<i></i> <i></i> <i></i> 0<p><img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/11/c-users-administrator-downloads-1-11-2555-jpg.jpeg"/></p> <p>The majority of us get our hair cut every few months. We make concession for a few hours in our schedules to make room for a trip to a hair salon or barber shop. Many people do not care who cuts their hair, but others are picky in the matter, opting for a trusted hairdresser they have been to before.</p> <p>These occasional trips to the hair salon provide therapeutic relief to many as they can have a nice chat with their hair stylists. For this very reason, part of the job is about being friendly and having an agreeable personality to go with it.</p> <p>Despite the general perception that being a hairstylist is an easy job, it can be quite taxing both emotionally and physically. To alter this general perception, Hitesh Patel, a massage therapist, shared a number of photos that prove just how hard the job really is.</p> <h2>6. The Joys of Being a Hairdresser</h2> <p></p> <p>Posted by Hitesh Patel on Wednesday, October 18, 2017</p> <p>Hitesh Patel in a Facebook post shared four photos which show the effect of living as a hairstylist on the body. Alongside the post, Hitesh wrote, “<em>Because spending hours standing on your feet rotated forward, whilst holding brush in one hand and a hairdryer in the other angle over your clients head for hours and hours. Your muscles develop and stop holding your skeletal system in an unnatural off central position.” </em></p> <p>Hitesh seeks to indicate that standing in an unnatural angle for hours can have dangerous consequences on your health. The muscles try to adapt to the unnatural position and this results in an unhealthy posture which can affect your spinal health in the long run. Hitesh adds, “<em>So then when you finally do put down your crimping equipment and try and sit down in a natural neutral position it just doesn’t work.</em>” The body’s neutral position is adversely affected. Although we are often told how sitting in an office chair all day is bad for our health, we are not told enough that standing in an unnatural position all day can be just as bad.</p> <h2>5. The Power of Gua Sha Massage Therapy</h2> <p></p> <p>The joys of being a hairdresser! This is the lovely Because she spending hours standing on your feet rotated forward,…</p> <p>Posted by Hitesh Patel on Wednesday, October 11, 2017</p> <p>To help realign the body, Hitesh Patel suggests gua sha massage therapy. He writes, “<em>To reset your muscles we need to gua sha all the scar tissue and then pin and stretch your muscles and then re-align your spine so when you do your yoga exercises it has a greater affect.” </em>Gua Sha is a traditional form of Chinese medicine. During a session, the skin is scraped to stimulate blood flow and healing. It also causes slight bruising that can be seen in the picture above. Hitesh added, “<em>Gua sha breaks down any scarring or adhesion which have formed in your muscles and helps prevent further injury.</em></p> <p><em>The beauty with this treatment is that you will gain mobility straight away, but along will need to be following a stretching routine on a regular basis!.” </em>The scraping method allows the therapist to increase blood flow and loosen any tight spots in the body. For the best results, the treatment should be coupled with some form of yoga or stretching as the problem, is in essence, related to the flexibility of the body. Similar to how weight lifting, without any stretching routine, results in a very tight body, standing in a particular position all day means that your body will create muscle in certain areas to compensate. Since the muscle growth is not balanced in this case, it could result in both short and long term body pains. As Hitesh puts it, “<em>Even when you’re training hard to counterbalance, the stagnant positions of being a hairdresser you still develop lots of pathogens and sticky bits in your muscles that prevent you from moving freely as you like.” </em>The treatment seeks to correct the body’s balance so that it may reset itself to its neutral position.</p> <h2>4. How the Treatment Works</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/11/word-image-56.jpeg"/>Pacific College <p>Gua sha is an ancient healing technique used by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine and is a form of acupuncture. After a lubricant, usually massage oil, is applied to the skin or specifically, the area to be treated, the acupuncturist uses a smooth edged tool to apply strokes to the skin. By using these strokes, acupuncturists use the method to break up stagnation in the area and promote blood flow so as to relieve pain.</p> <p>Gua sha is generally performed on the back, buttocks, neck, legs and arms. A milder form of the treatment is also sometimes used on the face. The acupuncturist will usually apply mild pressure to begin with and will gradually increase the intensity of his strokes.</p> <h2>3. Benefits of Gua Sha</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/11/word-image-57.jpeg"/>E-Centre Clinic <p>As evidenced by Hitesh Patel’s post about Caroline Sharpe, a hairdresser, gua sha treatment is primarily used to treat ailments that cause chronic pain, such as arthritis and fibromyalgia, as well as those that trigger muscle and joint pain. Gua sha provides relief for these problems as it is thought to reduce inflammation in the body and promote healing. It should be noted that inflammation is an underlying cause of several conditions that cause chronic pain. Gua sha may also relieve symptoms of other conditions, including but not limited to, Hepatitis B, migraine headaches, breast engorgement, neck pain, and Tourette syndrome.</p> <h2>2. Gua Sha Side Effects</h2> <p></p> <p>Posted by Hitesh Patel on Wednesday, October 18, 2017</p> <p>Gua sha treatment is a natural healing remedy and is generally safe. The treatment is not meant to be painful but may affect the appearance of the skin. It can result in skin bruising and minor bleeding because as the treatment involves scraping skin with a massage tool, it may cause tiny blood vessels on the surface of the skin, known as capillaries, to burst. This bruising usually heals in a few days and is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Some people may also experience indentation of the skin, however, this too is temporary and will heal soon after the treatment.</p> <p>As the therapy may cause minor bleeding, it is important that the treatment is carried out in a safe and clean environment to prevent the risks associated with the transference of bloodborne diseases. Additionally, the treatment should be avoided by those who have had surgery in the past six weeks, those who are taking blood thinners, or those who have a clotting disorder. You may want to consult your doctor if you have any reservations about the treatment.</p> <h2>1. Treatment for Everyone!</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/11/word-image-58.jpeg"/>Telegraph <p>Gua sha therapy, as indicated by Hitesh Patel, is not just beneficial for hairdressers. As stated by Hitesh, “<em>It’s not just hairdressers but any job including fitness instructors, dentists, mechanics, pharmacist.” All jobs cause tightness to the muscles to some extent, some more than others. In order to preserve our bodies for the long run, we must take care of ourselves. Gua sha therapy may be one of the ways we can preserve our bodies. In recent year, researchers at prestigious institutions, including Harvard and Beth Israel Medical Centrer, have begun collecting evidence that shows that the treatment does in fact work. A study in a 2011 edition of pain medicine showed that gua sha treatment decreased neck pain for chronic neck pain sufferers. For those people suffering from chronic pain or muscular problems, gua sha therapy may be an option they should look into. Caroline Sharpe is happy to have tried it!</em></p> <i></i>