Elbows bent above a 90-degree angle. Computer screen positioned too low or too high. Chin jutted forward. Shoulders slumped.
Engage in any of these ergonomic no-nos and over
time, you may end up with chronic back pain or spinal problems, say
local massage practitioners, who frequently treat clients suffering from
work-related aches and pains.
That’s why it’s good news that massage therapy is
slowly gaining more clinical recognition as a medical tool, and not just
a luxury to indulge in at a day spa.
“We’re seeing more and more use of it on a continual
basis,” said Dr. Ronald Warninger, who has had massage practitioners in
his Yakima chiropractic clinic for about three years. “The increase
that we have seen has been tremendous.”
Several other chiropractors around town refer
clients out to massage practitioners or have them based in their office,
he said. Physical therapists and hospitals do, too.
“If you have a chronic condition or an acute painful
condition, medical types of massage therapy can be beneficial because
they’re going to decrease stress and lighten up muscle tension, which is
going to alleviate some pain,” said Danielle Stevens, licensed massage
practitioner and owner of DCS Therapeutic Massage in Yakima. “If
(people) would stretch their chest out, get massage and chiropractic
care, it would decrease their pain considerably.”
Nationwide, workplace ergonomics is undergoing a
major shift as employees chained to computers learn to improve their
posture and help avoid back problems with standing desks and treadmill
desks. And employers are learning that supporting better ergonomics
could result in healthier, more productive employees.
Massage practitioners here say they see a lot of
lower-back pain, particularly among people working in agricultural or
warehouse jobs, as well as common desk-related complaints, such as pain
between the shoulder blades that causes neck pain and headaches, and
soreness in the right shoulder and arm — what Stevens calls “computer
shoulder” or “mouse arm.”
Stevens said several physicians around town refer
patients to her, particularly if they can’t figure out what’s wrong, and
before they resort to an MRI.
There are often quick, simple things that can be
done to help alleviate problems before they become too severe, but it’s a
matter of knowing and then actually remembering to do them, said Amy
Biskovich, another licensed massage practitioner who works at New Day
Massage in Yakima.
“I tell my clients, ‘Children and cats, they
naturally stretch when they hear their bodies telling them that they
need it’ ... What I tell them is to listen to their body; when it gets
cranky, move,” she said. “But people don’t want to take 30 seconds every
half hour to stretch, and that’s what the body needs.”
Even while sitting in a desk chair, she said, people
can stretch their lower back by leaning forward to put their head on
their knees and twisting right and left.
The longer problems go ignored or untreated, the longer it will take to set things right when treatment is actually sought.
Sitting at a desk “changes the whole shape of your
spine. You’re sitting there hour after hour, day after day, year after
year — it takes its toll,” Biskovich said.
If more people understand how massage can address
and reverse those problems, Biskovich said, they may be able to avoid
costly and often unnecessary — even unhelpful — surgery.
“The sooner you address a problem, the easier it is
to take care of. People tend to wait until they can’t take it anymore,”
she said.
Warninger said he’s seen more insurance companies
come on board to cover massage therapy, as long as it’s prescribed by a
doctor. And nowadays, people are much more open to the benefits of
massage than they were 30 years ago, he said.
“I think that trend is in full speed,” he said. “And it should be.”
Connie, Spa Director, at Stevenswood invites you to visit: http://stevenswood.com/spa/spa-menu/ for a list of spa treatments performed by our licensed/certified massage therapists.
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