Massage Technique: Myofascial neck spreading/stretching

[@fearnette92]

As a new massage therapy student, I love your videos! We reference them often in school. :)

[@meghangomerrily]

I tried this on my partner before using it on clients and she LOVED it. She is a farmer with a lot of neck issues. Great technique!

[@lisakidwell2940]

Love love love this! Gonna try this tonight. Thanks. I recommend your videos to every therapist I know!!! You really have helped change my techniques for the better!!

[@MassageSloth]

So glad to hear, thanks Lisa :)

[@indyw3458]

Another great technique! I like how the head naturally turns with the fascia work without having to grab the head to turn it. Thank you!

[@maggienoffke7360]

My clients and I really appreciate this move! Thank you for sharing.

[@boantorda]

Great technique! If you're looking to take this technique a bit further I recommend bringing her right arm out from under the sheet and externally rotating her GH and turning her palm face-up. You might need to laterally abduct her arm a bit depending on how rounded her shoulder is.

[@kjake555]

That's interesting. I'm going to try that with clients today.

[@MassageSloth]

That sounds lovely! Thanks for the idea!

[@beyondreliefmassage6655]

YES!! I do that all the time & clients love how open the chest region can become.

[@myoman1977]

i like how you evolved the technique from observing natural tendancies with rom

[@jennmcg4068]

Excellent neck work! I’m always searching for good and effective techniques!! I will be using this in my sessions!

[@LopsidedCircle]

your annotations help SO MUCH

[@MassageSloth]

Glad to hear it! It's always a matter of current-me thinking, "why the heck didn't past-me say that?" :)

[@HMMHarwood]

I just made a video and it had this exact technique as one of my favorites! Very effective during massages, keep it up Brother Sloth

[@mysilkysounds]

So glad you're back with more videos! 😀

[@kerryrobbert7493]

Great stuff, as usual, Ian. I use this with every client. Of course, I learned this already from a couple of your earlier videos, but it's always good to get a little refresher. Your stuff continues to form the backbone of my work; I learn something somewhere else, but find myself drifting back to your methods and/or adapting the 'new' method to something that looks and feels closer to your methods. Please keep up your great work!

[@MassageSloth]

That's so neat to hear, Kerry! It still humbles/terrifies me to think that I've had an effect on the world :)

[@ImfromTexastoo]

I feel relaxed just watching this.

[@MyJefferson2000]

Love your videos Ian. As a newly trained sports massage therapist they have been a great help to my development. Many thanks.

[@forerunner7]

This must feel like heaven!

[@panchui4]

Subscribed!! I checked alot of videos on massage by for forward head, this looks the best

[@Miteymel]

Thank you so much for your videos !! I am a student and I start clinic next week. I know my clients will appreciate the skills and tips I learn from you!!!

[@mitsk2002]

Loved the twisting technique! Thank you, Ian!

[@yalodde1164]

hi Ian, I loved that thecnique.. I tried it with my client's in my clinic school.. and they loved it... they all fall asleep with the thecniques I have learn with you.. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE...

[@MassageSloth]

Glad to hear it, and thanks for the kind comments!

[@doramunoz2955]

xesomasage

[@jennybaird5205]

Going to try this on one of my clients tonight! Thank you!

[@mortenjacobsen2472]

Gonna try this with my clients today. Thanks

[@MsLaurenPanda]

what a great spreading technique! nice thinkinggg

[@karlawinter5572]

Fabulous technique, thank you for sharing this with us. Regards, Karola, UK

[@marcelloantoniodreier4795]

Wow thanks for sharing...will try it out today asap! 🙌😊😊😊

[@joeschmo7957]

I will try it at the clinic with my next patient and get back to you.

[@margaretbrunson8522]

2 thumbs up! I will certainly practice this technique. Thank you

[@lotsoflove557]

Excellent! Thank you kind sir!

[@stevehicks399]

The neck is my favorite area to work on. I feel that it relaxes the rest of the body.

[@Elegantchoco-lit]

Getting comfortable with your clients chest is super imperative!

[@jryder78]

Love this !

[@hatchet8217]

I Appreciate You !

[@kjake555]

I do this same basic technique but I do it standing on the opposite side of the client with both hands open due to my very limited wrist extension, clients love the neck/pec stretch they get from it.

[@MassageSloth]

Oh, hey, that sounds awesome! It seems like it would add some additional rotational force to the neck contact, which sounds really nice. Great tip!

[@MassageSloth]

I just realized that the "head turner" video is only on the Massage Sloth Facebook page, so go here to check it out: facebook.com/massagesloth/videos/1511005492453556/ I swear that wasn't on purpose :)

[@mc1428]

I like this one! Thank you!!

[@h5y]

wonderful video!

[@DianeZyrix]

Hi Ian! I admire your approach to massage and the wise and sensitive way you both teach and help your clients! It's a philosophy I think resonates with mine and I always feel encouraged when I watch your videos! May I ask, how effective do you think neck fascial spread like this one is to reduce headaches cause by tension in the ECMs and weakness in the posterior neck muscles?

[@MassageSloth]

Thanks as always, Dii! I think that working with the strong anterior muscles, and the fascia that invests them, is an important component when dealing with most head, neck, and shoulder problems. If we can get the client to leave with less of that "tug of war" between anterior and posterior, they may experience immediate relief. Good question!

[@lucascarrasco7895]

Massage Sloth

[@DivineFeminie_8]

Love this thank you

[@carolinebielby5924]

Love this 😀

[@momsmushroomsjodyfoster5786]

It’s a great video thanks

[@stephaniejessen912]

Love it!

[@ebo7310]

I need this 😩

[@nandinajamsessions7058]

Thanks for the clip! Does your client lying on their back usually have a head rest or small head cushion? Or none like this video? Thank you

[@MassageSloth]

Not typically, but if I notice that they have pronounced head-forward posture or dowager's hump (or if they have a cervical fusion), I'll make sure to offer one. I've got pretty pronounced head forward posture myself, and I find myself more comfortable without anything under my head or neck, so I think that's what informs my thinking. No harm in offering!

[@MrDiego718]

amazing techniques,I"ll apply to my wife thanks and success

[@KathleenHelenLisson]

Thanks!

[@amandamann2946]

I am going to try this today. Though I have to say, I find the crossed over arms a bit counter-intuitive. Would it not be easier to stand to the side of body by the shoulder and work with the arms uncrossed?

[@MassageSloth]

This is one that takes a bit of playing with, because yes, there seems to be a lot of needless process and effort. But! Once you've gotten the hang of it, it will be pretty much effortless. The fist travelling up the neck is mostly driven by the winging out of the elbow of the lower arm. The palm travelling across the chest gets most of its power from the upper elbow being high in the air (this also keeps that upper arm away from their face). Once you set your arms in this position, the move pretty much completes itself. Just remember to think of dragging that superficial fascia rather than pressing deeply. Oh, and you can absolutely do a version of this from across the body. One hand pulls the neck while the other pushes the chest. It is more immediately intuitive, and it feels good. I invite you to try both ways, but make sure to sit with the one in this video for a bit, and play with it. It's not superior to that other variation, but it's *very* low effort, can be deployed in an instant as a way to change the angle of the head, and it feels amazing.

[@StephanieRodriguez-ky8xt]

Its awesome

[@katieh6853]

I cant wait to try this out! I am a new LMT and enjoy employing slow movements, loving the closed fist as a lot of the techniques I learned were super thumb intensive and have been trying to figure out how to impart similar movements in more body friendly ways, primarily NMT strokes. Myofascial with Swedish, looks like a great soothing, powerful and intuitive technique. Are there any trainings that you reccommend? Thank yo!

[@MassageSloth]

If you can swing by the Southeastern US, I always recommend Pete Whitridge (you can find his upcoming schedule on Facebook). Walt Fritz is an excellent resource for a stricter style of myofascial release that's still very gentle. Other than that, anything you take will have elements that you can apply to your approach, even if you choose to eventually discard bits of it. Thanks Katie!

[@emilynicholls89]

going under the drape makes me so uncomfortable - it is drilled into us at school not to do that! (but looks like a good tech)

[@skytrooper8888]

I would say put her arm on top the the sheet then to expose it so there’s no confusion

[@AuntLorasHouse]

Yes like I can hear my teacher now. This is such a no no

[@DuncanClark-h7o]

I thought the same thing, then thought about the KZbin aspect, and that a client agreeing to video might prefer under the drape compared to more skin exposed. And at the end of the day, it’s about the comfort of the person on the table.

[@yalodde1164]

Hahahaha I will become your #1 fan or your #1 stacker I lieve comments in almost all of your videos :D

[@somedude1281]

Hey Massage Sloth... Love your videos! I wanted to ask you a question about Myofasical Release... I'm a new LMT myself and I was taught in school that as soon as you add lotion or oil into the equation you are no longer doing Myofascial Release which I find slightly confusing especially on my naturally more oily skinned clientele that really allows me to get a good quick (for myofascial) thixotrophic glide. So in your opinion you can be still doing Myofascial work with oil or lotion? How much is too much? How much is too little? When I do apply lotion I try to apply as little as possible and I strive for similar goals to a Myofascial Release but I don't think of it from this modality but more from a Deep Tissue kind of angle. Thanks.

[@MassageSloth]

Hi! Yeah, I'm not much of a myofascial absolutist. Every interaction with the body deforms the fascia, stimulates the embedded neurons, causes thixotropy, etc. The essential ingredient of myofascial release is the prolonged sheer forces it creates. By working at that angle, and by going slowly, we give the nervous system a different stimulus than it receives from other modalities, and we create a different kind of tissue deformation. I don't see how adding minimal lotion and repeating the stroke three times instead of using one looooong stroke is substantially different. I say do what's comfortable for you and your clients, and see if you detect any instances where that extra slow work is helpful. For instance, I'm fairly convinced that the lateral face and jaw benefits from extremely slow work, as does the lateral and anterior rib cage. In other words, I think of MFR from a deep tissue perspective too, use it to guide my work, but only bust out the extra slow stuff for special occasions. Cheers!

[@lebeaumonde-spaau]

Massage therapy is a practice that involves manipulating muscles and soft tissues to alleviate pain, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance overall well-being. The massage therapist is not from school to go straight to open up business ( not yet )and there have a so many lean from others Remember respect to “yourself’s energy “ Staff & Customer safety private priority is important

[@beaya3165]

Ian can you please do a video on abdomen massage.

[@MassageSloth]

Absolutely! It's on my short list. Look for it in the next month or two :)

[@beaya3165]

Thx ❤

[@hafizah8207]

good

[@love-pe7ts]

😘😘😘 Thanks

[@jesteranonisgamegameover2321]

did you kill a patient with aggressive neck techniques?

[@jamiesonlamb2852]

Platysma!!

[@sincitybatman9288]

Those body mechanics look like they would hurt your shoulders and wrist after awhile.

[@MassageSloth]

This feels completely comfortable to me, and like I'm not really using any muscles to accomplish the move. I do that by letting my lower arm sink into the table, taking the weight of my torso, while the upper arm arches up and over and rests on the client's body. The weight of that upper arm does most of this work, and my arm bolstered against the table makes it easy to scoop up the neck. My recommendation is to give it a go, try it on each side a couple of times until you work out the initial awkwardness of so much happening at once, and see how it works for your body.

[@jacobgaffney8531]

zzzz

[@mickyzxy4401]

Good stuff but your hand and draping work could be better... this is how mistakes happen. You could lower and tuck the towel to avoid etc...