What do vision issues have to do with the bodyworker?

Marybetts Sinclair, long-time OSM instructor, Natural Vision coach, and member of the Masage Therapy Hall of Fame, has felt passionate about vision ever since improving her own vision tremendously 40 years ago. Now, over time, she has realized how much of the chronic neck and shoulder tension that our clients complain of will simply not stay away unless vision issues are addressed. Some good examples are the person who has poorly fitting glasses or a cranial bone imbalance that causes one eye to be higher than the other, folks who hang their heads forward all the time due to nearsightedness, or a person who has suffered a traumatic brain injury that has affected the way they see.

Massage therapy alone has very limited help to offer, if the person simply continues with the same visual habits as before. Bradley Coffey, Professor of Optometry at Pacific University in Forest Grove has stated,

” There is a definite connection between certain visual conditions, especially strabismus, and postural adaptations. This is a VERY good reason that chiropractors, bodyworkers, massage therapists, and others who work on physical structure should be collaborating with good optometrists. If something is broken in the visual system that is causing a secondary physical adaptation, it will likely be impossible to resolve the physical adaptation without first addressing the visual problem.”

For us to be of the deepest assistance to our clients, learning about how vision affects the body is very important. A client who has bifocals and does not realize that they do not need to be worn during close work, may be sitting on the computer for hours every day with the suboccipitals contracted as he or she pulls the chin back and tilts the head down, trying to see thrugh the lower part of the lens.

A visit to a friendly optometrist would likely help the person get a pair of readers instead, and this could decrease the tension level in the neck and head hugely. Trying to see around cataracts, tiliting the head to avoid glare from overhead lights, and wearing glasses with the wrong presription are not something a massage thrapist can change-but being able to talk with a client about their vision and direct him or her to get help for a vision issue could be more help then many sessions of massage!

We can also offer bodywork to help release the chronic eye, neck, shoulder and back tension that goes with vision issues, and this is important to help people feel the connection. This class offers both the perspective to understand the vision piece of chronic body tension, and new bodywork treatments to address that tension.

This class is for folks who want to take their expertise to the next level! Lets learn to go beyond treating the same neck and shoulder issues over and over!

Call 503-244-3420 to register.

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