Meet Your Massage Therapist – Shane Richer
This is Massage Therapy Awareness Week. As a result, Legge Health has decided to introduce you to our Massage Therapists throughout the week. Additionally, at the bottom of this post, you will find a short form to enter to win an $80 Gift Certificate to use at the Clinic.
My path to massage therapy was unorthodox maybe even accidental. After a few failed starts at post-secondary education and several years in the construction industry, events conspired to force a change in direction. The physical toll and hardships of the construction industry and my fledgling start down the road of martial arts drove me to seek a path to a deeper understanding of the function of the human body. This path turned out to be Massage Therapy.
From a young age I’ve viewed the world with mechanical eyes and then tried to take it apart. At the age of three I took apart my Grandfather’s toolbox with an electric screwdriver after he taught me how to put it in reverse. This view and habit of deconstructing things is how I approach my practice of Massage Therapy, constantly striving to breakdown and understand the function of the body so that I can then help people rebuild their health from the ground up.
Working to help my patients gain an understanding of their own bodies and how to protect their own physical health is an ongoing passion of mine. For instance, “The Squat” , it is a fundamental human movement. We use it everyday, in numerous ways, mostly getting up and down from sitting. The quality of our squat is an indicator of our general physical health and apptitude. Traditionally the squat was our seat, a resting position from which we ate, eliminated, and performed any number of tasks that required us to be low to the ground. Sitting in a chair is our modern equivalent and is an interrupted squat. This has had any number of negative effects on our bodies, increasing our risk of knee/back/hip pain, ankle dysfunction, Achilles tendonopathy, pelvic floor dysfunction, bowel and bladder dysfunction. There are a few key points to keep in mind when working on improving your squat. There are variations aplenty and everyone is a little different but here are the basics.
- Feet shoulder width apart and straight, weight in your heels.
- As you begin the squat keep your shins vertical (don’t let your knees come forward, as you get lower they will but they should never go past your toes)
- As you move through the squat you should also work to keep your knees from collapsing inward (they should track just above or to the outside of your foot)
- The bottom of your squat (where you stop) is the point at which your heels lift or your knees begin to collapse inward or your back begins to bend (in a resting squat your back is allowed to bend)
Enjoy squatting and all the health benefits you’ll reap. If you find yourself struggling come see me and I’ll help you figure it out.
Video of Shane Demonstrating the Squat
Click on the video to watch
Win a Gift Certificate
To celebrate Massage Therapy Awareness Week, Legge Health is holding a competition. Simply fill in this form for a chance to win an $80 Gift Certificate good for any product or service at the clinic.
Share this Post