A client with a complex health situation wants massage to improve their heart rate variability, and they are prepared to track results with a smartwatch and a smart ring.

What does this mean?

Why does HRV matter?

Are there downsides to biometric tracking related to massage?

These questions are answered, but more are raised in this episode of I Have a Client Who . . .

Sponsors: 

Books of Discovery: www.booksofdiscovery.com  

Advanced-Trainings: www.advanced-trainings.com

Host Bio:        

Ruth Werner is a former massage therapist, a writer, and an NCBTMB-approved continuing education provider. She wrote A Massage Therapist’s Guide to Pathology, now in its seventh edition, which is used in massage schools worldwide. Werner is also a long-time Massage & Bodywork columnist, most notably of the Pathology Perspectives column. Werner is also ABMP’s partner on Pocket Pathology, a web-based app and quick reference program that puts key information for nearly 200 common pathologies at your fingertips. Werner’s books are available at www.booksofdiscovery.com. And more information about her is available at www.ruthwerner.com.   

Recent Articles by Ruth:       

“Unpacking the Long Haul,” Massage & Bodywork magazine, January/February 2022, page 35, www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1439667-january-february-2022/36.

“Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy and Massage Therapy,” Massage & Bodywork magazine, September/October 2021, page 33, http://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1402696-september-october-2021/34. 

“Pharmacology Basics for Massage Therapists,” Massage & Bodywork magazine, July/August 2021, page 32, www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1384577-july-august-2021/34.   

Resources: 

Pocket Pathology: https://www.abmp.com/abmp-pocket-pathology-app

My video on HRV: Heart Rate Variability (2020). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-NWz8Kbbbk (Accessed: 28 September 2022).

Heart Rate Variability (HRV): What It Is and How You Can Track It (no date) Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21773-heart-rate-variability-hrv (Accessed: 28 September 2022).

*Privacy Not Included review: Oura Ring (no date) Mozilla Foundation. Available at: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/oura-ring/ (Accessed: 28 September 2022).

Singh, N. et al. (2018) ‘Heart Rate Variability: An Old Metric with New Meaning in the Era of using mHealth Technologies for Health and Exercise Training Guidance. Part One: Physiology and Methods’, Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology Review, 7(3), pp. 193–198. Available at: https://doi.org/10.15420/aer.2018.27.2.

The New York Times (2021) ‘The Oura Ring Is a $300 Sleep Tracker That Provides Tons of Data. But Is It Worth It?’, 27 July. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/oura-ring-sleep-tracker/ (Accessed: 28 September 2022).

About our Sponsor:

About Til Luchau and Advanced-Trainings.com:

As a Certified Advanced Rolfer™, Til was on the faculty of the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® for 20 years, where he served as Coordinator and Faculty Chair of the Foundations of Rolfing Structural Integration program. The author of the Advanced Myofascial Techniques textbook series (which has been translated into 6 languages), his regular Myofascial Techniques and Somatic Edge columns have been featured in Massage & Bodywork magazine since 2009, and (along with Whitney Lowe) he co-hosts the popular Thinking Practitioner Podcast. He is the Director of Advanced-Trainings.com which since 1985 has offered short, credit-approved professional trainings and certification for manual therapists of all types, in person and online.

Website: Advanced-Trainings.com

Email: info@advanced-trainings.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/Advanced.Trainings1/

Instagram: instagram.com/tilluchau

YouTube: youtube.com/user/AdvancedTrainings

Ep 283 – Heart Rate Variability and Biometric Devices: “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner

The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession

Ep 283 – Heart Rate Variability and Biometric Devices: “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner