Marcie Kiger Massage Therapy

04/19/2026

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🛑 STOP DIGGING A LACROSSE BALL INTO THE KNOTS BETWEEN YOUR SHOULDER BLADES. Why your upper back pain always comes back immediately, and the terrifying mechanical reality of how you are violently overstretching your master stabilizers.

If you constantly have a burning, agonizing "knot" right between your shoulder blades—and you spend hours begging someone to rub it, or aggressively grinding your back into a wall with a hard massage ball just to get 10 minutes of relief—you are caught in a massive Leverage Failure of your upper kinetic chain. Clinically, this is diagnosed as Upper Crossed Syndrome. At MedicMechanics, we call this tension derailment The Trapezius Fire.

To permanently extinguish the burning knots, you must understand a critical mechanical truth: those muscles between your shoulder blades are not "tight" and need to be massaged; they are violently overstretched and physically tearing.

The Engineering Breakdown: The Anchor Cables
The muscles between your shoulder blades (the Rhomboids and Middle Trapezius) are designed to act as short, extremely strong steel cables. Their entire job is to hold your heavy shoulder blades firmly back and down against your spine.

The Mechanical Failure: The Taut Rubber Band
As visualized in our hyper-realistic 3D breakdown, hunching over a keyboard destroys these master cables.

The Protraction Force: Slouching forward physically pulls your heavy shoulder blades completely forward, wrapping them around the sides of your ribcage (visualized by the massive green Protraction Force arrows).

The Violent Overstretch: The back muscles are forced to stretch across this massive gap. They are now permanently pulled out like fully taut rubber bands. They are exhausted, paper-thin (the pale pink tissue), and desperately fighting gravity to hold your spine together.

The Micro-Tears: Because they are locked in a maximum overstretched state 24/7, the individual muscle fibers literally begin to snap, micro-tear, and spasm. This creates dense, highly inflamed "knots" (the glowing red trigger points).

The Friction Zone: Digging a hard lacrosse ball directly into a muscle that is already overstretched and actively tearing is a catastrophic error. You are literally bruising the tissue, creating a blazing Friction Zone. You are attacking the victim, not the criminal.

The MedicMechanics 3-Step Mechanical Fix
We must release the criminal pulling them forward, and re-shorten the anchor cables.

Step 1: Release the Criminal (Pectoral Smash). The muscles violently pulling your shoulders forward live on the front of your body. Take a massage ball against a wall and aggressively release your chest (Pectoralis Major and Minor). Slackening these front muscles instantly drops the tension on your back.

Step 2: Squeeze the Sponges (Scapular Retractions). You must pump healing blood into the exhausted, tearing knots. Sit up straight with your arms resting at your sides. Violently squeeze your shoulder blades together as hard as you can for 5 full seconds, then release. Do this 10 times.

Step 3: Lock the Anchors (Band Pull-Aparts). Hold a light resistance band straight out in front of you. Keep your arms locked straight, and forcefully pull the band completely apart until it touches your chest, pinching your back together. This physically shortens and rebuilds the cables so they can hold the shoulders back effortlessly.

Stop crushing the victim. Release the tension. Rebuild the leverage.

03/16/2026

03/10/2026

Ever felt sore or “off” after a massage? This is a good explanation! Long. But worth the read.

Healing crisis, or time for a better explanation? 🤔

‘Healing crisis’ is one of those phrases that sounds wise until you stop and ask what it actually means.

Historically, pain was not always seen as something to ease. In older models of care, pain and irritation were sometimes taken as signs that illness was active and that the body was responding. Some practitioners even provoked painful reactions because they believed that a stronger reaction meant a stronger healing process. 🕰️

That old thinking still echoes in parts of complementary therapy. ‘Healing crisis’ is often used to explain why someone feels worse after treatment, especially later that day or the next morning. The idea is that the body is ‘processing’, ‘releasing’, ‘detoxing’, or somehow getting worse before it gets better. In some traditions, a temporary aggravation is even treated as proof that the treatment is working.

The problem is that the phrase carries baggage. It suggests that something was wrong, blocked, broken, dysfunctional, or in need of being fixed, and that the worsening somehow proves the therapist has found the problem. That is a big leap, and in many cases it is simply not justified.

Current evidence does not support that explanation. If a client feels worse after treatment, the answer is not to dress it up as healing. The answer is to understand it properly.

So what might actually be happening when someone feels stiff, sore, or more painful the day after a treatment that did not hurt at the time? 🧠

Usually, the simplest explanation is the best one. The treatment may have been a bit too much for that person, on that day, in that area, at that dose. Pressure, duration, stretching, repeated contact, and time spent on a sensitive spot can all lead to a short lived post treatment response. Research on manual therapy and massage shows that soreness, stiffness, tiredness, and increased pain are common mild reactions, often showing up within 24 hours and usually settling within 24 to 72 hours.

That is not a ‘healing crisis’. It is a response to treatment.
Pain science also helps here. Pain is not a simple readout from tissue. It is a personal experience shaped by the body, the brain, the situation, previous experience, stress, sleep, and expectation. So someone can feel fine during a massage, especially in a calm room where they feel safe and supported, then feel more sore later when the system reassesses the input. Add in existing sensitivity, worry, poor sleep, or the normal ups and downs of symptoms, and the next day response starts to make much more sense.

This also matters for therapists. A mild next day reaction does not automatically mean the therapist has done anything wrong. But it does mean something important has been learnt. The client is telling you the treatment was not as well tolerated as hoped, and that needs reflection, not spin. 👂

It is also not enough to protect yourself by casually saying, ‘You might feel a bit sore tomorrow’, then applying whatever pressure or technique you like and using next day pain as a convenient excuse. That is not thoughtful practice, and it is not good consent. ⛔️A warning does not make an excessive, poorly matched, or badly judged treatment appropriate.

Therapists cannot simply apply any technique with too much confidence, then hide behind the idea that soreness proves it was effective.

The real question is whether the treatment was suitable, well judged, and responsive to the person in front of you.

Was the pressure too much? Was the area already irritable? Did the client feel able to give feedback during the session? Were expectations discussed clearly and honestly? Does the next treatment need to be lighter, shorter, slower, or more tailored to that person’s current state?

That is the issue. Not blame, not mythology, but clinical reflection.

If a client reports more pain the next day, the therapist should listen, document it, explain it honestly, and adjust the plan. If the reaction is strong, unusual, or lasts beyond a couple of days, it needs proper reassessment rather than being brushed off as a positive sign. ✅

Changing the language changes the practice. ‘Healing crisis’ makes worsening sound meaningful by default. ‘Post treatment response’ asks us to pay attention, adjust the dose, and take the client’s experience seriously.

Less mythology, more honesty. Better for clients, better for therapists, better for the profession.

03/09/2026

It’s easy to associate massage with luxury, especially in a spa setting with plush robes and soothing spa music, but massage therapy is far more than a special-occasion indulgence.

Massage therapists work in a wide range of settings, including physiotherapy clinics, chiropractic offices, mobile practices, and, yes, spas too, delivering evidence‑informed care that contributes to meaningful health outcomes.

Whether you're managing chronic pain, recovering from injury, or looking to reduce stress and tension, massage therapy can be a vital part of a comprehensive wellness plan.

What other myths about massage therapy do you want to clear up?

02/25/2026

Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds and links everything in your body. It’s a continuous, responsive system that helps transmit force, support posture, and coordinate movement.

When fascia becomes restricted from injury, stress, or long-held patterns, it can limit mobility and pull the body out of alignment.

When fascia moves well, the whole body moves well.

Fascia Research Society. Photography by Thomas Stephan.

02/10/2026

www.lookbeforeyoubookamassage.com

01/05/2026

There’s a misconception out there, so let’s clear it up:

Massage Therapy ≠ “Happy Endings”

Real, licensed massage therapy is about healing, relaxation, and therapeutic care — It does not include sexual services of any kind, Including “Happy Endings”

My practice is a safe, professional space focused on your health and well-being. Respectful clients are always welcome, and professionalism is never optional.

Thank you to my wonderful clients who value ethical, therapeutic massage. 🤍

01/01/2026

To My Wonderful Clients,

As we close out 2025 and welcome in 2026, I want to say; Thank you-from the bottom of my heart-for your trust, loyalty, and support.
Each time you choose me, you allow me to do what I love, and that is a gift I never take lightly.

I am deeply grateful for the relationships we've built, the conversations we've shared, and the moments of care and connection along the way. You are more than clients to me-you are a blessing.

As I look ahead, my prayer is that you feel renewed, cared for, and reminded of how valued you truly are. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your journey. It is an honor to serve you, and I look forward to continuing this path together.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

With heartfelt gratitude,
Marcie

12/21/2025

In my case I would have a Coke zero In my glass! 😂

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