immunity Markers

2025-03-11T16:25:38-07:00March 11th, 2025|

Massage therapy: We all know it’s relaxing, but did you know it can also boost your immunity? As cold and flu season drags on, we’re reviewing research on how receiving regular massage (such as through our Oregon massage school’s student clinic) can protect you against getting sick.
Massage Therapy and Immunity

Massage impacts immunity in several ways.

Pain Relief. Researchers have uncovered a connection between pain and immune suppression. While more research is needed in how this connection works, it’s suspected that massage may increase immune system functioning by decreasing pain (Citroner, 2020).

Increased Circulation. By boosting circulation in lymph and vascular systems, massage therapy […]

How Does Massage Reduce Pain? The Gate Theory and Vagal Pathways

2025-01-15T10:49:43-08:00January 13th, 2025|

During the initial courses at a massage therapy school like ours in Portland, Oregon, students focus on gaining the baseline knowledge and technical prowess to deliver a delightful massage. Once they learn the basics of giving relaxing treatments, our students begin to explore why massage therapy is so effective for pain regulation. Let’s examine two prevalent theories on how the brain perceives pain, and why massage helps reduce pain.

The Gate Theory of Pain Perception

This theory posits that the brain processes pain only if the nerve gate in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord is open. Imagine […]

Prenatal and Postnatal Massage Reduces Maternal Depression

2024-08-26T12:59:51-07:00August 26th, 2024|

Massage is known to increase neurochemicals associated with improved mood, such as serotonin and other endorphins. So it shouldn’t be surprising that it can help alleviate depression. Today we’re examining this healing relationship between massage and depression for one special group: mothers.

In two previous blog posts, we examined the benefits of receiving prenatal massage and postpartum massage. Today we’re diving deeper into one major benefit of massage: Decreased likelihood of maternal anxiety and depression. As we’ll see, this also leads to improved health outcomes for infants.

The Importance of Maternal Mental Health

Before birth, depression and anxiety can […]

Cancer Care for LMTs: What you Need to Know to Help Clients Going through Chemotherapy

2024-08-22T14:52:16-07:00August 22nd, 2024|

A desire to help others is a common reason to become a massage therapist, and giving healing touch to cancer patients is certainly one way to help. During chemotherapy, cancer patients are dealing with physical, emotional, and mental challenges, from loss of taste and appetite to gastrointestinal challenges such as vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea, not to mention the bone-deep fatigue following an infusion. Even a few minutes of comfort can make all the difference in a cancer patient’s day and well-being. Massage therapists can have a hugely positive impact on cancer patients by providing this comfort. To safely deliver […]

Long-Haul COVID Patients: A New Kind of Massage Client

2023-07-03T11:37:58-07:00July 3rd, 2023|

While society seems to have moved on from COVID, some patients still battle with it. These “long-haulers” face a unique set of symptoms. According to medical journal The Lancet, long-haul COVID symptoms usually last for more than seven months. Let’s define long-haul COVID (formally known as post-COVID syndrome), examine common symptoms, and review how massage therapy can help. We’ll also include suggestions for therapists hoping to serve clients with long-haul COVID.

What is long-haul Covid or Post-COVID Syndrome?

According to the September 2021 Journal of the American Medical Association, about 10% […]

What’s Cool About Side-lying Treatments?

2024-02-25T14:09:32-08:00April 26th, 2023|

Massage therapy images typically show clients on their backs or bellies, but a side-lying position provides many unique advantages. For instance, those who suffer back or neck pain may find the side lying position to be the most comfortable option for massage treatment. After reviewing the benefits of this underutilized massage treatment position, we suggest practical tips for LMTs who would like to offer side-lying positioning to clients.

6 Benefits of Side-Lying Position for Massage Therapy

1. Client Comfort. Many clients, particularly those with back pain and/or large, sensitive breasts will feel most comfortable lying on their sides. Offering […]

The Great Resignation is Driving People to Launch Massage Therapy Careers

2022-02-25T10:13:31-08:00February 25th, 2022|

Certain portals in history change how we think, live, and act. A world war, for instance, changes everyone who lived through it. COVID may be our era’s catalytic event. Looking back over the last two years, it is clear that many of us will never be the same. The pandemic has altered nearly every aspect of life, and the workforce is no exception. Let’s examine how the Great Resignation of 2021 has pushed many people to leave their positions, and why massage careers are attracting many to shift gears. 

What is the Great Resignation?
In 2021, millions of people […]

Massage Modalities: Lymphatic Drainage Massage

2020-03-18T15:38:41-07:00January 18th, 2020|

The world of massage is not monotone. There are multitudes of massage modalities, several of which we have covered in previous articles. While completing massage therapy training at East West College, our students can take specialized classes in different massage techniques. Today we’re reviewing Lymphatic Drainage Massage. We will provide a basic definition, as well as listing benefits, techniques, and contraindications.

First, let’s review how the lymphatic system works. This portion of the circulatory system has two big jobs: 1. Removing waste and excess fluid, and 2. Fighting off infections. The lymphatic system exists throughout the body, and includes vessels, […]

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