Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1509769
A B M P m e m b e r s ea r n F R E E C E h o u r s by rea d i n g t h i s i s s u e ! 25 ADAPTING AND APPLYING Try this: With your client supine, have them situate the leg you are focused on so their knee is bent and that foot is on the table. Sit on their foot to help stabilize their leg. With both hands on either side of the knee, curl your fi ngers so your fi nger pads sink into the aponeurotic tissue just superior to the patella. Then start sliding from knee to hip methodically, working from medial to lateral or vice versa or both. Notice the density or pliability of their tissues. Check in with your client about what they feel. With this extra wisdom about the quads, spend a little time rapidly drawing short lines from the top of the patella to about mid-thigh with a decent amount of pressure. Then clasp your hands at the top of the leg near the hip, lean back, and give the TVI extra love. KNEAD THE FIFTH Remember that educating your client is one of your most powerful techniques. Tell them about this new element that might be infl uencing their knee pain or muscle tension. Remind them you are always reading up on research and theories. And boost their confi dence in who you are as a bodyworker. Your passion for this craft will be infectious. As for what we should call the quads now that we know more ? Pentriceps? Quads 2.0? Vuads? What do you think? Notes 1. Karl Grob et al., "A Newly Discovered Muscle: The Tensor of the Vastus Intermedius," Clinical Anatomy 29, no. 2 (March 2016): 256 –63, https:// onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ca.22680. 2. Wikipedia, "Tensor Vastus Intermedius Muscle," last edited August 5, 2022, https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Tensor_vastus_intermedius_muscle. play a role in controlling the movement of the patella by counteracting the force of the vastus medialis. In other words, if the vastus lateralis gets too big for its britches, the TVI acts to reel it in and keep the patella in place. Also, it may act to exert tension on the aponeurosis of the vastus intermedius. Or, similar to how the TFL operates, it creates a tension in connective tissue structures to maintain a sense of stability—which we all need. What exactly does this mean for massage therapy? Our approach to the quadriceps muscles does not have to change except for this: Learning about anatomy and their respective physiologies always guides how we work. But because what we know is always shifting and moving, our ability to be f luid with the translation of what's in our brains to what our hands do will always be essential. The knowledge that a fifth quad muscle exists gives us a greater ability to be even more nuanced and detailed with our techniques. Simultaneously, though, the person that's on your table is still your best guide. WATCH: "MASSAGE TUTORIAL: THE QUADS!!" 1. Open your camera 2. Scan the code 3. Tap on notification Instead of lending a hand in extending the knee alongside its siblings, the fi fth quad muscle stands in the middle and sort of pulls them back in line if they get too cocky. 3. Thomas Franchi, "Tensor Vastus Intermedius: A Review of Its Discovery, Morphology and Clinical Importance," Folia Morphologica 80, no. 4 (2021): 792–8, https://journals.viamedica. pl/folia_morphologica/article/view/70802. 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.