One of the questions that I most commonly get from patients and people in general is 'Do I use heat or ice on (injury, pain, post-surgery, etc.)?' My answer is always: 'It depends!'. Here are a few medical guidelines for when to use ICE: -When the injury is ACUTE (Less than 48 hours old) -When there is visible inflammation -When inflammation can be felt by the patient (I.E. inside a knee joint) Why ICE an area of the body? Ice constricts blood flow to the area of the body,

Happy Thursday Friends! Amanda here, and in this blog post, I wanted to share a little bit more about myself, and how I got to here! These are some of most regularly asked questions that patients and people ask me, so here it goes! Enjoy! Q: 'Why did you become a massage therapist?' A: 'I have always loved learning, and problem solving. When I was in school, math was my favorite subject. I enjoyed the way that things connected, and the beauty in coming to a solution for

A frequently asked question that we receive in our clinic is, 'How Often Should I get a Sports Massage?' The answer is highly variable, as it depends upon several different factors. In order to answer that question, therapists take into consideration several items, including: 1) Health History, such as any recent trauma, injury, or surgeries 2) Athlete performance schedule, including upcoming races or events 3) Any other outlying factors, including work, family schedule, tra

A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine from massage school and I ventured over to the Fadeaway Flotation Center in West Des Moines for the first time. We had been talking about trying out ‘floating’ for a while, and we were eager to check it out! Fadeaway Flotation Center is Central Iowa’s only ‘float center’. A float center is where you go to float in a sensory deprivation tank, a medical environment with the purpose of gravity reduction, stress relief, magnesium suppleme

When I am asked what I do for a living, my response is typically, 'I'm a sports massage therapist.' The next question that I typically get is, 'What is sports massage and how is it different from regular massage?' Have you ever wondered or inquired about the difference? This brief blog post will help you understand! The American Sports Massage Academy defines sports massage as: 'a field of massage relating to the prevention and treatment of injuries and disorders that are