Much appreciated, Megan!

Thanks so much Karen, and congratulations on your new career!

Much appreciated!

+Dina Metaweh Aw shucks :)

Lindy King Awesome :) Preventing stuffy sinuses, one video at a time!

Same here

Don’t you think this is relative from person to person and a matter of perspective? I personally like faster movements . Too slow bores me.

UniQueMaSterPiecE1 Awesome!!

LadyMischief h6666

+Kelly Jacobus This would make a great video! I like your approach, that seems to do the trick most of the time. Otherwise, I find that cradling the body part as completely as possible tends to do the trick. For instance, when plucking up the wrist, also place a firm hand at the inner elbow, taking control of the whole limb. I also find it useful to apply some massage as I move the body part: Petrissage at the trapezius as I move the arm, or compression of the posterior hip as I manipulate the leg. A Thai massage workshop can be invaluable for getting a good felt sense for these moves. Mostly, though, I don't worry about it too much :) If I client wants to hang onto their head, it's probably a response that's deeply ingrained, and it might take a number of sessions before they're able to hand over partial control. They'll still get a great massage in the mean time. Great question and suggestion!

+Holly Dawson Much the same way, but with larger clients, you may need to be satisfied with affecting less of the arm with each stroke. Much of this can be done with the arm laying on the table, in case you want to substitute a hand or fist for the petrissage. By the same token, you can have the client flex/extend their wrist while you work, freeing up both of your hands. For very elderly clients, keep in mind that the skin on the hand and forearm can become thin and fragile, so work slowly and mindfully. Thanks for the questions!

I haven't tried them myself, but I've heard good things about the "bolster side arms" from Custom Craftworks. They add about 5 inches to each side of the table, and should be enough to accommodate most larger clients. I'm considering getting a set myself, because I hate the thought of a client not feeling completely comfortable on the table. Let me know if you give them a try!

Definitely sounds like a complicated situation. The 4th and 5th digit contracture could be from nerve issues, or possibly from a connective tissue problem (see: Dupuytren's contracture, which is my main suspect). If the doctor determines that it's the latter, work with the palm and play with finger mobility as you massage, but don't feel like this is something you can "break up." The connective tissue involved is usually quite thick. While you might reduce the discomfort related to it, it may take surgery or an extensive PT regimen to restore her finger mobility. As for the rib pain, I would work very broadly with that, slowly and gently working with the ribs from a lot of different angles. See the serratus video I have coming out tomorrow for more! Keep the duration and intensity low and see if she has a better reaction. If she still has adverse effects after you make some adjustments, she may need to wait on massage until after she's had some underlying issue resolved. In any case, I do recommend that you refer her to her doctor for more evaluation and possible referral to a physical therapist. Best of luck!

I do typically start with the hand, then the forearm, and then the upper arm, but I honestly couldn't tell you why :) Any order is fine as long as you're thorough, I think. Thanks for the kind words!

+Massage Sloth Thank you😊

I do! It's a great way of working with the anterior forearm without using the thumbs. I really need to show that in a video. Thanks!

I personally have found it very helpful to try treating from different angles as a therapist in conjunction with moving the client's limb. Something like biceps stripping can performed by standing by the client's head and stripping proximal to distal, or standing beside the client with their arm abducted and supported by one hand around the triceps and stripping distal to proximal, or standing by the hip of the client stripping distal to proximal. Try to play around with moving your own body and your client's limb and see what works best for you.

I find laying the clients forearm along my forearm I can create leverage that way. I then use my other arm to apply the strip to the forearm. By going this i can keep the clients elbow slightly flexed and they feel supported by my arm under theirs

That's a really helpful tip. I definitely need to get more comfortable with manipulating the client's body into different positions so I can use my leverage more effectively. Thanks!

Totally makes sense. I'll play around with this some more. Thanks!

Great stuff y'all, I really like the idea of draping their forearm along mine, and the angle advice is on point. If you find that you need to apply more pressure or for a sustained period, I use the table when I can. The extensors are fairly easy to access while the client is prone: I stabilize their wrist with one hand and use a soft fist from distal to proximal, stopping just short of the medial epicondyle (I want to be careful of the ulnar nerve). If you'd like to add some movement, ask them to slowly clench and unclench a loose fist. For the extensors, I'll do the same while they're supine, but I'll start with their wrist cupped in my hand rather than letting it stay on the table. This keeps me from squishing their anterior wrist into the table while I glide from distal to proximal, and it allows me to draw the forearm up toward the ceiling as I travel. By the time I reach the lateral epicondyle, I've brought the elbow into slight flexion. This just looks more comfortable to me, and it allows the client to do some gentle wrist movement as I glide.

Basically pulling a body part to create decompression at a joint. I imagine I was talking about pulling on fingers in this video; if so, it should be done just enough to feel nice, but not enough to potentially crack the joint or anything like that. A gentle tug.

I talk a bit about that here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/orCIrcmbr6m2doU.html