It’s Not About Technique, It’s About Strategy!
Benny Vaughn LMT, BCTMB, ATC, LAT, CSCS, MTI
benny.vaughn@bennyvaughntherapy.com
I have been involved in massage therapy since 1974. I attended massage therapy school in Gainesville, Florida and worked in Gainesville until 1994. I relocated to Atlanta, Georgia to accept a position with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) as a Program Manager for Athlete Medical Services for the 1996 Summer Olympics. After the Olympic Games ended, I took a position with the Atlanta School of Massage as the Managing Director of Curriculum Development and spent an additional year in Atlanta before moving to Fort Worth, Texas with a stop in Jackson, Mississippi for 12 months, while my wife, Joan Carroll, finished her post-doctoral studies and research in Exercise and Medical Physiology at the Guyton Research Center.
For 42 years now, I go to my Athletic Therapy Center and provide massage therapy and bodywork to my clients. I am often asked by massage therapists, how I have managed to do massage therapy as a profession for over Forty years! My answer is that I am still curious! I am curious why a person’s shoulder hurts. I am curious why a person’s elbow pain doesn’t stop and go away. I am curious about movement and wellness care and how touch can be a vehicle for change in a person’s life physically and mentally. I firmly believe and see, on a daily basis, the important role of touch, of massage, of compassion and of caring to help people feel better and get better.The role that our shoulders and elbows play in allowing us to function in our environment is critical—so when a person has shoulder or elbow pain, the impact on daily activities can be significant. Activities such as: driving a car, typing on a computer keyboard, reaching up to remove items from a shelf, placing carry-on luggage into an overhead bin and the simple act of brushing teeth or combing hair can all be compromised and challenging when your shoulder or elbow hurts!
Massage Therapy offers reliable outcomes for reducing and eliminating pain in shoulders and elbows and helping to restore movement potential by removing those known hurdles that interfere with such. Known hurdles like adhesions, muscle spasms, tendinitis, shortened fascia and rigid joint capsules. The key to excellent resolution of shoulder and elbow challenges is to view the whole body and its relationship to gravity and the role that shoulders and elbows play in walking. Yes, I did say walking. The most efficient movement pattern of walking requires that the shoulder joint complex and the elbow move freely and fully. This means that the muscles and fascia associated with not only the shoulder joint itself (glenohumeral) but the important shoulder blade (scapulothoracic) relationship with movement be addressed. I have found that with massage therapy, micro specific stretching, and understanding fascial anatomy as described by Thomas Myers in his book Anatomy Trains gives massage therapists the necessary edge to help people suffering from shoulder and elbow pain.
By creating a great massage therapy experience by having a strategy based on good orthopedic assessment the LMT can make a difference in helping that client have less pain and better movement potential. Good orthopedic assessment revolves more around being a good listener and an excellent conversationalist with engaging and specific questions for the client. By allowing the client to tell their story, guided by your basic questions, the massage therapist can receive great information with which to develop a best strategy to reduce and resolve the challenge of shoulder and elbow pain.
In March 2018, I return to the home and birthplace of my 42 year and counting, massage therapy profession, Gainesville, Florida! I attended the University of Florida in 1969, I was a scholarship athlete at Florida in Track and Field, I worked on staff in the athletic training and sports medicine department for Gator athletics in the mid 80’s. My first job as a massage therapist was in Gainesville. I enjoy Florida and I love returning to Gainesville to teach! Join me for a one-day Master Class on Saturday, March 03rd at the Florida School of Massage.
To Register:
You can register online at: www.bennyvaughnworkshops.com
Call: (817) 377-2600
or email me personally at: benny.vaughn@bennyvaughntherapy.com
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Benny Vaughn LMT, BCTMB, ATC, LAT, CSCS, MTI
