Laura Matisz, RMT

Did you know that the Rotator Cuff is actually 4 separate muscles? Very few people do because it's so often spoken of as if it were a single structure. This can lead to complications in treatment since a diagnosis of a 'Rotator Cuff Injury' can mean a wide range of injuries and issues in a range of combinations.

The four muscles are Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Subscapularis and Teres minor all play a part in stabilizing your shoulder joint and helping you move your arm.

From WebMD

Supraspinatus. This holds your humerus in place, keeps your upper arm stable, and helps lift your arm.

Infraspinatus. This is the main muscle that lets you rotate and extend your shoulder.

Teres minor. This is the smallest rotator cuff muscle. Its main job is to help with rotation of your arm away from your body.

Subscapularis. This holds your upper arm bone to your shoulder blade and helps you rotate your arm, hold it straight out, and lower it.

What Is My Rotator Cuff? Rotator cuff: A group of muscles surrounding your shoulder joint is prone to injuries with growing age, leading to other complications.

A lot of my work involves addressing Trigger Points (trps) and I'm often asked about them. While this article is aimed at Massage Therapists, the information is also very useful for clients.

Massage and Trigger Points | Massage Therapy Journal Learn what trigger points are and the benefits massage therapy can provide for clients in pain.

It's super icy out there today folks! Please be careful and remember, I'd rather you call and cancel rather than drive (or walk) in unsafe conditions!

I will be opening on July 2nd! Obviously there are a whole bunch of new guidelines procedures that I will be following.

For clients, here is a short summary of what you can expect.

When booking an appointment you will be asked a number of screening questions. If you pass the screening questions, we'll go ahead and book your appointment.

For your appointment you must show up wearing a mask and the mask must remain on throughout the entire appointment. I will also be wearing a mask the entire time.

Please come to the clinic as close to your booked time as possible and park somewhere you can see the clinic door. I will either wave you in or txt your phone. At that point, you'll enter the clinic (wearing your mask) and either wash your hands or use hand sanitizer.

I will ask you another set of screening questions and unless there are any issues, we will begin treatment as normal.

The entire room will be cleaned between clients, all used linens will be sealed in a plastic bin and the clean linens will not be unsealed till the room has been cleaned. This means I will need more time between clients.

This link covers most of the changes and new procedures.https://www.cmto.com/assets/COVID-19-Pandemic-Practice-Guidance-for-Massage-Therapists.pdf

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. You can contact me via messenger though this page or email me at [email protected]

www.cmto.com

Good evening! As many of you are aware, on May 26th it was announced many non essential health care sector workers, including Registered Massage Therapists, are allowed to work again.

What many may not be aware of is that neither the College of Massage Therapists nor the Registered Massage Therapist's Association of Ontario were informed that this was going to happen. While both our governing body (CMTO) and our professional association (RMTAO) have been compiling and updating tentative guidelines for our return to practice no official guidelines nor time frame had been released to us.The announcement on the 26th therefore has resulted in a great deal of confusion.

I applaud both the CMTO and the RMTAO on the speed and thoroughness of their response to the announcement and am grateful for the work that went into getting those essential guidelines out to us given the complete lack of forewarning.

While I'm eager to get back to work, I do not know when I will be able to meet all the new requirements as I am currently waiting on supplies and clarification in regards to several of the new requirements. By comparison, several other industries were given two weeks warning and time to prepare for opening.

In short, I'm unfortunately not ready to see clients again at this time and when I am it will likely be on a very limited basis because of the new pandemic response guidelines. I will provide updates as and when more information is available.

At the moment I am uncertain when the supplies I need to safely provide care will arrive. This is understandable given the incredible strain the medical supply chain is currently laboring under.

I appreciate how frustrating these uncertain times are for all of us and wish I could provide more definite answers.

Please continue to look after each other, be kind and stay safe.