Article Archive

5 Common Causes of Muscle Aches & Tension

Mature man on mountain bike rubbing a sore lower back.

Almost every massage therapist has encountered a client with chronically tense muscles that are so stiff it takes great effort to massage them. Others quietly suffer from muscle aches that affect both their work and leisure time, making them miserable. Some people don’t even know they are tense, while others are aware but have no idea why. There are dozens of less-common medical conditions that can cause stiff muscles, such as Lyme’s disease or lupus, but the following 5 reasons are among the most common.

Staying Stable by Being Variable

Homeostasis, Allostasis, and Adaptive Capacity

As a pathology educator, I am often called on to describe situations in which bodywork must be adjusted to be safe for a client who has some kind of health-related limitation. I describe a person’s ability to receive massage therapy or bodywork safely as “adaptive capacity.” This term makes sense to me, but others may find it less clear, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to explain what I mean.

Life of Negotiation

Anna Marie Wood shares why energy work should be a part of how we take care of ourselves, especially as we age.
older couple walking on the beach together and smiling

We are filtering through a barrage of timepieces. Take your pick from either the ordinary clock face displaying the standard numerical or Roman numeral sequence, or the digital kind found on almost every electronic device the majority of the population owns. The car displays a digital version so the driver can view, just to hammer home, how much time they’ve spent in traffic. The computer displays the time.

The Trick to “Fitting In” Fitness

Image of mature woman smiling and flexing her biceps

One of the questions I get most frequently as a personal trainer is: “How do I sneak exercise into my daily routine?” And the answer is: I don’t think you should. Exercise is one of the most important components for health and vitality. It should be given priority and preference. I could tell you to do squats while you wait in line at the grocery store or lunge your way to the mailbox, but honestly, I recommend taking a close look at your schedule and figuring out where you can carve out a few minutes a day to totally dedicate to exercise.

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