“I am a queer trans licensed massage therapist and an alum of Pacific College. My practice, True Bearing Bodywork (), specializes in supporting people through times of discomfort or change. This includes working with trans and queer folks specifically around surgeries, prenatal and postpartum clients, folks living with chronic pain, and those at end of life.
Often it is a combination; a pregnant trans person’s experience with chronic pain is not reflected in much of the prenatal wellness world, nor in studies on pain. It is imperative for a client’s nervous system to receive care where their experience is understood and trusted rather than othered and doubted.
Last semester, as a TA at Pacific, I demonstrated some head/neck/shoulder techniques that I use to treat folks who bind their chests. Binding is the use of garments called binders, trans tape, or other materials to make the chest appear flatter. For many reasons, not all transmasc people bind, and not all people who bind are trans.
These head/neck/shoulder techniques are also helpful for anyone who breathes shallowly due to hunching forward at a computer or folks with anxiety and chest tightness – or a combo of all three. This sequence includes first releasing pec minor to decompress the nerves running down the arms, then releasing the upper intercostals allowing more free rib-to-rib movement with breathing, and finally targeting upper trap, levator scapula, and scalenes.
Often while binding or seated at a desk we lift the shoulders up toward the ears to create a feeling of more space for the breath. It can be helpful to instruct clients who bind to think ‘out and down’ while taking an inhale – move your belly and ribs out and send the energy and breath down into your feet.”
Holly Ledbetter, LMT, CMLDT
New York Massage Therapy Program (AOS) Graduate
If you are interested in learning more about our massage therapy programs, please visit Pacific College of Health and Science’s massage therapy certificate and degree programsÌý±è²¹²µ±ð.