Andrew Sague Massage

05/08/2026

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https://andrewsague.com/book-online.html

05/05/2026

This is not exactly an ad.
This is a real offer that allows you to try a professional massage completely free.
In exchange for… I am intentionally not describing the details here, because explaining them briefly would be unclear and would raise many reasonable questions — answering them would take too much space and only create more confusion.

Just contact me for details.

04/28/2026

METHODS OF DECEPTION IN PSEUDOMEDICINE
Pseudoscientific treatment methods rely on a variety of tricks to demonstrate their supposed effectiveness. Since their actual therapeutic effect does not exceed placebo, they desperately need some kind of “evidence” they can present to patients.

One of the simplest techniques can be conditionally called “treating a suddenly discovered disease.”

During an examination, the practitioner “detects” a certain pathology or syndrome that allegedly already threatens the patient’s health and will soon lead to serious consequences. Real symptoms are either ignored or partially reinterpreted as early manifestations of this newly discovered, dangerous condition.

Next comes a set of “therapeutic procedures”...
Continue reading

How pseudomedicine deceives patients through invented conditions and meaningless “treatments”.

04/26/2026

A brief look at J. Walaski’s Clinical Massage Therapy.

The book presents itself as a serious clinical approach to musculoskeletal conditions. But when you try to apply the author’s recommendations, the same question keeps coming up: HOW?
Reading on.
P 20 Step 7: Cross Fiber Gliding Strokes / Trigger Point Therapy. The author says these are two different techniques performed in sequence. He also insists the work must stay within a pain free limit. But these structures are painful even under light palpation — as he himself notes earlier. So how do you increase pressure and still stay pain free? No answer.
Next, he suggests working along the taut band from origin to insertion. But trigger points are located exactly on these bands. What are we supposed to do with the trigger point itself? Jump over it? Go around it? Start from the other end? Again — no explanation.
In the end: even a small fragment of the book raises more questions than clarity.

More details:
https://andrewsague.com/articles/a-brief-look-at-j-walaskis-clinical-massage-therapy/

04/24/2026

A FEW WORDS ABOUT TRIGGER POINTS

Many massage therapists treat the theory they learned in college as gospel — unquestionable, final, and beyond doubt. That's not quite the case. Many principles of modern massage theory are debatable, and some don't hold up to scrutiny at all.

Take trigger points. There's an enormous body of material on their diagnosis and treatment, where they often take center stage in explaining pain. The typical story goes like this: a skilled massage therapist eliminates in two minutes the pain a patient has lived with for ten years — pain that specialists of every stripe failed to touch. And remarkably, many people believe these stories. Including massage therapists themselves. And even physicians.

But let's go back to the source. Trigger point discussions invariably reference the books of Travell and Simons — dense, complex works that require a solid foundation in physiology and medicine to follow. Most massage therapists don't have that background and understandably get lost in the material.

On closer inspection, however, all that complexity turns out to be largely a retelling of standard medical physiology textbooks, in which trigger points do not feature at all. The theory lives in one place, the trigger points in another, connected by a couple of thin threads. In practice, all that theory mostly adds bulk and lends the books an air of serious scientific authority.

This was neatly illustrated by Steven Jurch (MA, ATC, LMT) of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston in his book Clinical Massage Therapy: Assessment And Treatment Of Orthopedic Conditions (2009). Jurch is a true believer — someone who places trigger points at the center of the pathogenesis of many musculoskeletal conditions — so accusing him of bias would be a stretch. And yet, after several decades of studying the subject, here is what he wrote:

"What happens to the muscle to cause a trigger point? Unfortunately, there is no gold standard for the pathology behind trigger points. The current etiology is known as the integrated hypothesis (Simons, 2004) because it combines two widely accepted theories."

In other words, plain and simple: after decades of research, mountains of books, and countless case studies, there is no scientific foundation for trigger points. The whole thing rests on a couple of unproven assumptions. That's it.

more articles in my blog:

Multiple Conditions in Massage Therapy March 27, 2026 by Andrew A massage therapist should always keep in mind the possibility of several independent conditions occurring in the same area of the body. To make this clearer, let’s look at an example. A client comes to your clinic complaining of pain...

04/24/2026

04/22/2026

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04/01/2026

BIOMECHANICS AND FASCIA

There is a book on biomechanics — Fundamentals of Biomechanics by Duane Knudson. It is a large and extremely complex work, filled with diagrams, graphs, and formulas; properly understanding it requires a high level of preparation.

The book provides a detailed and systematic analysis of the biomechanics of various body tissues — from their structural properties to their behavior under load — based on measurable parameters, models, and experimental data. It also examines in depth the components of the musculoskeletal system: bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles — both individually and in their functional interaction.

And despite all this, not a single word about FASCIA. Not as an independent system, not as a meaningful factor influencing movement mechanics. This is not a passing mention or a minor omission — it is simply not there. In a work that carefully analyzes the mechanical properties of tissues and the interaction of anatomical structures, fascia is given no place at all.

So every time I come across enthusiastic claims about some kind of “fascial system” — assertions that fascia permeates every corner of the human body, determines movement, coordinates force transmission, manages load distribution, contributes to proprioception, and functions almost as an independent regulatory system — I find myself asking a simple question: what is all this actually based on?

And when no clear answer follows — only references to each other and to popular interpretations — I can only treat such claims with a fair degree of skepticism, if not outright amusement.

03/30/2026

Every person deserves a massage. Good for the body, great for the soul.
https://andrewsague.com/book-online.html

03/27/2026

MULTIPLE CONDITIONS IN MASSAGE THERAPY
A massage therapist should always keep in mind the possibility of several independent conditions occurring in the same area of the body.

To make this clearer, let’s look at an example.
A client comes to you complaining of pain in the upper right part of the back. During the routine examination, you identify signs of right-sided overload of the neck extensor muscles and compensatory involvement of the upper portion of the trapezius muscle on the right. The client notes that the pain appeared just two days ago and associates it with having to sit at the desk noticeably more than usual recently due to work demands.
However, in addition to this, you discover complaints of periodic numbness and tingling in the fingers of the right hand. The presence of such neurological symptoms completely changes your opinion of the case. You may well ignore the muscular changes and direct all therapeutic efforts toward addressing the neurological issue.

Let’s carefully analyze this case. On the one hand, you clearly see a muscular pattern that is logically and consistently explained by the recent overload. At the same time, the neurological symptoms clearly do not fit into this picture.

If you always remember the possibility of multiple conditions, then during a more detailed history-taking you discover an important fact: the numbness and tingling in the right hand have been bothering the client for approximately a year already. They occur periodically, and there have been no changes in this symptomatology recently.

In other words, the neurological problem is most likely unrelated to the current episode of muscular overload. Therefore, the main efforts should be focused specifically on correcting the muscular changes — this will bring a quick and noticeable effect.

Whereas if you begin to actively work on the neurological symptoms, you will not achieve any noticeable improvement. The muscular problem will remain, the client will not feel any result, will lose trust in you, and most likely will not return.

Thus, if during the examination you encounter overly diverse symptoms, remember the possibility of multiple conditions and differentiate the symptoms according to their time of onset.

See the article in my blog:

A massage therapist must always consider multiple independent conditions in the same body area. Learn how to differentiate them in practice.

03/25/2026

SIMPLE SPINAL PAIN DIFFERENTIATION ALGORITHM
(for massage therapists)
Step 1 – Localisation
Ask client to POINT where it hurts.
Local spot / Wide area / Band into limb (use dermatome chart)
Step 2 – History
Recent trauma? Unusual activity? Long sitting?
Step 3 – Pain with Movement (test gently)

Worse on backward bend → often facets
Worse on forward bend → often discs/muscles
Sharp pain when straightening after bend → often disc

Step 4 – Quick Neuro Check
Upper: symptoms below shoulders?
Lower: radiates below knee? Numbness? Weakness in feet?
Step 5 – Palpation
Press spinous processes and muscles on both sides.
Note most painful spots.
Decision:
Mostly muscular → good chance to help with massage
Strong disc/nerve signs + acute → refer to doctor

Full detailed algorithm → in my blog

Quick 5-step algorithm to differentiate spinal pain (muscles, discs, facets, nerves) in massage practice. Simple steps + when to refer to doctor.