Freeing the elbow Figure 6: Warm up on Brachium
Good strokes to use when warming up tissue (Figure 6) include effleurage, friction, and petrissage. Warming up any tissue before therapeutically addressing it avoids injury potential, allows the therapist to ascertain tissue quality, and gauges the client’s comfort level.
Figure 7: Pulling Petrissage upon Biceps Brachii
With your outside hand, lift and secure the arm in a 90-degree manner from the torso (see Figure 7). With your inside hand: 1. Create a crescent shape (cupped shaped hand as in holding an aluminum can). 2. Grasp the biceps brachii muscle firmly, leaving no space between the therapist’s hand and client’s muscle. 3. Lift the biceps brachii muscle and mobilize in a direction toward the pinky side of the hand. As the therapist, ensure that you are moving your whole arm, not only your wrist. 4. Repeat this movement several times without creating space between the hand and the muscle. Move along the entire muscle from distal to proximal.
Figure 8: Pressing Petrissage upon Brachialis
Move along the biceps brachii laterally with straight fingers, then firmly plant fingers deeply toward the distal end of the humerus bone (see Figure 8). The thick mass of muscle felt on the bone is the brachialis muscle. Slow, nongliding movements are enough to stimulate these fibers. Moving superior–inferior will allow for longitudinal strokes; moving medial–lateral will perform cross-fiber strokes. Healthcare Consideration: Cross-fiber strokes are
designed to break up adhesions and tear muscle tissue. Ideally, these are employed only to aid muscle tissue growth and clear adhesions felt in tissue.
Figures 9
Figure 10
Midline Knuckles on Brachium Three basic steps:
1. Place the PIP (proximal interphalangeal joints) of both hands together at the center of the biceps brachii muscle (see Figure 9). Press with firm to medium pressure into the muscle. 2. Slowly ulnar deviate (abducts) your wrist with both hands, creating a slow, gliding force in opposing directions (see Figure 10). 3. Continue this slow, gliding force in straight lines toward the table with both hands. Continue this stroke until both sets of your knuckles strike the table.
Figure 11: Peeling at Olecranon
Use straight fingers to begin the stroke at the superior aspects of the olecranon process, then tissue in a proximal direction (See Figure 11). Repeat several times.
EliteLearning.com/Massage-Therapy
Book Code: MIL1226
Page 56
Powered by FlippingBook