Online Store

Welcome to our online store. 
Please select from the categories below to begin shopping.  If at any time you desire to return to this page, click on the link in the menu bar on the left hand side of the website.

Please note that international customers will be charged a $25 International shipping fee after submitting an order.

Volume discounts are available for wholesale/resale

Orthopedic Massage for Complicated Cervical Conditions   Dynamic Chiropractic January 1, 2006, Volume 24, Issue 01 www.dynamicchiropractic.com DVD Review by Scott Hopkins, DC Dr. Hopkins' Rating: 9 out of 10 A visit to a chiropractor can mean different things to different people. Depending on the practitioner's personal philosophy, an office visit may include osseous manipulation, stretching, electrical modalities, exercise, or a host of other treatments. What you do in your office will determine your opinion of this video - Orthopedic Massage for Complicated Cervical Conditions, by James Waslaski. This video deals mostly with different types of resisted and nonresisted active and passive stretching, digital pressure during joint movement, cross-fiber friction, etc., rather than the more tradition types of massage. Most of the techniques can be incorporated into an existing practice easily (before, during or after an adjustment) without confusing the patient. The video focuses primarily on the cervical spine, but there is also a good amount of pelvic stabilization work in it. The pelvic stabilization concentrates on the iliopsoas, the QL and the "deep six" hip rotators. According to Waslaski, by taking the patient through a series of tests to determine the type of restriction, the doctor can determine whether the focus of the treatment should be for a muscle, tendon, or bone-on-bone (adhesive capsulitis) issue. The author also explains how to diagnose and treat different muscle situations, as well as problems that can occur in the hip joint. (This video is one of a series of videos, so a deeper explanation of other areas of the spine is presented elsewhere). Waslaski then goes into techniques on how to lengthen the spine and on common mistakes practitioners make. The rest of the video explains how to palpate, massage and clinically manage all of those tiny cervical muscles, as well as the pectorals, SCM and scalenes. My favorite concept that Mr. Waslaski talks about is how most practitioners who attempt to treat the patient by doing trigger-point therapy on tender areas of the back may actually be making the patient worse. More often than not, the various muscles in the back are overstretched (rather than spasmed), which leads to ischemia and point tenderness. The tender trigger points are caused by a lack of blood flow to the muscle. Putting pressure on these areas may actually introduce trauma to the area. Trigger-point therapy would be more appropriate for the pectoralis major, minor, and anterior neck muscles. When these muscles spasm, they also may contribute to hypolordosis (which causes the suboccipital fibers to spasm and leads to tension headaches), as well as to a forward rolling impression of the shoulders and an anterior neck carriage. It all comes down to educating the patient. A patient easily could be confused if the area of pain is not directly addressed first, but if a patient understands that the area of complaint is not always the area that is causing the problem, he or she should be more receptive. Mr. Waslaski takes a step-by-step approach toward explaining how to treat a patient with orthopedic massage. I found this video to be insightful, informative and interesting. It held my attention for the full hour and I have watched it several times. I found it quite helpful to learn easier ways to do some therapies that I use in my office. I would give this video a high rating for chiropractors; in fact, it is an essential piece of media for any practitioner who relies heavily on soft-tissue work. Dynamic Chiropractic January 1, 2006, Volume 24, Issue 01 More Reviews: "James Waslaski's DVDs are well organized, clear, and do a fantastic job of highlighting his considerable skills as presenter and practitioner. By integrating top-notch visual aids with quality camera work, James has raised the bar for instructional videos". --Til Luchau, Certified Advanced Rolfer®, Rolf Institute® Faculty, and Director, Advanced-Trainings.com  Recently I had the privilege of attending a James Waslaski Seminar. I was eager to learn more about releasing shoulder problems for a client of mine.  The night before I watched the James' DVD segment for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, to get ready for the appointment for the next day.  My clients' eyes popped out of her head when I was able to release her shoulder after about 4 to 5 minutes.  Thank you James!!!! Tom Wolford, Praire Village Kansas

Product Review: James Waslaski's 6 DVD set- Sports and Orthopedic Massage

James Waslaski is a sports and orthopedic massage therapist who has helped to treat injuries and chronic pain with everyone from the general population to elite, Olympic and professional athletes.

I heard about James Waslaski from a great Scottsdale based massage therapist, Don Miller. Don is a really smart guy and when he talks I listen. So per his recommendation I went to Mr. Waslawski's website, read the published articles (which were informative and interesting) and decided to make a purchase. I know I could have bought just one of the DVDs and checked it out first; but, when it comes to my continuing education I don't believe in doing things on small scale. So I purchased the entire 6 DVD set. I want all the knowledge, not just 1/6th of it!!

Honestly, if you are a massage therapist, physical therapist, athletic trainer, chiropractor, orthopedic surgeon or anyone working in the sports medicine field, these DVDs are a must have! The best part about these DVDs, which sets them apart from other DVDs of its kind, is that Mr. Waslaski doesn't just give you some protocol to follow. He gives you his thought process! This is huge in this field because when treating people, it is important to remember that no two people are alike. Individual differences are going to create changes in your treatment protocol, and those that watch and follow a protocol based DVD are not going to be able to pick up on these difference, ultimately leaving them with a half-hearted treatment.

I feel that the review of this product is fitting given that my last blog entry was a research review centered on functional assessment and some of my feelings on proper assessment in the field of strength and conditioning. As everyone who reads this blog knows, I am an assessment junkie. It was refreshing to see that Mr. Waslaski is the same way! Most massage therapists don't do a proper assessment and just go and "dig right in." It was great to see Mr. Waslaski go over his process of assessment and treatment. Really focusing on assessing posture, active ROM, passive ROM and muscle strength testing. This really helps to make the treatment specific to the client's needs, and again, a feature that those who view more protocol based DVDs are going to miss out on.

I enjoyed how Mr. Waslaski went through his treatment process and talked about various techniques of soft tissue therapy and how and when to use which ones depending on the feedback from the client and how the tissue feels (palpation assessment). This is critical as I feel that a lot of people get so wrapped up into one thing. For example they only do Neuromuscular Techniques or the only do Myofascial Release or they only do Active Release Techniques. All of these techniques are great, but they all have different places in a treatment program, and it is really up to the therapist to determine which one is the proper technique to use and when to use it. Again, it is essential to get away from protocol based work and more into interpreting what the clients' needs are.

It was also excellent to see a massage therapist stress the importance of stretching (especially contract-relax-contract antagonist) following soft tissue work. This is really a missing link in a lot of massage therapists' treatments of soft tissue injuries. Restoring proper length and helping to re-align collagen fibers is essential in facilitating a healing environment. While stretching is an integral part of most treatments in physical therapy, athletic training and strength and conditioning, massage therapists seem to overlook this modality. The other great thing that was stressed in these DVDs was to only stretch what needs to be stretch! To often people try and go in and stretch everything, using what I call the "shotgun approach." IE, if you just stretch everything, one of them will work. This really comes back to having a good assessment and then being specific with the treatment. The more specific you can get, the better your treatment will be (just as in Strength and Conditioning, the more specific we can get with our assessment and program design, the more efficient we will be in helping athletes' correct their weak links and movement impairments).

I really can't say enough good things about this product. If you are in this field, you really need to have this product in your collection!

I'll be back later this week with more research and training info! As always, if you have a question (or comment) for the Q&A segment, please use the ?comment' feature at the bottom of each blog entry.

Patrick