| 
Wisdom to Be. Massaged, Volume III, Issue 4
July 2010
In this issue...
Springtime Cleaning
Whitney Gilliland BA, RMT
Springtime Cleaning
Whitney Gilliland BA, RMT
With each Springtime we experience a fresh start. We clean out our closets, trading winter duds for shorts, swimsuits and sandals; we purge old trinkets and clothes from our attics and basements; we weed the garden to make space for new growth, and we recharge our active outdoor life. It’s time for gardening, Frisbee, bike-rides, hikes, camping, running and swimming! What better time then, to purge the sluggish, hibernating energies and toxins from our bodies as well? What better time to get ready for all those refreshing outdoor activities?
Massage can help you eliminate wastes stored up over time, help prepare your muscles and other
soft tissues for your Springtime lifestyle and help with the adjustment to a more active regime.
How massage helps detoxify
Massage therapy works to loosen up the soft tissues of the body including:
- Muscles
- Tendons
- Ligaments
- Joints capsules
- Fascia (connective tissue)
Muscles in particular, are quite vascular. They are supplied with blood cells dense with nutrients to help replenish and repair injured or fatigued muscles. The circulatory and lymphatic systems function to carry away injured or dead cells, hormones and chemicals that are no longer of any use to the muscle or body.
The flow of these nutrients to muscles and the removal of waste is inhibited by muscular and myofascial tension when muscles are underutilized and dehydrated.
By softening and awakening the musculature and connective tissue of your body, massage helps to create more flow. This enables detoxification and ultimately the preparation of your muscles, with the added nutrition and oxygenation they require, to move more comfortably and efficiently.
Why Epsom Salts Baths & Water Help
Epsom salts baths are a great way to complement a massage. Epsom salts are a chemical compound called Magnesium Sulfate (magnesium + sulfur + oxygen) that once “absorbed into the skin, [reduces] inflammation” [1].
Another way to assist the flow of blood and lymph circulation that can be jump-started with massage, is to hydrate. This will help purge the toxins released in massage from your system thereby prolonging the other many benefits of massage (decreased pain, increased mobility, decreased sympathetic nervous system firing, or increased relaxation).
Common ailments and conditions that Spring can bring
Several of the activities that we tend to do in the Springtime, unfortunately, can cause us pain and discomfort. Overuse injuries such as:
- ‘Golfer’s Elbow’ (tendonitis at inner elbow)
- ‘Tennis Elbow’ (tendonitis at outer elbow)
- Achilles Tendonitis
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
may arise with sports but surprisingly, activities such as gardening, mowing the lawn and raking are just as likely to bring about that familiar nagging achiness and startling weakness.
Tendonitis: the what/where/how
Tendonitis is the inflammation of a tendon. A tendon is the portion of the muscle that connects to a bone. It is comprised of dense connective tissue that has a limited blood supply [2], meaning that the micro tears that accumulate in a tendon from overuse take a longer time to heal than muscle.
Tendonitis can exist at any tendon throughout the body. However as tendonitis is the result of overuse, is stands to reason that it is more common in certain tendons more than others.
Achilles Tendonitis is located at the heel of the foot and is quite common in runners.
Golfer’s Elbow and Tennis Elbow are located on either side of the elbow and often appear with activities that require repetitive movement of the elbow, hand or fingers. Golf and Tennis are likely suspects, but gardening, raking, playing guitar and typing are all possible causes of tendonitis.
Other risk factors:
- Poor posture
- Poor ergonomic set up of work station
- Inadequate sports gear
- Poor form in sports
- Repetitive movement: “forced speed or rapid movement and lack of movement of the neck and shoulders”[3] (ie: working at computer)
- Psychological factors (ie: stress)
Prevention of tendonitis, to allow you to fully enjoy your sport or leisure activity is the ideal. Strengthening and stretching work well to keep your muscles conditioned and prepared for a new activity.
However, when the first signs of a repetitive strain injury reveal themselves it is best to get a massage.
Signs and Symptoms:
- Pain and/or weakness
- Numbness and tingling of fingers or toes
Assessment:
Massage therapists are trained to identify through health history intake, postural assessment, special testing and palpation, the source of their clients’ pain.
Treatment:
Massage and hydrotherapy techniques are used to:
- decrease pain
- reduce inflammation
- increase circulation (where safe & applicable)
- generally soften muscles and other relevant soft tissues (compensatory etc)
- breakdown and realign the ‘adhesions’ (or build-up of dense connective tissue) the body has produced to protect the tendon from further stress, for a more effective excursion or movement of the muscle.
- Regain & maintain range of motion
Manual lymphatic drainage is a technique
used by massage therapists to decrease swelling. A very light touch coupled with a systematic approach to flushing out toxins and edema can help in all stages of healing from tendonitis.
If you are interested in receiving a massage please contact Be. Massage Therapy at 422-4512 to book an appointment.
[1] www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsom_salts
[2] Rattary, Fiona & Ludwig, Linda. Clinical Massage Therapy. 2000. p.431.
[3] Rattray, Fiona & Ludwig, Linda. Clinical Massage Therapy. 2000. p. 440.
< back to News
|
