22. February 2012 by admin.

The following are some common reasons clients have been burned by HOT STONES that massage therapists need to be aware of:

THE CLIENT WASN’T EMPOWERED. Massage therapists need to make sure their hot stone clients actively participate in the session and know they not only can—but absolutely should—let them know if the stones are too hot or they’re uncomfortable. Also, massage therapists can check in with clients, asking the client specifically about the temperature of the stones and if adjustments need to be made.

LACK OF INFORMATION. The importance of a thorough intake form cannot be overstated when talking about working with hot stones, as a variety of conditions are contraindicated. Sometimes, however, clients might not list specific conditions on the form, perhaps not realizing the potential for adverse reactions. Perhaps talk with your clients directly about some of the conditions that are contraindicated as you discuss the treatment plan with them before starting the session.

STONES HEATED IMPROPERLY. Heating stones in any device other than a unit specifically designed for this task is never appropriate. Crockpots, slow cookers, microwave ovens, ovens, heating pads and hot plates, to name a few, aren’t acceptable devices for heating stones—ever. Also, burns can happen when the water is too hot, so be sure you have a thermometer you can calibrate to properly monitor the temperature of the water you’re using to heat your stones.

NOT ENOUGH MATERIAL BETWEEN STONES. When using hot stones, massage therapists need to be sure there is some type of material between the stone and the client’s skin. Burns can result if you leave stones that are too hot sitting on the client’s skin. Although this situation may seem obvious, massage therapists need to continually monitor the temperature of their stones, particularly when they’ll be sitting on your client’s skin instead of being used during a massage.

When placing stones, you must remember to use a sheet, towel or clothing between the client’s bare skin & the hot stone.

When placing thermalballs, just put the ball on the skin!

Thermalballs have been engineered to reduce most of the risks associated with hot stones and were specifically designed to offer the finest thermal therapy device available.

Using Thermalballs cold

Hot stone massage and thermalball therapy are popular techniques, but your clients might really benefit from using a combination of heated and cooled thermalball massage therapy. Contast temperature therapy is extremely powerful healing technique.  Cold thermalballs can be particularly effective for chronic and acute conditions, such as injuries and inflammation as well as providing a numbing sensation to sensitive nerves. It is a potent pain killer, better than an ice pack when you need to apply specific pressure as well.

Similar to when heating your stones, however, you need to make sure you chill your thermalballs properly. You can place your thermalballs in the freezer or in a bucket of ice.

As with heated thermalballs, you should use a calibrated thermometer to ensure the stones are the right temperature—ranging from room temperature to 25 F.

Cooled thermalballs help remove heat from the body and allow the client to relax the affected area.

Massage therapists might consider using chilled thermalballs for trigger point work, as well as cross-fiber friction.

Using both heated and cooled thermalballs during a massage can be very effective in reducing inflammation and congestion in isolated areas. Between the applications of heated and cooled thermalballs in an isolated area, however, you need to be sure you warm your hands before placing hot objects on your client, as they may still be cold from working with chilled thermalballs. Without warming your hands first, accurately gauging the temperature may be difficult.

After alternating between hot and cold thermalbals in an isolated area, it’s best to end with a cold application to allow the body to continue to reduce any inflammation and congested blood and or lymph in the area, resulting in less pain and stiffness for your clients. This final application of cold thermalballs in an isolated area will be a “heating response” and will support the body to internally heat itself. The results will be long lasting for your client—sometimes for hours after the session has ended.

When to use heated Thermalball massage

There are myriad circumstances where hot thermalball massage makes sense. If you have a client who has a sprain, strain or acute bursitis, for example, thermalball massage can help alleviate the pain associated with these conditions. Someone dealing with a sports injury, like tennis elbow, knee pain, carpal tunnel etc… might also benefit. Common ailments, such as headache and bruises, can also be helped.  Using both hands on a large (Mega) thermalball will allow you to apply temperature and pressure to larger areas such as the back.

Again, having a good understanding of a client’s health and the basics of hydrotherapy, however, are absolutely necessary when designing a thermal therapy treatment plan. If a client has a condition that might benefit from hot thermalball massage therapy but is suffering from an ailment that contraindicates heated thermalball massage, err on the side of caution when developing a treatment plan. In this case, protocol dictates “less time, less temperature.”

Contraindications & Considerations

As with all techniques and modalities, hot and cold thermal therapy isn’t going to appeal to every client. And, as is also the case with most every massage therapy modality, there are clients who shouldn’t receive hot thermalball treatments.

FOLLOWING ARE SOME CONDITIONS WHERE HOT STONE THERAPY WOULD BE CONTRAINDICATED:

This list is not exhaustive, and massage therapists need to take a client’s full health history as presented during the intake into account before performing hot and cold stone massage.

• DIABETES

• CANCER

• AUTOIMMUNE DYSFUNCTIONS

• EPILEPSY

• NEUROPATHY

• HEART DISEASE

• SKIN CONDITIONS

• RECENT SURGERIES

• PREGNANCY - although many client love to use the larger thermalball cold for the back aches.

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22. February 2012 by admin.

Heated or Cooled Thermalball therapy

Whether helping relax, heal from an injury or decrease pain, thermalball therapy works. Massage works because you’re committed to continually learning and honing your skill in the modalities you practice. Taking continuing education, studying with therapists who have been in practice or who are especially adept at particular modalities, all combine to make you a better massage therapist.

And when dealing with your clients, knowledge is power—especially when using modalities that have the potential to harm. Following, you’ll learn more about how to safely practice with hot thermalballs.  These are the same practices that you would follow with hot stones, but thermalballs are much safer.  The insulated encasement keeps the heat (or cold) “in” and not at the surface of the ball.  The interior is much hotter or colder than the “skin” of the ball.  You know how much the thermalballs have improved your technique (even if only to reduce your hand pain due to acupressure and trigger point therapy as well as long strokes gliding over bony prominences.

(the technique)

As with all massage therapy treatments, many factors will guide you when determining how to incorporate hot thermalball techniques into a client’s session—if at all. For example, a thermalball session with a client who has multiple health problems will be necessarily different than a session where the client has no health concerns.

When using hot stones, too, you want to make sure that you don’t overdo it the first time you use the technique with your clients.

The thermalball modality, like most massage techniques, is meant to build over a period of weeks, and your clients should always leave the session feeling revived, energized, relaxed and supported. If a client feels sick or in pain—or the temperatures overworked their internal systems—they may rethink returning. Remember, your goal as their massage therapist is to help them realize the gentle benefits of receiving ongoing thermalball massages.

Thermalball therapy can be used with several massage modalities, including Swedish massage, as well as placed on the client’s body. When placing thermalballs, however, you DO NOT have to remember to use a sheet or towel or clothing between the client’s bare skin and the heated ball!  You must remember to use a sheet, towel or clothing between the client’s bare skin and a hot stone!!! During thermalball placement, the heat takes 1 to 4 minutes—depending on the size of the thermalball —to fully penetrate before your client can accurately discern if the stones are too hot. (This average time varies, too, according to the internal temperature of thermalball, as well as the health of the client, and size and placement of balls.)

(the musts)

KNOW YOUR CLIENT. Especially with hot stone massage, ensuring your clients fill out a detailed intake form is necessary. Massage therapists need a full understanding of the client’s health to determine what temperature would be appropriate. Be sure you know if your client is suffering from any injuries, dealing with chronic tension, taking any medication or plan to have any other treatments (For example, if a client is receiving multiple treatments throughout the day at a spa, one heated treatment in a six-hour timeframe is an acceptable guideline to follow.)

Keep in mind that the client’s health not only dictates the temperature of the thermalballs, but also how long heated (or chilled) thermalballs can be offered to a client’s body.

PROPER HYDRATION. Hydration is vital when doing a heated thermalball massage, both internally and to the client’s skin. Without proper hydration, burns may not occur as they often do with hot stones, but checking if the client’s skin appears dry, applying some form of moisturizer, such as massage oil or lotion, is a must.

Keeping the client’s internal system hydrated is just as important, however. Have clients drink water prior to, during and after their thermalball session. Think about it like this: Adding temperature to Swedish massage, for example, demands the body respond not only to the modality, but also to the increase of blood flow encouraged by the temperatures. Again, proper hydration is a must.

HEAT THERMALBALLS PROPERLY. First, the fastest way to heat thermalballs is by microwaving them in a Kewler Krock with the balls submerged in water.  Direct Microwaves, hot plates, slow cookers and ovens—to name only a few—are never appropriate places to heat thermalballs.

Also, the only safe way to heat thermalballs is in water, as you can accurately control the heat of the water, making sure the thermalballs don’t get too hot. You should invest in a calibrated thermometer, however, to test the temperature of the water instead of relying solely on the thermostat of the heating unit. Any heating unit you purchase should have a temperature control so you can adjust the temperature of the water as needed. Generally, water between 110–130 F will get your thermalballs to the proper temperature. If you haven’t purchased a Kewler Krock, a large microwaveable bowl filled with water, so that the thermalballs are completely submerged.  You need to make sure the entire ball is covered.  The reason for this is that if the non-toxic proprietary thermal fluid boils, the steam can reach high enough temperature to deform the encasement.  If this happens, retire the thermalball to cold use only.

JUST RIGHT. How will you know if your thermalballs are a safe temperature for your clients? A good indication is if you can hold the balls comfortably in your hands. Squeeze or hold the stone in your hand for a count of five seconds: If the balls are too hot for you to hold then they are too hot for the client.

You also need to consider how the thermalball will be used during the session to gauge the proper temperature. For example, using thermalballs during a massage is different than placing a heated thermalballs on the spine, and you need to take this difference into consideration when heating your thermalballs. Massaging with heated thermalballs, for example, will improve the heat transfer, sometimes rapidly.

Conversely, thermalballs resting on a client’s body might hold their temperature for a longer period of time.

UNDERSTAND THE BODY’S REACTION. Applications of heated thermalballs (or chilled - icyball) produces a series of internal responses. Working with temperatures acts as a derivative—decreasing blood and lymph in one area by increasing blood and lymph in another.

Prolonged application of heated thermalballs to a reflex area causes dilation of the blood vessels of related organs. In other words, the use of heated stones on isolated areas pulls blood from the reflex organs to the tissue in those regions, resulting in warm, flushed skin. Often, this result opens the door for therapists to work even deeper on trigger points or really tight muscles.

The amount of time you use heated thermalballs on a client’s body is determined by how strong your client’s body is at the time of the massage therapy session. The stronger the constitution of your client, the more time you can introduce heat to the body; the weaker your client’s body, the less time you’re going to want to offer heated thermalballs. Remember above all else, however, that if you are in doubt about how a client can handle hot thermalball therapy, you should always error on the side of caution and limit the time you use heated thermalballs.  If the client has been exposed to and enjoys hot stone massages, then they will be absolutely energized by a thorough thermalball or icyball massage.

Why Clients Get Burned with HOT Stones

When done properly, there is no reason for a client to get burned during a hot stone session. That’s not to say, however, that burns never happen. Many times, if not in all cases, a burn could have been prevented.  The best way to prevent burns is to use thermalball products instead or in addition to hot stone therapy.  The single most quoted reason for switching to thermalball only therapy is the reduced risk of “burns” from hot stones and the balls ability to glide over bony prominences as well as the bonus therapy they provide to your own hands!

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21. February 2012 by admin.

 especially if your brand/product/website is visual in nature.

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10. February 2012 by admin.

But why not? People are shipping fewer packages these days, and a 30-minute massage can run $50 or more. So Kewler has compiled its own list of cheap (and even free) stress relief…

1. Plastic popping. Bubble Wrap and its generic imitators start at about $8 on Amazon, although that’s considered 80 percent off. Still, assuming the average person can pop about 72 square inches of tiny bubbles in a minute, this particular roll offers 350 sessions of stress relief for a cost of less than 4 cents each – including shipping.
2. Thermalball. The professional stress-relief medical device of choice is now a hot/cold thermal therapy device from the makers of the original icyball. About $15, but many uses besides stress relief. Check the reviews and get the right size for your hands (great Carpal Tunnel treatment! – don’t fall for the cheapest ones that are soft foam, and that’s no fun to squish.
3. Pillow beating. You could fork out $40 for one of ThinkGeek’s neat-sounding beating heart stress relief pillows, which lists this as a selling point: “If monks needed meditation pillows, they’d have these.” But pummeling the ordinary variety until you’re satisfied is a much cheaper way to vent some stress. And don’t forget pillow fights. In China, it’s now a Christmas tradition to blow off some steam by having an all-out pillow war among hundreds at a rock concert. (Check out an icyball first.)
4. Dancing. Raise your hand if you remember the Footloose warehouse scene. Music + exercise = stress relief, and there’s no numbers in the equation. Being a dancing fool is completely free, as long as you don’t put yourself in the hospital. What about the tunes, you ask? That’s what the Internet’s for: Check out 8 Ways to Get Your Favorite Music Free.
5. Laughter. There’s a reason your family and co-workers forward you silly pictures and animations, and that seemingly half of YouTube is cat videos. They’re free, they’re funny, and even the Mayo Clinic will tell you laughter is no joke: It brings extra oxygen into your body and makes you feel lighthearted, with additional long-term benefits.
6. Sex. According to WebMD, the health benefits of sexual activity include better heart health, stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, and yes, lower stress levels. Assuming you aren’t paying for your encounters, the cost factor here is capped at the price of a condom. Let’s call it $1, although you can get them for free at many college, government, and nonprofit health centers.
7. Meditation. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, as of 2007 nearly 20 million Americans practiced some form of meditation for stress relief or other issues. It doesn’t have to be a spiritual thing: Just find somewhere quiet, get comfortable, and stop thinking about problems. Focus on just about anything else – a pretty mental image, your sense of touch or hearing, repetition of a word or idea – whatever works for you.

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18. January 2012 by admin.

• The rise of late stage private equity (including secondary markets) provides all the liquidity of an IPO without the regulation;
• The high cost of compliance and new regulations has closed the IPO market to many smaller companies; and,
• Despite the trend, companies with strong fundamentals and real businesses still have access to public markets

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6. January 2012 by admin.

http://info.awarenessnetworks.com/rs/awarenessnetworks/images/THE-STATE-OF-SOCIAL-MEDIA-MARKETING.pdf

Affiliate Sites

SBIR gateway, Challenge.gov

According to the Facebook consultants at BrandGlue, 1 in 500 updates make it to the news feed. How does it work? If you like or comment on updates from one particular friend quite often, you are likely to see that person’s update in your news feed on a regular basis.

To use a personal example, I tend to like or comment on updates from my friend Juan because he is hilarious, my sister who is expecting her first baby, and Arizona Highways’ page because they are always providing great content. Because of my tendency to do so, my personal news feed usually includes an update from one if not all of those profiles.

That’s the non-scientific method for determining what happens on the Facebook news feed. During the f8 conference, Facebook did what Google has never done; they provided the mathematic formula behind news feed optimization. Here it is:

Facebook EdgeRank Algorithm

Note: From this point forward I’ll use Facbook’s terminology regarding objects and edges. If you don’t speak Facebook, an object = a status update or post. An edge is a comment, like or interaction with that object.

Based on this formula, an object’s likelihood of appearing in a news feed is a function of three elements:

1. Affinity
2. Weight
3. Recency

Let’s discuss each in plain English. I’ll also provide a brief explanation of what Facebook page administrators can do to take full advantage of this formula.

Affinity Score – This number defines the relationship between object creator and recipient. Those who comment and like your personal updates have a higher affinity than those that do not.

What this means to you: Create objects that appeal to different kinds of connections. If you see the same people commenting and liking a specific type of object like photos, create a different kinds of objects like questions or polls to elicit a response from other connections. The more variety you have with the profiles that provide feedback and like your objects, the greater overall reach your page will have in the news feed.

Weight Score – Each object is assigned a score based on the number of comments and likes it earns. An object with 15 comments and 20 likes has a much greater weight than an object with 0 comments and likes.

What this means to you: Develop a strategy for creating objects that will generate feedback from your connections. Entertain, educate/enlighten, make invitations, say “thank you”, ask questions, etc. View every post opportunity as a method for garnering important insights and learning more about your page connections.

Time / Recency Score – This number is a reflection of how long ago the edge was created. Each edge will lose its mojo very quickly. For example, the oldest edge in my news feed right now was created 42 hours ago. Most were created in the past 18 hours.

What this means to you: Allow each object you create to gain some exposure. Creating back to back to back objects in a single afternoon will stifle each object’s ability to garner comments and likes. Meanwhile, adopt a regular posting schedule (like once or twice a day) so that you always have an object and its related edges placed in the news feed of your most loyal connections.

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19. December 2011 by admin.

Globalization trends remain strong, with investment, research capabilities, and commercialization migrating to
optimal locations, and new countries entering the mix of those committed to R&D as a national strategy. China’s
profile as the second-largest sponsor of global R&D continues to increase, whether measured in terms of funding or
generation of intellectual capital.
Even so, with over $400 billion in annual R&D funding from both public and private sectors, the United States continues
its historic and world-leading commitment to innovation as an essential catalyst for prosperity and growth. 

• U.S. Industry R&D Increases 3.8% to $280 Billion
• Growing Worldwide Emphasis on Basic Research
• Global R&D Spending to Increase 5.2% to $1.4 Trillion.
• Increasing Importance of R&D ROI and Collaboration

PDF

…for the kids:

“Finally, each year I address the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) at all levels of education.
Among our charitable purposes, Battelle is deeply committed to STEM education as the foundation for a healthy,
productive, innovation-based society. In this Forecast is a powerful statistic: between 2003 and 2007, educational
output of scientists and engineers increased Asia’s share of the global researcher pool from 16% to 31%. It is no
coincidence that this corresponds to a period of rapid innovation and economic growth in that region, offering strong
evidence that STEM education is a critical enabler of research and innovation.”

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8. December 2011 by admin.

A granted patent is a territorial legal right that excludes others from practicing, manufacturing and selling within the relevant territory.  To achieve such patent coverage, one must submit a separate application for each country (or region for the EPO - European patents).  During the process, the examiner checks the patent application to determine whether the claims are novel, nonobvious (or inventive) and useful.  The examiner often requires adjustments to the claims, text or drawings before granted.  The examination process has taken 3-8 years and sometimes longer.

A patent goes through multiple stages before a patent is granted.  Filing the application is only the beginning. All countries require an additional fee once the patent application has been granted.

Claims that are perfectly acceptable in one country might be unattainable in another, due to the different rules for examination. Once gratend, patents have a lifetime of 20 years form the date of the original patent application.

Note that a patent may protect the initial basic concept, but subsequent improvements may not be covered. Amendments or reduction in protection may occur. If a patent application protects a product for a short market lifetime, it may be a good idea to file in fewer countries.

Zombie patents (nonrelevant applications for which significant sums are still being paid) are a resource drain.

What is new NOW:

The America Invents Act significantly changes the patent system by including a “first inventor to file” system which grants patents to the first inventor, regardless of which inventor filed a patent application first.  This harmonizes the system with most other countries.

A first -inventor to file system provides clear standards for dispute resolution regarding the question of inventorship.

The new system encourages inventors to file their patent applications quickly rather than rely on the US 12 month grace period for public disclosure.

Disadvantages:

Hits small, early stage (especially medical products) as racing to the patent office with well written claims will be flooded by well-established companies with resources to file quickly and often.

Places pressure on inventors rush to file potentially missing critical claims.  I should have used the words electromagnetic energy to cover the frequency domain of lasers, which became important when granted an SBIR award in 2009.  The cost of the amendments are high unless you are a lawyer skilled in the art of the invention.

Another disadvantage is the need for limited disclosure of an invention before the invention is filed.  This is particularly relevant to startup companies seeking venture capital funding - they must be guarded about what and how much they disclose.

The creation of a nine month post =grant opposition review period.  This provision is effective on year from enactment of the bill but applies only to the first-inventor to file applications filed 18 months after enactment.

A decrease in litigation also may not occur to the extent expected because final post-grant review decisions are appealable to the Court of Appeals for Federal rulings.

Fees will go up 15% and an accelerated examination path will be reinstated (was on hold in April due to budget cuts).  Estimates of over a half million patent applications are in backlog.

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28. September 2011 by admin.

U.S. Patent Reform: The New Standard will review the major changes contained within the American Invents Act and the timetable for adoption. Some key highlights include:

• Dramatic restrictions on false patent marking suits
• Limiting infringement suits targeting numerous unrelated defendants
• Shifting the U.S. from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system
• Establishing new post-grant review procedures

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19. September 2011 by admin.

Single stroke engine (not an icyball)

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