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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 […]

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 […]

Interoception: How Body Awareness can Prevent Burnout

2019-02-28T16:48:47-05:00December 1st, 2018|

In early days of intelligence research, IQ was the all-important number. Later, researchers such as Daniel Goleman added social and emotional components to human development. Today, interoception is gaining recognition as a new form of intelligence that may help individuals offset the intensity of modern life. What is interoception? How does it work in the body? And how can improving interoception fight burnout? Answering these questions can help us appreciate the importance of receiving regular massage.

What is Interoception?
Interoception is awareness of the body’s internal state. Interoception receptors relay internal body information to the […]

Touch and Human Development

2019-02-28T16:43:19-05:00November 1st, 2018|

Touch may seem simple, but is actually quite complex. The human brain is capable of differentiating sensations (a pin prick vs. an itch), temperature, pressure, and even emotional intention. Touch is critical in that it allows us to navigate worlds both physical and social. Affective, culture-based information is conveyed through touch. Today we’re considering how pleasant, non-sexual affective touch affects learning and development across the human lifespan.

First, let’s define social, affective touch. According to a recent article in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, This type of touch is distinguished by special nerve fibers, called C fibers, C-touch fibers, or CT fibers. […]

East West College Celebrates Global Massage Makes Me Happy Day Through Donation

2019-02-28T16:52:50-05:00March 19th, 2018|

 

The world will celebrate the positive impact of massage therapy on Tuesday, March 20th, 2018. The Massage Makes Me Happy Initiative, in partnership with the Global Wellness Institute, aims to celebrate the healing powers of massage therapy and promote its benefits through research, education, advocacy and global awareness. March 20th is also recognized by the United Nations as the International Day of Happiness.

One of the ways East West College will be celebrating this day is by donating a massage table to Raphael House, a domestic violence agency dedicated to ending intimate partner […]

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