Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1476304
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 17 frogs.) The point is, the ability to take one of our digits, pull it away from the others, reach across our palm, and grab onto things is a handy trick. It certainly makes grabbing a muscle you want to massage a lot easier. But, with more complexity comes more vulnerability. The thumb is a convoluted piece of anatomy in which muscles traveling in one direction (the fi rst dorsal interossei muscle and the fi rst lumbrical muscle) intersect and sometimes clash with muscles traveling in a perpendicular direction (the fl exor pollicis brevis, the adductor pollicis, and the opponens pollicis). This is almost always a recipe for disaster. Couple this with the compressive force imposed when fi nding that trigger point in your client's quadratus lumborum that you so badly want to help relieve. Indeed, our thumbs don't have it easy. With these factors taken into account, it only makes sense that our thumbs should receive that much more attention. A NEW DEFINITION OF SELF-CARE (KIND OF) All these external lists of "things to do" and smarts about the tissues and tendencies of the thumb won't do much of anything if you don't fi rst and foremost know yourself. Listening to outside suggestions is part of the human experience. But in that journey, homing in on who you are and what works or doesn't work for you is a slow path of asking hard questions and then having the endurance to fi nd the answers. Some people call this critical thinking. I call it making mistakes on purpose. Try this: Make a list of each of the basic self-care approaches listed above. Maybe add a few of your own. Take a month and diligently practice the fi rst one on your list. Ask yourself if you are doing it well and how you can adjust to make it work better for you. Then, for the next month, move down the list and focus on the next method. With the same tenacity, engage and stay focused on what is working and what is falling fl at. Continue with this pattern until you've completed the list. Do this with your keen sense of hand and thumb anatomy in focus. And, if you are motivated, use this same method to answer your next looming question of why something hurts or is diffi cult. This may not be the quick fi x we are all searching for, but I promise it will reveal some incredible answers. "Nature is methodical, and doeth her work well. Time is never to be hurried." —Ralph Waldo Emerson Allison Denney is a certifi ed massage therapist and certifi ed YouTuber. You can fi nd her massage tutorials at YouTube.com/RebelMassage. She is also passionate about creating products that are kind, simple, and productive for therapists to use in their practices. Her products, along with access to her blog and CE opportunities, can be found at rebelmassage.com. Homing in on who you are and what works or doesn't work for you is a slow path of asking hard questions and then having the endurance to fi nd the answers. VIDEO: "THUMB MUSCLE ANATOMY" 1. Open your camera 2. Scan the code 3. Tap on notification 4. Watch!