At the Pain Relief Massage Clinic on the Gold Coast, some of our regular clients are truck drivers, bus drivers or even airplane pilots. They are stuck in the driver’s seats for hours and it’s almost impossible to stay pain free or discomfort-free.

People who drive for extended periods of times, such as professional drivers, know how painful it can become if done excessively. They often have problems most commonly with their lower back, shoulders or neck, but other problems that may occur are headaches, foot cramps or swelling of the legs. These symptoms as well as any injury that occurs due to spending too much time driving is called a Repetitive Drive Injury.

You don’t need to be a professional driver to get such a discomfort as it can happen to anyone who doesn’t drive as much, but who is simply going on a road trip and will be spending many hours driving. A good idea would be to have someone with you who can take up part of the driving and save you a lot of pain, but that’s not always possible and professional drivers don’t have that option.

Fortunately, there are several tips that can help you minimize the discomfort or stay pain free while driving and avoid any strains and injuries that might occur during this activity, even when performed for hours.

It is normal to feel pain and discomfort when you are stuck in the same position for a long amount of time, and sometimes, without realizing, we go for much too long before we actually stop to stretch our body. This is why, if you are planning a long drive, you should use your alarm clock and pause every hour for a quick stretch.

If you are worried you might not make it on time to your destination, note that this stretch should take no more than a few minutes, but it’s an important step to stay pain free and avoid putting a strain on your body. Even before you start your driving, you should do some stretching exercises to help prevent any back or shoulder pain. This is very important since driving is associated with bad circulation and it might help you prevent more serious issues that may occur in the future.

Another common problem that is associated with driving injuries is bad posture. The majority of people have trouble maintaining good posture while driving which causes a multitude of problems later in life and may be the main reason why they experience pain while doing this activity. Some keep their shoulders forward, others keep their head too forward or their back slumped, all postures that put a tremendous strain on your lumbar and shoulder area.

But before working on your posture, make sure that your car seat has been set correctly so that you can sit comfortably, with your back straight and enough room to keep your arms on the wheel in a comfortable position, you shouldn’t feel the need to move your body forward as it will increase the stress on your back and neck. Lower back support is a must. A rolled towel placed between your lower back and the back rest works very well.

How to avoid stiffness – while driving, you can also try to change your position a bit or move a little from time to time to make sure that there isn’t too much pressure on the same point. For example, putting too much pressure on your lower back will cause pain which can be quite severe and even debilitating for some.

Another aspect that you need to evaluate is also your driving style; good posture and driving style shouldn’t cause pain, even during prolonged hours, so note the areas where you feel stiff or where you feel pain and consciously adjust your position while driving in order to re-learn to have a better posture.

Professional drivers might also benefit to do some changes in their daily life if they develop certain pains due to their occupation. There are many issues related to excessive driving that can be easily prevented with a few changes. Some great ways to prevent pain, circulation problems, stiffness and repetitive strain injuries as well as to improve overall health is to start having a regular exercise routine, get enough sleep every night on a comfortable bed, stretch more or visit a massage therapist regularly. These activities will not just improve your posture but also your life quality as well as preventing any issues while driving.

If you tend to suffer from any kind of pain, stiffness or ache while driving on the Gold Coast, click and visit www.remedialmassage-goldcoast.com.au and have a treatment at least once a month. Regular clinical massage on the Gold Coast will keep you going.

Pain Relief Massage Clinic Gold Coast
192 Brisbane Road, Arundel Gold Coast QLD 4214 Australia
Phone: (07) 5537 7886

Massage therapy on the Gold Coast seems to be a risk-free approach to symptoms of pain and stiffness, but sometimes the level of experience and knowledge of your massage therapist might complicate things. There are numerous cases of people going for a quick massage to relax only to end up later in the hospital with various health issues due to an undertrained therapist. Although serious complications are indeed rare, they do exist and sometimes they can leave permanent damage, such as paralysis.

One of the most common consequences of going to unqualified massage therapists on the Gold Coast is worsening the injuries you already have or simply causing new injuries. For example, there have been cases where a patient with a sprained ankle ended up going to the emergency room after being massaged by someone who was under-qualified and didn’t realize the sprained ankle shouldn’t have been massaged so vigorously.

There was another case of a man who collapsed after being massaged for a couple of hours which was due to blood poisoning from a detoxifying massage that lasted too long.  A qualified therapist would have known how long the massage should last, depending on the man’s age and medical status and would have asked for feedback during the course of the massage.

Another common injury that is often seen when people go to unqualified massage therapists on the Gold Coast is a neck injury; a neck injury can cause various adverse effects, from numbness to extreme pain and soreness. Although some deep tissue massage techniques may cause a bit of soreness afterwards, too much soreness with inflammation should be a concern.

There have been cases of people who suffered from compression of the upper cervical spinal cord which lead to an emergency trip to the hospital. If you start experiencing nausea during your massage, you should stop immediately and check if it’s due to a spinal cord injury.

Of course, this would not usually happen with a qualified massage therapist on the Gold Coast who knows how and where to put pressure in order to provide safe therapy. Cases in medical journals reported people getting a stroke from massaging their neck for too long and too deep.

Another alarming case was with a man who had his ribs cracked due to an unqualified massage therapist who was massaging his back. If you are wondering how that might happen, it is usually due to heavy pressure put by the massage therapist in the rib region and by pressing the ribcage on the massage table. Of course, the rib cracking is probably one of the most severe things that can happen.

A very common injury that is caused by an underqualified massage therapist who puts pressure in the rib area is the sprain of the costochondral joints. This isn’t as severe as a cracked rib but it can take weeks to heal and the patient will usually experience moderate to severe pain, especially at night, while in bed whenever they are lying on their stomach.

Broken bones and other short term injuries eventually heal, but what would be more frightening than paralyzing just because you chose the wrong massage therapist on the Gold Coast? A man from China was the unlucky patient of a massage therapist with very little experience. While practicing her skills on the man he collapsed and seemed to have trouble breathing.

At the hospital, doctors noticed that he was unconscious and was unable to breathe on his own. X-rays showed that somehow the massage therapist had managed to displace the first and second vertebrae of his neck, which left the man paralyzed.

A similar experience happened to a woman who received a neck massage at her workplace. The woman suffered a stroke after the massage, which ultimately left her paralyzed from the neck down. She considered the massage to be very rough and felt sore and dizzy afterwards, only to be found collapsed in her home a few days later.

This is why health professionals urge those seeking massage to make sure that they fully understand their medical history and they do enough research to find a good Gold Coast massage therapist beforehand. Those suffering from chronic illnesses should be especially careful. Even more, people seeking to relax with a massage or planning to follow a course of treatment that includes regular massage sessions should ask their medical practitioner whether they are a good candidate for this procedure.

Your medical doctor is the only one who can give an accurate opinion based on your medical history. Even then, there’s still a risk that you might end up in the hands of someone inexperienced. There are many unqualified massage therapists on the Gold Coast who leave permanent damage even if you are completely healthy, so researching and dealing with someone with years of experience and great reviews is always the key to a safe massage therapy session.

If you would like to see qualified well-trained massage therapists on the Gold Coast, click and visit www.remedialmassage-goldcoast.com.au and see what you think. This is a massage clinic for pain relief purpose and even medical doctors on the Gold Coast come regularly as patients.

Pain Relief Massage Clinic Gold Coast
192 Brisbane Road, Arundel Gold Coast QLD 4214 Australia
Phone: (07) 5537 7886

The supraspinatus muscle is a muscle located on the top of each shoulder blade. One of the four rotator cuff muscles, this particular muscle helps initiate the abduction motion of the shoulder. Extensively, the supraspinatus muscle is the first muscle engaged when moving the hand away on the side of the body.

Supraspinatus Muscle – Right

Due to its position and the high intensity activity in the area the muscle is extremely susceptible to injury, therefore athletes and people who have to do a lot of physical activity should be careful when it comes to this particular area of the body. Certain activities can put a strain on the shoulder and they should be avoided or at least done in a way which keeps the exhaustion to a minimum.

When it comes to injuring the supraspinatus muscle, some activities may pose a higher risk than others. For example, activities such as: lifting or carrying heavy objects or even swimming for a longer time. It is estimated that around 25 % of those who are over 50 years old and about 20% of those who are over 20 years of age suffer injuries in this particular area of their body.

The common symptoms of an injured supraspinatus muscle are noticeable and people should address them immediately. Those who experience pain during night-time or while resting along with pain, and soreness when lifting certain objects or even just lifting the arm. Usually in these cases, people will also experience weakness and a weird sensation whenever they are moving their shoulder; this particular sensation is called crepitus and usually feels like a sort of cracking that comes from within the shoulder or under the skin.

Another type of injury that can cause the tear of the supraspinatus muscle is an accident such as falling or due to exhaustion and overuse. Usually the immediate symptoms are weakness and a lot of pain but sometimes people might not experience pain at all and could go around for years with an injury in their shoulder.

However, even those who don’t experience pain at first could eventually develop painful symptom and while it should start off mild, it will gradually become more severe. Without proper care, the pain will not go away on its own and people will eventually start taking anti-inflammatory or over the counter pain killers. But most patients usually get to a stage where this type of medication is no longer sufficient to alleviate their pain and seek stronger treatments.

However, treated in time, this particular injury will not become as severe and even when the injury is due to overuse, people will only experience light weakness. In order to treat it in time, people should seek help as soon as they notice symptoms.

An interesting fact is that massage therapists and chiropractors are often those who have this particular muscle overused due to the repeated motions they have to perform with their arms; these movements frequently engage this particular muscle so they are one of the main categories of people who suffer from pain due to their supraspinatus muscle.

There are cases in which this muscle can become weak or injured without any particular reason; sometimes those who do a lot of physical effort without proper safety measures might not even realize that they are putting a lot of pressure on this muscle, which is generally undeveloped for the average person.

Those who find themselves with a similar issue should first contact their physician and make sure that the pain isn’t caused by some other factors. If the muscle weakness, wear and tear or injury is the cause for their pain, then their doctor may suggest they should contact a massage therapist and even take medicine if the pain is too severe.

Due to its wide application in so many issues, remedial massage remains one of the best ways to naturally heal injuries in tendons and muscles as well as remove scar tissue and other residue that might accumulate. Remedial massage is a great treatment with any age or gender and it’s a great alternative to conventional pain medicine and surgery.

A massage therapist can help alleviate pain to a certain degree even from the first couple of sessions. This is an extremely good alternative for those who don’t want or can’t take pain medication. After regular remedial massage therapy, people should feel much better and generally it takes a few months to a year of regular massage to completely heal the muscle depending on various factors such as the scar tissue accumulated, the severity of their injury, the natural healing potential of the body, etc.

The techniques used are usually combining several types of massage such as deep tissue massage, sports massage, remedial massage, etc. Patients who undergo these clinical massage therapies are most of the time satisfied with their results and often choose this particular procedure for its non-invasive approach.

Clinical and therapeutic massage on the Gold Coast are available to residents and visitors at Pain Relief Massage Clinic. Click and visit www.remedialmassage-goldcoast.com.au to find detailed information.

Pain Relief Massage Clinic
192 Brisbane Road, Arundel Gold Coast QLD 4214 Australia
Phone: (07) 5537 7886