Got My Cast Off
27 August 2010As soon as it was off I knew there was no way I would be able to massage in a week. All the hoping and praying along with Electro-stem, hydrotherapy and lymph massage wasn’t enough. It was definitely helpful with range of motion and strength, when in alignment. My wrist cannot flex or extend just yet, its very stiff.
The splint reminds me not to try moving it too much, but I applied Kinesio Tape to move things around with a lymph application and my skin color returned. The homework is the same as post carpal tunnel surgery. Its slow going, but I want to be able to work for a long time so this babying period is completely necessary. Yes, I am needing to remind myself so I don’t mess things up permanently.
I miss my Clientele and bodywork, but this too shall pass.
Step-By-Step
13 August 2010Have you ever noticed how essential information goes in one ear, gets stored in a memory file and then never surfaces until it is mentioned again. Last year my good friend and fellow therapist that shares my room, broke her left hand. She has helped me out with my clients and healing information. From her experience I have also gained helpful operational strategies.
The most important healing information was to get electro-stim acupuncture. Yeah, she told me last year that she got it done but I forgot. It has almost been a month, and I just got my range of motion back in my fingers but not my elbow and strength or willingness to bear weight, it just was not there. I got some acupuncture done yesterday, my first time having electro-stimulation, it felt crazy but I still dozed off. When done, my arm felt like my arm again, I know silly but true. ROM is much better on my elbow and I actually have some strength in the use of my fingers. I am headed back for more on Monday.
My friend got her cast off two weeks early because of electro-stim. She started Massage right away, but took 1/2 hour breaks to ice in between, and started out with 2 in the am and 2 in the pm. This is what my schedule looks like starting in September, I hope it works out. Wish me Luck.
No Surgery & No Massages
27 July 2010I never thought about how much my clients are a part of my life until now. I miss the interaction that I have with my Clientele. I have always appreciated the time I spent with each one, they are all so unique and have taught me a great deal. Even when there is no conversation, I have learned valuable information or taken a treatment technique to the next level.
I didn’t need surgery, thank goodness. The second opinion rocked, this Dr. was surprised that surgery was the only option given to me. So I of course gladly accepted the cast over metal plate and screws.
My wrist was in extension when caught, so my flexors are strained and radial/carpal ligaments are sprained. Both tips of the radius and ulna are broken, the radius styloid process was displaced but within acceptable perimeters for the Orthopedic Dr., and the ulna tiny tip was not displaced at all. So the most affected muscle was my brachioradialis, elbow flexor that can assist pronation and supination. It is the middle muscle that separates the forearm flexors and extensors. So I can not extend my elbow fully (not yet).
The cleat on the boat that my elbow got stuck on, was about five centimeters in diameter and gradually increased in circumference. Upon impact the cleat went through my skin almost an inch and made contact with the posterior humerus. My arm was trapped until my sister pushed us away from the dock. My triceps tendon seams to be just fine so everything is just bruised up. I got six stitches, I had them removed last night and all is well there.
It amazed me at how fast atrophy set in. This happened on a Friday, and I saw the Orthopedic Dr. on Monday. When he unwrapped my arm to cast it, it looked like that old man grandpa on Simpson’s skin, wavy and gross. Each day the swelling goes down, is a day closer to getting a waterproof cast and x-rays to check my bones progress. I have better results each day with lymph massage, even through the cast. I need to get better at ice, I was good the first 5 days but the cast makes it harder to feel the results of the ice. I keep hearing my therapeutic self telling me the unseen benefits, so I will try and do better.
Self Employed With No Health Insurance
19 July 2010I tell you what, I would be in a world of hurt if I didn’t have My brother-in-law and sister to help me. An injury is never expected, but when it does occur, what is your plan? Yup you guessed it, I am out of commission for 4-6 weeks.
It was a beautiful day to go boating. Not so fun to brake your radius and get stitches. So far I have had to cancel two weeks of appointments because I had two weeks set aside already for vacation. Now its to heal and recover.
I go in today to see if I need surgery. Wish me luck. All I know is I really need to heal strong and fast.
Whats your plan? Do you have Health Insurance? Or do you have a savings account set aside just for emergencies? Some Liability Insurance companies have discounts to health insurance companies. Make a plan before its too late.
Insurance Fraud and Massage Therapy
6 July 2010Insurance claims are about 90% of my Massage business. I never really thought about what might happen if I tried to take advantage of the Insurance companies, because I just could never do it. I have even been told by a client who missed her session to bill the insurance anyway, she didn’t want me loosing out on my time lost. I politely told her I could not do that, and that my schedule worked out somehow, not to worry about it. Clients do try their best to make there appointments. I do have a no call no show (NCNS) policy for frequent offenders, a 30$ fee. I have never implemented it because I have not seen the need as of yet. Most of the time clients just give me a really good tip the next time they come in because they know that I could have gotten someone else in their spot if they would have remembered to call and cancel before 24 hours.
This article shed some light on the consequences of Insurance fraud. I know there are many other practitioners who are tempted to take advantage of Insurance companies. They think they wont get caught. Well I wouldn’t bet on it. Besides what kind of Karma are you setting up for your business as a whole? It is better to keep the Laws and Statues set forth, so your practice my flourish and grow.
Is your Massage School Accredited?
29 June 2010Nothing can be more horrible than finding out at the end of your massage course that your money and time spent will not allow you to work in your chosen career. One of the first questions at a preliminary interview when looking for a reputable college is who they are accredited with.
The only Massage Therapy focused accreditation is COMTA. There are other college accreditation agencies as well, just make sure you check your perspective colleges claims on their accreditation before signing up.
Massage Therapy Reciprocity
22 June 2010If you have been thinking of moving your practice to another state. It is wise to know what the state requirements are in order to practice in your new state. Its also a great idea to call the perspective state licensing board with questions regarding their requirements. Our sister site, Massage-Exam.com has information and links to each state sites. The reciprocity information is mostly found on the PDF Application or in the Laws and rules links on each state page.
You can also find the contact information to the state board and other helpful information pages on our site. Namely the Insurance comparison, MBLEx and NCETM/TMB, Associations, and Continuing Education information pages.
Massage Community Growing
14 June 2010It has been great to see the powerful changes that have been occurring in the Massage Community in the last few years. I know it has been working its way up to these improvements for many years. It is great to see the fruits of everyone’s labors.
Congratulations to the newly formed Board for the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education (AFMTE).
New Massage Insurance on The Block
9 June 2010Massage Magazine has become a provider for Massage Therapists Liability Insurance. Massage Magazine Insurance Plus (MMIP) is another company I need to add to our Insurance Comparison Page on Massage-Exam.com. Silly I know but if you compare MMIP’s Comparison Page, it looks an awful lot like ours????
I guess it is flattering to know we have great resources that others like to use, even if they don’t come right out and say where they get the information or idea. I guess we are the third party spoken of at the bottom of their page.:) Oh and IMA has just changed ownership, we will also be updating that information. Happy Hunting.
Massage Therapist’s Secret Weapon
26 May 2010What is the thing we use most? Our Body’s of course. How can we ensure we will have longevity in our career? By taking care of them. We take care of our clients, give them homework, and ideas on how to enhance the healing process of a muscle issue. Yet, somehow it is all to easy to not show our body’s the same respect.
I was a whole year without having a regular workout program. I finally got off my duff and strive to visit the gym at least three times a week. Now, I am not one to “Pump Iron” or trip all over my self in aerobics class (although that does sound like a challenge for later), but I do love sports. My gym has racquetball courts, so I thought I would try my hand at it. Turns out its really hard to schedule a regular partner so most days I am in there chasing that blue ball by myself. It is so fun! Among the many benefits of increasing my heart rate and sweating, I have found I have better muscle tone in my arms. I stretch all the muscles a little before to warm up and long good breath stretches at the end and my shoulder ROM has improved to almost 100% and the popping on rotation has decreased 85%. I have also found my Volleyball skills have increased with this secret weapon of mine.
I have therapist friends who utilize swimming for these very reasons. When I get to a point where I need to change it up, I plan on that as my next sport to master. Whats your secret weapon?
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