Research Informed Massage Therapy The science behind pain is complex and we are just starting to understand how it all works. While there are many ways to describe pain, all types fit into two groupings based on the pain’s fundamental source: physical pain, or psychological pain. Despite the source, all Continue Reading
Tom Rotman
Stress – Disease Connection and Massage Therapy for 2021
My overall premise for the year is to talk about the stress-disease connection and how research shows the efficacy of massage therapy. Stress takes place when your internal dialogue does not match your external environment. When stress occurs, it can be healthy or unhealthy. Healthy stress helps us prioritize, and Continue Reading
Health and Wellness – What is it and how do we get it ?
Most of us have a basic understanding of the idea of what health and wellness is. But really, what does that mean? As a life / health life coach, I have heard everything from exercise and eating healthy to yoga and meditation. What if it’s bigger than that. The next Continue Reading
Headaches – Migraine
In this post I want to discuss migraine headaches specifically, as such headaches affect a large number of people and can be debilitating. The Migraine Research Foundation states that migraine headaches, or “migraines,” are the third most prevalent illness in the world. Within the United States, 1 in every 6 Continue Reading
Headaches – General
June is National Headache/Migraine awareness month. In this post I want to provide some general information about headaches. (Quick disclaimer, despite their separation in the month title, migraines are a type of headache.) The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the American Academy of Neurology, classify headaches as either Continue Reading
Mental Health – Trauma
In this post I want to discuss trauma, specifically psychological trauma (also known as PTSD) and the role massage therapy can play in addressing it. I find that in the U.S., we often associate trauma with physical harm due to single events, such as industrial accidents, car accidents, gunshot wounds, Continue Reading
Mental Health – Clinical Depression
In today’s post I want to discuss Clinical Depression. The Mayo Clinic describes clinical depression as, “a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.” I think it’s important to differentiate this from grief. Grief is about the response to an identifiable loss, while clinical depression is the medical diagnosis. Continue Reading
Mental Health – Anxiety
May is Mental Health Awareness month. In honor of this, I will be posting about anxiety, depression, trauma, and addiction, and how each is tied to our overall health. Starting with anxiety, according to Medical News Today, in 2019, 40 million adults (or 1 in 5 adults) in the US Continue Reading
Stress – My Thoughts
I like to consider myself an evidence-informed massage therapist. In reading 100’s of research articles, I have found that, depending on the research quality, the conclusions can be interpreted differently. What I have found in my own personal experience, is that people who receive massages on a regular schedule, are Continue Reading
Our Immune System
Our immune system fights off illness and disease. It essentially serves as guardian to our physical body. It is amazingly complex, and unfortunately we still have a lot to learn about it. We do know that stress weakens our immune system’s ability to fight off disease. It can do this Continue Reading