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FITNESS MINUTE After a full day working with clients, massage therapists can develop their own sore, stiff muscles. Using a foam roller before and after a workday can help alleviate some of those pains. PRE-MASSAGE MOVEMENTS (BEFORE WORKING WITH CLIENTS) Shoulders This Wall Slide movement is great to get your shoulder muscles moving before seeing clients. Make this a primary movement in your day. Do not arch your lower back at all during this movement. If you cannot fully extend your arms overhead, go as far as you can. Upper Back For this movement, I suggest crossing your arms over your chest, while keeping your knees bent and feet on the ground. This allows assistance from your lower body. You can adapt this movement to apply more force through the rhomboids and spine to ease relief from overall stiffness. Chest This Pec Roll-Out movement will improve mobility and posture of your pectoral muscles, while preparing MTs to perform their daily work. When you feel a tender area, pause and begin to rotate your body even more with the opposing hand to allow more pressure to be applied. Using a Foam Roller to Relieve Muscle Stiffness By Marisa Savino, LMT and Personal Trainer Incorporate Ice and Heat Both cold and heat therapy can be utilized during recovery stages. While ice can help decrease inflammation in overused body parts and muscles, heat can be used for soreness or calming down muscle spasms. Heat: Pre-Massage Work Use to warm up the lower back, core, and hands. Ice: Post-Massage Use to relieve inflammation in the hands, wrists, flexors, and extensors. Pro Tip If you don't have an ice pack, use a bag of frozen peas. Frozen water bottles work great for the feet and neck. POST-MASSAGE MOVEMENTS (AFTER WORKING WITH CLIENTS) Upper Back Begin this movement at the top of the shoulder at its insertion; by the end of the sequence, you will have gradually transitioned to the bottom of the shoulder blade. Perform this motion slowly as you begin to feel which parts of your body are more tender and sore than others. Glutes Rolling out the glutes can help relieve any low-back pain, as glutes help stabilize the spine. When you find a tender spot, stop and focus the foam roller movement on that area. Spine Decompression This stretch alleviates back tightness and helps improve overall posture. Once you have given some decompression to the spine, you can begin to rock from one side to the other. If done properly, you may even feel a nice pec stretch as well. Marisa Savino is a New Jersey-based massage therapist and fitness professional with a bachelor's degree in exercise science and psychology. Combining the knowledge of these two disciplines allows her to help prevent injuries and be better able to address the whole health of a client. Learn more at msfitriss.com and follow her on Instagram @ms.fitriss. VIDEO: "FOAM ROLLING FOR MASSAGE THERAPISTS" 1. Open your camera 2. Scan the code 3. Tap on notification 4. Watch! 96 m a s s a g e & b o d y wo r k j u l y/a u g u s t 2 0 2 2