Tag Archive for: Massage

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Sore Muscles… Here’s What You Can Do!

Sore Muscles... Here's What You Can Do!All of us have suffered from sore muscles at some point in our lives, the good news is, there are many ways to treat sore muscle pain.

Post-workout muscle pain is the most common cause of sore muscles, and is known in the medical community as “DOMS” or delayed onset muscle soreness.

DOMS occurs when an exercise, or a repetitive motion causes stress to muscle tissue. The tissue develops microscopic tears, causing inflammation followed by pain, usually 24 – 36 hours after the incident.

Using these 5 tips will help you mange the pain and speed up your recovery.

Hydrate ~  Make sure you are properly hydrated.  Your  body and your muscles need water, especially when they are sore.

Alternate ice and heat ~ Ice works wonders for sore muscles. Once the onset of soreness occurs, use ice and alternate with heat a few hours later. Ice helps in decreasing swelling, and heat will increase blood flow and  help relax the muscles.

Stretch ~ Your muscles need to be stretched back to their normal length. Warming up the muscles properly and  stretching before physical activity is a superb way to prevent or minimize most muscle soreness.

Walking ~ Muscle soreness is a result of tiny muscle fiber tears, and it’s also a result of a buildup of lactic acid. Going for a walk helps to  decrease that buildup of lactic acid.

Rest ~ Sleep allow muscles to regroup and rebuild.

The following disciplines and techniques can be extremely beneficial when dealing with sore muscles, so talk with your health care practitioner and find out which techniques are right for you.

Massage is used to relieve pain, relax, stimulate, by working on the soft tissues, the muscles, tendons, and ligaments to improve muscle tone.  Massage stimulates blood circulation and assists the lymphatic system (which runs parallel to the circulatory system), improving the elimination of waste throughout the body.

Acupuncture is used to encourage the body to promote natural healing and to improve function. Acupuncture points stimulates the nervous system to release chemicals in the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These chemicals will either change the experience of pain, or they will trigger the release of other chemicals and hormones which influence the body’s own internal regulating system.

eToims produces painless deep twitch contractions that stretch and relax damaged muscles. This produces an inflow of fresh blood and tissue oxygenation to tired muscles as pain-producing chemicals simultaneously outflow from affected areas.

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Foam Rolling At Home

foam-rollers-roundFoam rolling is a self massage technique used to help release tight muscles and trigger points. Using a foam roller allows you to apply pressure and compression to specific points on your body which help to “break up” muscle knots, improve blood flow and aid in the recovery of muscle function. Healthy muscles are elastic, healthy and pain free.

One of the most popular types of massages is a deep tissue massage.   The goal of a deep tissue massage is to release chronic muscle tension. The focus is on the deepest layers of muscle tissue, tendons and fascia, which is the protective layer surrounding muscles, bones and joints.

It is always recommended to consult with your healthcare practitioner before you start to introduce a new therapy such as the use of a foam roller. Craig Lawrence, a registered massage therapist at Diversified Health encourages the use of foam rollers between scheduled therapy sessions.  Using a foam roller in between your regular massage sessions helps maintain the health of your muscles, by prolonging and nurturing the work that was achieved during your massage session.

Deep compression, by rolling on a foam roller helps to break up and relax tight muscles.  The goal of massage therapy or foam rollers is to release trigger points, allow normal blood flow to return, re-establish proper movement patterns and allow the user pain free movement.

Using a foam roller, allows the user the ability to control the healing and recovery process by applying pressure in precise locations. To foam roll properly:

1. Apply moderate pressure to a specific muscle or muscle group using the roller and your body weight

2. Roll slowly, no more than one inch per second

3.  Pause for several seconds and relax as much as possible for areas that are tight or painful – after 5-30 seconds the muscle will relax and the discomfort or pain should lessen

4. If an area is too painful to apply direct pressure, use the roller on the surrounding area and talk to your practitioner

5. Do not use foam rollers directly on a joint; the foam roller is meant for muscles and connective tissue only

6.  Wait 24-48 hours before focusing on the same area

The foam roller works the same way as a massage, by breaking up the fibrous tissue that has built up so you have better circulation flow, which in turn, reduces soreness.

Remember that the foam roller isn’t a substitute for a practitioner when you’re injured. If your muscles or tissues are inflamed, don’t use a foam roller, you can cause more damage to your body.

If you have any questions regarding the use of foam rollers, please contact Craig Lawrence, RMT at 250-382-0018.

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Living Without Chronic Pain

Living Without Chronic PainYour quality of life can be a constant struggle if you are dealing with chronic pain which can lasts for weeks, months, even years. Combining lifestyle changes with treatment will help manage your pain, and in many cases eliminate the pain all together.

Lifestyle Tips:

Deep breathing and meditation are techniques that help your body relax, which eases pain.

Listening to soothing music can lift your mood, reduce stress and make living with chronic pain more bearable.

Exercise will increase your endorphins, and these “brain chemicals” will help to improve your mood while also blocking pain signals. Exercise has another pain reducing effect — it strengthens muscles, helping prevent re-injury and further pain.

Pain makes sleep difficult, however, alcohol or prolong use of sleep aids can make sleep problems worse.  Try a warm bath or shower before bed.

Find a friend, family member or support group that understands what you’re going through; you’ll feel less alone.

Keep a journal of your daily “pain score” use a pain scale from 1 to 10. This will help you track your pain and will be very useful when consulting a practitioner.

Treatment Options:

Massage is a therapeutic method that involves muscle manipulation and pressure to promote deep tissue and muscle relaxation, improved blood flow, and the release of stress and tension.  Massage for chronic pain works by releasing trigger points, restoring normal movement and removing harmful toxins from the body.

Acupuncture is a therapeutic method that involves the whole body. Pain is a feeling triggered in the nervous system, and alerts us to injuries and illnesses that need attention.  Acupuncture can help reduce your pain and will release body toxins, stress and tension.

eToims is aimed at alleviating pain and dysfunction caused by muscle and nerve injury. It involves the use of an electric current to produce a twitch in the muscle that is strong enough to stimulate the deep fibers of a muscle.

The electric current produced by the eToims Technique penetrates deep enough at the trigger point to produce a strong contraction in the muscle. Basically “jump starting” the muscles to release, relax, and allow blood to follow to the muscles and nerve so that they can “breathe”.

Chronic pain is a vicious cycle that creates painful trigger points, and shortened muscles that lead to more pain.  Please speak with one of our health care practitioners to discuss what type of therapies will work for you.

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