English, massage therapy, ASMR, podcast
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EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (Canadian-General) North American (General)Transcript
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bump. Hello everyone and welcome to another sensory approach to Emmanuel therapy podcast. Yeah I hope you guys are all doing well today. I'm looking forward to talking to you guys today about a really unique concept um as it relates to manual therapy which is A. S. M. R. It stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. And I'm going to spend a little bit of time talking about a smr. But really what I'm interested in is an idea that I was able to discuss with dr p oreo uh the University of essex about um the potential use of a smR triggers in therapy to help reduce pain or to help create an environment where treatment can be more effective. Um There's a few key things here in the first is that SmR research is quite brand new. It hasn't been around a very long time. And so anything we talked about today is there's some information that has been based off of research and then the rest of it is really based off of hypothesis and theories that people want to look at. They want to discuss and they want to come and investigate but we just don't have the research there yet. So some of the stuff I talked today about will be hypothetical and um the positive with a. S. M. R. Is that there are very few negative side effects to possibly trying to integrate it into manual therapy. So it's one of the benefits. So the first thing is just looking at what A. S. M. R. Is. If you don't know again it's autonomous sensory meridian response. and sometimes known as auto sensory meridian response and it's a tingling sensation that typically begins with the scalp moves down the back of the neck and the upper spine. Um This is similar to chills if anybody has done something as a kid like crisscross applesauce or if you get what's known as aesthetic chills or um that is also a version of a smr. However it is not an A. S. M. R. Reaction. Um One of the things that dr curio discussed with me was that the level of the response and the intensity of the response is actually part of what distinguishes it from an smr response versus aesthetic chills or free song or just a feel good sensation. And one of the key components is when we get this a smr trigger, it is blissful and trance. Like um one of the reasons I got interested in with this was that I get this um I often will get an A. S. M. R. Trigger um specifically around things like lice checks like scalp massage or back scratches. And it actually got me interested because the reaction that I received to this type of stimulus was so intense that I often found that would reduce my back pain. Obviously it would help reduce anxiety and stress but it would even help reduce some of my physiological not receptive pain. And so I started wondering is this aesthetic chills or smr feeling something that could be used in a therapeutic environment? Um So Not everybody gets it. That's another key component. Believe it's only about 20% of the population will have triggers that trigger an smr response. Um other people might get aesthetic chills which is very common. Let's say if you listen to a very um unique piece of music sometimes people will get it if they listen to like I was listening to music the other day and acquire came on um and or done it when I listen to ode to joy and I will get chills but that response um or if you touch like peach fuzz or kiwis, things like that, those chills that you get are not considered a smr intense enough, they're simply considered free. So our aesthetic chills. Um the SmR response really does have this blissed out component to it. One of the interesting things though about a smr um and aesthetic chills is an idea that dr peoria and I discussed which is this idea that it's possibly a spectrum of responses and A. S. M. R. Would be the most extreme feel good response. And just below that we would have prison or aesthetic chills as a response. And then below that you would have just oh that feels good. And then you'd have possibly on the other end of the spectrum um to the same stimulus, a negative response where it doesn't feel good and it's irritating or a response that that is actually stress inducing and an example of this would also be a back scratch. Um I happen to have a reaction with the backstretch that really blesses me out and that I enjoy. Other people say it feels good. Some people say it feels bad and they don't like it and some people actually get stressed by the idea by the idea or even the sensation of a back scratch. So there's a possibility that there's a spectrum of responses to the stimulus and that these spectrums can both be positive and negative. The reason this also becomes interesting to me as a possible spectrum is because as manual therapists, we are uniquely situated and suited to trigger either chills Smr a feel good sensation or induce anxiety or uncomfortable sensations. And the reason for this is a lot of the prerequisites that are set up around creating a SmR triggers. Um so I want to go over some of those um prerequisites and you might notice that a few of them seem familiar to you as a manual therapist. Um the first one that I think is really relevant is personal attention. An SmR trigger is usually something that is happening when the individual receiving the SmR trigger is given personal attention or feels like attention is given to them personally. It's one of the reasons why I have a lot of youtube videos, you'll see that the point of view of the camera and of the A. S. M. R. S. Which is the person performing the smr and the Youtube videos. One of the reasons the point of view is very personalized. So like somebody maybe touching the camera or they'll be whispering to the camera or if they're applying if there folding sheets and things like this it'll it'll be towards the camera as though the person watching the computer is actually experiencing what is occurring in the video. And that sense of personalized attention can really create an environment where an smr chill responses triggered. Or even those aesthetic chills are triggered. And I think that personalized attention is something that's very common in manual therapy. Somebody's you know they're coming into your clinic or your office And they're receiving 100% of your attention and there's there's a level of personalized focus that is quite relevant to creating an environment where these triggers can be um stimulated. Another aspect of it is quiet and repetitive. Now this doesn't necessarily play in an equally with the quiet. Because not all offices for manual therapy are quiet. For example. You know working physical therapist clubs more clinics worked in jim's things like that. My my office. Yeah. Used a lot of music and a lot of communications are very quiet however repetitive actions is something that's very common for an A. S. M. R. Or aesthetic chills response. And repetitive actions are very common for massage therapists very very common. So that's something that's really interesting as well? Uh soft voices and whispers again? I don't do that all the time. But most massage therapy does have this aspect of this hypnotic tone or this monotone behavior um Sometimes even whispering and things like that that can really trigger uh type of Charles or aesthetic response or or sorry aesthetic chills response or an sme response. But some of the more interesting psychological aspects that are not necessarily as commonly known. Um I want to talk about and these I actually think are the ones that give the biggest um potential for a smr triggers and aesthetic chills. The first one I think is very important. And it's it's a psychological term that dr Ossorio mentioned to me as a prerequisite for an smr response or even these free cell response if it is a spectrum and that is intimacy without vulnerability. And this is very relevant to most manual therapists because most manual therapists are in a position where they are in power. You know in a legal environment if a therapist is being sued or in court, the therapists, massage therapist is considered in the position of power. However um when it comes to what the client is doing, we consistently we try to create an environment where the client feels like they are the ones in the position of power. First of all they're paying to see us, they're coming to us privately secondly will often ask things like that? Is the lighting good? Is the music too loud? Is the pressure? Okay, Is this where you're hurting? Where are you hurting? Is the table warm enough? Are you warm enough? And all of these questions are giving the client and the patient the sensation that they are in a position of power which is good and appropriate and necessary. And it also helps create an environment where the client or the patient doesn't feel vulnerable. However, they feel very intimate with therapists and a lot of therapists have stories of clients on their table telling them very intimate details about their life because they feel a connection with their therapist, but they don't necessarily get in other areas of their life. And there are many reasons for that. We can look at things like people are nude or semi nude under sheets draped but being touched by someone. And very few individuals in their life will allow themselves to be touched when they're nude or semi nude, even if they are draped um in that type of context. So it creates a level of trust and intimacy that's very high, very quickly, which could make them feel vulnerable. But because the questions we asked make them feel like they're in power. They have this sensation of being very intimate with someone but not vulnerable. And this is one of those prerequisites for being able to create this aesthetic chill feel good sensation. A smr response that is really important. So, manual therapy is set up environmentally to create this possible feel good response in the body. Another one is a depersonalized experience. This was another one that Dr mentioned to me um essentially what it is is that when they come in to see the therapist they get to know your name and stuff like that, but they don't really want to know about you. They want to be given the attention and then what they end up focusing on primarily during the visits are your hands and your words. And so they compartmentalize the therapist and depersonalize them as just purely hands and a voice. And it creates a sensation where only the hands of the voice are present to them. And this really sets up again the environment for this. Um this a smr or aesthetic shows for strong response. And so it doesn't necessarily mean that a smr or free samples are going to be the thing that help relieve chronic pain, but it does mean that we as touched therapists are setting are set up naturally in in our in our environment and in our industry to be predisposed to have these triggers be set off and the positive there is that there are research studies that have been shown that a smr and aesthetic chills um can increase dopamine, they can increase oxytocin and they can decrease heart rate. So as massage therapists um we might be creating a dopamine and oxytocin heart rate change purely from just having them in our clinic and speaking to them and touching them the way we do it may have nothing to do with whether you do cranial sacral, a shiatsu mild fast release trigger point therapy, sport. It may have nothing to do with the actual modality or technique you do. It may have purely to do with the environment and the fact that they are receiving that attention. And that's a really interesting component because it really it really should change people's mentality from this deeper pressure. More aggressive touch to just being present to your client in a room where they feel safe and intimate will already be enough to help with their with their discomfort and stress and anxiety. So it really sets up the environment. Um for this response. Another important aspect of it that I think is interesting is there's a conscious state that has to be present for most of these smr aesthetic chills responses. Now, patients and clients will often fall asleep on tables but they begin in the conscious state and before they fall asleep that trigger might help again decrease that anxiety and with that uptake into openly and oxytocin and then allow them to fall unconscious but they begin that conscious state. Um the other thing that's really interesting with it is there's a very large component to a smr and aesthetic chills. Where the number one trigger is touch and its light touch. So there's a tactile stimulus is the number one trigger for this type of aesthetic shows feel good response. The second is auditory and the third is visual. And an interesting component that doctor doctor, I believe it was Roy talks about um from I believe the University of West Virginia, it might have been the University of Winnipeg, I can't remember. Um is that this echoes the pediatric development in that in utero touches the first sense that's really developed by the embryo and then auditory. And then when we come out we when we're born we have a visual component to it as well. And so the touch, auditory and visual is reflected in our smr and aesthetic chill responses and I feel good responses where it touches the primary factor. But again it is triggered by a light touch. So this is the first touch we're making with our clients. You know, one of the things we talked about in the sensory approach to annual therapy so much and so frequently Is that first introductory touch to the client, is that 3g of pressure, confident about a light touch to really introduce your hand to them and really introduce contact with the skin and how that light touch sets up the treatment. It doesn't mean we won't go deeper later, but it means we don't start with the aggressive touch and we don't start with the deep stuff. Um We always go for less is more and the science is acting that up more and more. Not only when it comes to some of your stuff. We're talking about podcasts around skin and fashion and things like that, but now here as well with it when looking at the psychological components of what light touch to the does to the body where again going to this less is more lighter touch, lighter voice, less speed, repetitive behavior. Um All of these things that clients are looking for that we would get from traditional massages are beginning to help us understand how the anxiety is being changed. Um So I just wanted to talk about that. I I think it's a very interesting subject. I think there's room for a lot of interesting research in this and I'm hoping to actually put together a research paper um That when I do I'll probably reach out on my instagram to to people about this. If you're interested in learning more about A. S. M. R. You can go to my instagram and look at the last video I did. Um I'm also going to be putting together a new addition to the online class for those who have already paid for it and taken it. Um It's not up yet but I'm going to be doing that in the next couple of months and putting up an addition um to the to the online class about a smr and manual therapy and the possible connections between everything. Um If you're interested in taking that class, uh it is at www dot sensory approach dot com and you can sign up and take the E course and um you can take the class right now. There's nothing about it on the SmR but there's tons of other stuff. All the other stuff on the podcast that we've talked about. The other podcast is already there and this will be updated when it is updated. You will have access to it, it's lifelong access to the class and I will send a newsletter to you letting you know that it's been updated and there's new material in the class. Thanks everybody for listening today. I can't wait to see you guys in the next instagram uh and instagram, Q and A. And I hope everybody has a great day. Thanks again for subscribing to my podcast. But there's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels upon the levers upon all the apparatus. And you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it to the people who own it that unless you're free. The machine will be prevented from working at all