| | |
| Biofreeze is a pain relieving gel from 'G. R. Lane Health Products Ltd'. It is a topical gel meaning that it is applied directly onto the area and it is largely used for treating pain relating to sports injuries, sore muscles, arthritis and joint pain, backache, sprains, twisted ankles, bruises and stiffness. It contains a herb called 'llex paraguariensis' which is extracted from a holly shrub found in South America. Here it has been traditionally used by the Paraguay Indians in order to enhance their own medicines. It also has a cooling effect on the area it is applied onto which can help to create a sensation somewhat akin to having an ice pack on the area. Benefits of Biofreeze There are several benefits to using Biofreeze. Of course it is first and foremost an effective painkiller and this means that it can be used to help overcome pain from injury or illness which means it is important for comfort. For non-athletes this is a useful product to have around the house to help treat twisted and sprained ankles etc that come about just from regular day-to-day living. At the same time though for athletes it is very beneficial in that it allows them to continue to train or to exert themselves and to participate in sports. It is also very useful for those who suffer from arthritis and this can provide temporary relief which may allow for them to do things they couldn't otherwise. For instance a pianist with arthritis in their fingers might find that it helps them to be able to play the piano. There are several benefits to using Biofreeze over other types of medication. The first is the fact that it is applied topically which makes it more suited to treating very localised injuries and pains. This also means that unlike medication it can be taken easily with no need for water, and will not interfere with things you eat or drink (for example you can still drink alcohol which is not advisable when taking Paracetamol). It is also helpful in that it acts almost immediately providing immediate relief rather than working after a long delay. Some people may also find it useful for more casual use. In some cases it can be used to help relax muscles during a massage for instance (it also has a light smell – rather than overpowering like many such creams – which can add to the experience of a massage), or it might be useful after exerting yourself after a jog or lots of stretching. Types Biofreeze comes in several different variations which mostly focus on the way it is applied. Most will come in a bottle of gel that can be squeezed out of the end of a tube and then rubbed into the area. This allows the user to choose how much of the gel to use on the area. Other variations on the packaging are sprays which allow Biofreeze to be sprayed lightly on an area, wipes which are similar to wet-wipes and a roll-on stick that lasts longer and may be more convenient for carrying and applying for sportsmen and women. Tip Some find that the cooling effect of Biofreeze is more noticeable after first 'heating up' the area. Thus for an enhanced effect it can be useful to try showering under hot or warm water on the affected area, drying, and then applying the Biofreeze. This makes its effects more noticeable and may also help to relax the muscles around the region. | |
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Learn more about Biofreeze which we now sell at our FV studio
The Benefits of Biofreeze
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Keep Warm this Winter Season with Hot Stone Massage Therapy
Hot Stone Massage
What You Need To Know About Hot Stone Massage
By Cathy Wong, About.com Guide Updated October 03, 2011
(Website source: http://altmedicine.about.com/od/massage/a/hot_stone.htm)
What is a Hot Stone Massage?
Hot stone massage is a variation on classic massage therapy. Heated smooth, flat stones are placed on key points on the body. The massage therapist may also hold the stones and use them to massage certain areas of the body.
The use of hot stones for healing dates back to ancient times, but it wasn't until Arizona massage therapist Mary Nelson introduced her hot stone massage technique, called LaStone Therapy, that the use of hot stones for massage caught on.
Nelson conducts workshops to train other massage therapists in LaStone. While LaStone continues to be popular, massage therapists and spas have also developed their own versions of the hot stone massage using heated, smooth rocks.
How Does Hot Stone Massage Work?
The hot stones are usually made of basalt, a type of rock that is rich in iron, so they retain heat. River rocks are normally used because they are so smooth - they have been smoothed over time by the river's current.
The stones are immersed in water and heated in an electric heating device until they are within a certain temperature range. The stones may be placed at specific points on the back, in the palms of the hand, or between the toes.
The heat warms and relaxes the muscles, which allows the therapist to apply deeper pressure, if desired.
The warmth of the hot stones improves circulation and calms the nervous system.
Some massage therapists place stones on points that are thought to be energy centers of the body to rebalance the body and mind.
Why Do People Get Hot Stone Massage?
Many people find the warmth of the hot stones to be comforting and get it for relaxation.
Hot stone massage is suited to people who tend to feel chilly or who have cold feet. It's also suited for people who have muscle tension but prefer a lighter massage. The heat relaxes muscles, allowing the therapist to work the muscles without using deep pressure.
People also get hot stone massage for a variety of health conditions:
- Back pain and aches
- Poor circulation
- Osteoarthritis and arthritis pain
- Stress, anxiety and tension
- Insomnia
- Depression
How Do the Hot Stones Feel?
The hot stones are never rough. They are always flat and smooth. The hot stones used on the back are about the size of a large egg, only flat.
The stones are heated in an electrical heating unit that either provides a temperature reading or has an adjustable thermostat control.
The massage therapist always holds the stones first before touching them to your body, which ensures that the temperature will not be too hot. Everyone, however, has their own comfort range. Be sure to speak up if the stones are too hot for you.
Cool marble stones are occasionally used during a treatment, particularly if there is inflammation.
What Can I Expect During my Hot Stone Massage?
The massage therapist often begins by applying oil to the body, which allows the hot stones to glide smoothly along the muscles. You are lying face down, and the massage therapist often then uses the hot stones to massage the back.
After the hot stones have relaxed the muscles, the massage therapist may put down the stones and use his or her hands to directly massage the skin.
The hot stones may then be placed back on to the body and left for a short period of time.
You are then asked to turn over onto your back. The massage therapist may place small hot stones between your toes or in the palm of your hand and repeats the sequence.
A typical hot stone massage is between 60 and 90 minutes long and ranges between $50 and $190.
Precautions
Massage is not recommended for certain people:- People with infectious skin disease, rash, or open wounds
- Immediately after surgery
- Immediately after chemotherapy or radiation, unless recommended by your doctor
- People prone to blood clots. There is a risk of blood clots being dislodged. If you have heart disease, check with your doctor before having a massage
- Pregnant women should check with their doctor first if they are considering getting a massage. Massage in pregnant women should be done by massage therapists who are certified in pregnancy massage.
Massage should not be done directly over bruises, inflamed skin, unhealed wounds, tumors, abdominal hernia, or areas of recent fractures.
Additional Hot Stone Massage Tips
Monday, November 7, 2011
Keep Your Whole Body in Tip-Top Shape While Traveling this Winter Season
The winter traveling season is upon us, which can mean overbooked flights, sharing cramped spaces with a lot of different people, increased exposure to wintertime colds and viruses, sleeping in various beds and eating high caloric rich foods. With all of these variables stacked against you, it can be quite a challenge to keep you and your family healthy and pain free while traveling this winter season. To help keep your muscles and immune system in tip-top shape this winter season, it is important to incorporate stretching and massage techniques before, during and after your travels.
A recent study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine examined the effects of Swedish massage therapy on the body's hormonal response and immune function. Researchers found that participants who received Swedish massage had a significant decrease in the hormone arginine-vasopressin (which plays a role in regulating blood pressure and water retention) and concluded that Swedish massage produces measurable biological effects and may have a positive effect on the immune system. Rapaport MH, Schettler P, Bresee C. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2010;16(10):1–10.
Prepare Your Body Pre-Trip with a Regular Exercise Routine and Massage Therapy Sessions
Maintaining your normal activity level during vacation and especially during the holidays can create quite a challenge, so it’s important to maintain your exercise level before leaving on your trip to keep your muscles engaged and loose. Stick with your routine exercise and stretching regimen up until a day or two before you leave for your trip. Also, book a relaxation massage like Swedish massage to lengthen muscles, as well as prepare your body and mind for a relaxing and healthy trip. Massage is not only important to loosening your muscles, but it is equally important to boost your immune system, as massage stimulates the lymph system (the body’s natural defense) against toxic invaders.
Incorporate Massage and Stretching Techniques While Enjoying Your Holiday Travels
- Hitting the Highway for Family Vacation Fun: If you are traveling by car this holiday season, you will inevitably make pit stops along the way, especially if you are traveling with children. Instead of sitting in your car during bathroom and gas stops, get out of the car to stretch your legs, back and neck. Simple stretches such as toe touches, neck rotations and lunges can do the trick or you can even run/walk laps around the rest stop to incorporate some cardio as you loosen your body.
- Jet Setting Across the Country: If your holiday traveling plans find you boarding a plane, there are a few simple tips for keeping your body flexible and active at the airport and during your flight. Prior to boarding your flight, walk up and down the concourse to stay relaxed rather than sitting in front of the gate until the plane boards. While at the gate, grab your nearest wall to lean against for stretching your legs, calves and back. The National Academy of Sports Medicine suggests that you slowly move into a stretch with light force and hold for 30 seconds to lengthen muscles. They suggest these common stretches for increased flexibility: hip flexor stretch, wall chest, kneeling lat stretch and inner thigh stretches.
While in-flight, use a neck pillow to stabilize your neck muscles, especially if you plan on catching a nap while in the air. When the pilot turns off the seat belt sign, take a stroll to the back bathroom area and stretch your hamstrings, shoulder and back muscles. Just make sure to stay out of the way of the flight attendants and their beverage carts!
- Maintaining Proper Nutrition and Hydration During Your Travels: Whether you drive or fly this holiday season, it is important to drink plenty of water and eat healthy during your trip. The recommended daily water consumption is typically 64 ounces per day so bring a water bottle with you to keep track of how much water you consume. It also is helpful to your body’s digestive and immune systems to pack healthy homemade snacks in the car, rather than eating high caloric and sodium rich foods that are typically found in gas stations and fast food establishments in airports and along the highways.
- Enjoying Hotel Amenities: If your travels find you staying in a hotel, your body may be in luck if you choose to enjoy the hotel amenities. Water can be your friend when experiencing tight muscles, especially if your room has a massage shower head for loosening tight neck and back muscles. Don’t be afraid to hop into the pool and swim a few laps to work out muscle kinks throughout your body and hot tubs are key for providing relief to specific areas of pain. The hotel fitness center also can be a great place to visit to stay active during your trip. Most will at least have stretching posters you can follow for a total body workout.
Revive and Rejuvenate your Tired Body with Post-Trip Massage Therapy
Traveling can take quite a toll on your mind and body, especially when it’s coupled with holiday season family gatherings, an abundant amount of holiday dinners and treats, and the inevitable stress associated with extended family dynamics. All of these factors can leave you feeling physically exhausted and mentally spent upon returning from your holiday family vacation. Before leaving on your trip, you can combat the negative effects of traveling on your body by scheduling a therapeutic massage session for the week after your return so you can quickly restore your mind and body in preparation for resuming your normal everyday life.
Call Elements Therapeutic Massage today to begin preparing your muscles and immune system for a healthy and successful winter traveling season.714-965-2700
Friday, October 14, 2011
The 12 best stretches
The 12 best stretches
Last updated: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 PrintFollow a stretching routine to maximise the benefits of training and to minimise muscle stiffness and risk of injuries:
- Stretch after your exercise routine as part of your cooling-down routine.
- When you stretch, ease your body into position, until you feel a mild pull on your muscles, tendons and ligaments. A stretch should not hurt.
- Hold a stretch for 30 seconds or more. Wait 15 to 30 seconds before you stretch the next group of muscles.
- Breathe deeply while you stretch to help your body move oxygen-rich blood to those sore muscles.
- Don't bounce, and don't force yourself into an uncomfortable position.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Healing the Autistic with the Power of Massage Therapy
By Shirley Vanderbilt
Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, February/March 2003. Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.
Autism is on the rise, and with it comes more heartache for parents and higher costs for the school system. Statistics from a 1999 state report from California showed a nearly 300 percent increase in cases reported from 1987 to 1998.1 Researchers estimate as many as one in 200 children are affected by the disorder.2
Editor's note: Since this article was originally published, a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry (September 2006) revealed that babies born to men between the ages of 40 and 49 are nearly six times more likely to develop autism than children born to men under 30, regardless of the mother's age.
Researchers are scrambling to uncover causes and put a halt to this increase, along with addressing the symptoms of autism, including abnormal response to sensory stimuli, limited attention span, excessive off-task behavior and touch aversion.3
Autism is a brain disorder, usually diagnosed by age 2, in which the child fails to develop language and normal social interaction skills. Withdrawal from social contact and aberrant behavior are common. Within the classroom, educators have used behavior modification, structured settings and social skills conditioning with minimal effect. And in the home, some parents have tried the gamut of treatments, conventional and alternative, in an attempt to restore what many experts postulate may be a permanently damaged brain. Moderate success has been achieved with vitamin B6 supplements, sometimes resulting in improvement in speech, behavior and physiological measures.4
Clinical trials have also shown massage therapy as a viable complementary treatment positively impacting some of the characteristic behaviors of autism. Two important studies have emerged in this area within the past few years, both from the Touch Research Institute (TRI) in Miami, Fla.
Massage in the Classroom Setting
In 1997, a study team at TRI, led by Tiffany Field, Ph.D., published results of its first project involving autistic children. Building on the success of previous studies demonstrating anxiety reduction and increased attention span using massage therapy for children, the team surmised touch therapy may be beneficial in reducing the autistic behaviors of inattentiveness, touch aversion and withdrawal.5
The 22 autistic children included in this study were recruited from a special preschool they had been attending for two years. Averaging 4.5 years of age and from middle socioeconomic-level families, the 12 boys and 10 girls were randomly assigned to a touch therapy or touch control group. In a series of developmental assessments, it was determined the two groups were equivalent in intelligence, speech and language skills, and behavioral adaptation. Additionally, all of the students had been diagnosed as autistic by two independent clinicians.6
Several instruments were used on the first and last day of the study to determine effectiveness of the treatment. Classroom observation by psychology graduate students included notation of "touch aversion, off-task behavior, orienting to irrelevant sounds and stereotypic behaviors" over a 30-minute time period. Teachers, blinded to group assignment, documented their observations on the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), and the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS) were administered by graduate students, also blinded to group assignment.7
A specific massage protocol, administered by a volunteer student, was followed for each child in the touch therapy group and included moderate pressure and smooth stroking movements to the head and neck, arms and hands, torso, and legs and feet. These 15-minute sessions were conducted twice weekly for four weeks. Within the same time protocol, children in the touch control group sat on the lap of a volunteer student who had her arms around the child, and were engaged in a game selecting toys of different color, shape and form.8
Given that autistic children have been reported to be averse to physical contact, one of the most interesting findings of the study is observation of improvement in touch aversion for both groups. Researchers said this response may be related to the one-on-one attention and predictability of the contact in the study, as compared to a more generalized social touch. Similarly, these factors may account for the improvement in off-task behavior noted in both groups. Overall, both groups seemed to benefit, but the touch therapy group exhibited more significant beneficial effects for orienting to irrelevant sounds and stereotypic behaviors, and scores on the ABC and ESCS. Researchers surmised these increased effects may be credited to the "more active physical contact and relaxation involved in the touch therapy." Additionally, activity to the vagus nerve (key cranial nerves) enhanced by touch therapy could also account for increased attentiveness in the classroom.9
Massage at Home
Expanding on encouraging results from the 1997 study, researchers at TRI embarked on a second trial of massage therapy for autistic children, this time using parents to administer massage at home. This way children could receive daily treatments at no cost. The study team surmised greater improvements might be seen with more frequent massage administered by a familiar person. In addition to benefits previously documented, it was hoped nightly massage could improve sleep disturbances common to autistic children.10
Twenty children between the ages of 3 and 6 were recruited from a school for autistic children. All had been diagnosed within one to three years previously and were determined, through a series of assessments, to be homogeneous with regard to adaptive behavior and language skills. In addition, they came from the same developmental-level classrooms. The children were randomly assigned to either a massage group or attention control group, and parents were told that "reading stories and massaging might increase relaxation and sleep in children."11
Treatment in both groups was conducted over a one-month period, with the protocol being administered for 15 minutes just prior to bedtime. Parents in the massage group were trained by a massage therapist to use the same procedure outlined in the 1997 study. In the control group, parents were asked to read a Dr. Seuss story during the 15-minute evening period. It's important to note that on conclusion of the study, these parents were also offered instruction in massage therapy, affording their children an opportunity to experience the same benefits as the massage group.12
As with the 1997 study, assessments were made on the first and last days of treatment using much the same measures, but with the addition of sleep diaries completed by the parents. Parents and teachers recorded observations on five sub-scales of the revised Conners Scales which rated such factors as hyperactivity, attentiveness, restless-impulsive behaviors and emotional state. Teachers were blinded to group assignment, as were other behavioral observers in the classroom and on the playground. Sleep diaries included a record of fussing and restlessness, crying, self-stimulating behaviors and number of times the child attempted to leave the bed.13
The massage group showed a clear benefit in sleep as reported by parents, with the above behaviors diminishing during the treatment period. However, as noted by researchers, the parents were obviously not blinded to group assignment and their response to providing massage for their children was enthusiastic and positive. Despite this non-blinding, the ratings may hold true. In a previous study of depressed children, TRI researchers using videotape rather than parent ratings documented improvement in sleep following massage therapy. Whether or not improved sleep patterns also influenced a significant finding of improved classroom performance is unknown. But the team did find the massage group became more attentive at school, showed increased on-task behavior and were observed to have a decrease in stereotypical behaviors both in the classroom and on the playground.14
Touch and Autism
Researchers from the United Kingdom, in a study published in 2002, used a similar format to that of the TRI parent study. In this trial, a group of parents with autistic children was trained to administer touch therapy to their children. When interviewed prior to the program, the parents (primarily mothers) reported feeling "hurt in response to the aloof nature of autism" and also felt hindered in their spontaneous parenting instincts, such as cuddling. The Touch Therapy project, which included 12 children, was conducted for an eight-week period.
Not only did the children accept their parents' touch, parents also reported more cooperative behavior with daily tasks such as dressing and a higher level of relaxation in their children overall. At the conclusion, the study team noted, "Parents reported feeling closer to their children and felt that the touch therapy had opened a communication channel between themselves and their children."15
These are exciting results, given the tremendous challenge autism presents to both parents and teachers. Autism, as we now know it, is incurable and the behaviors associated with the disorder are pervasive throughout the individual's lifetime. One of the most heartbreaking aspects of this disorder is the block in communication between parent and child. The most basic of intimate human interactions -- hugs, words of love and facial responses of pleasure -- typically do not emanate from an autistic child. Recent research has debunked the long-held belief that autistic children are incapable of forming attachment. We now know they do attach to their parents and show a preference for interaction with their family. But they remain incapable of acting on that attachment or responding appropriately to the interaction. The results of these studies show promise that massage and other touch therapies will emerge as a building block in bridging that gap.
Shirley Vanderbilt is a staff writer for Massage & Bodywork magazine.
References
1. Ostrov, Barbara Feder. "Alarming rise in autism in state is genuine, researchers conclude," Mercury News. www.bayarea.com/mid/mercurynews/news/4312756.thm.
2. "Autism rise blamed on environment," BBC News, 29 August, 2002, http//:news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/
programmes/newsnight/2224126.stm.
3. Field, T., Lasko, D., Mundy, P., Henteleff, T., Kabat, S., Talpins, S. and Dowling, M., "Brief Report: Autistic Children's Attentiveness and Responsivity Improve After Touch Therapy," Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 27, 3 (1997): 333.
4. Rimland, Bernard and Baker, Sidney, "Brief Report: Alternative Approaches to the Development of Effective Treatments for Autism," Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 2 (1996): 237-238.
5. Field, 333.
6. Ibid., 334-336.
7. Ibid., 336.
8. Ibid., 334-335.
9. Ibid., 336-338.
10. Escalona, A., Field, T., Singer-Strunck, R., Cullen, C. and Hartshorn, K., "Brief Report: Improvements in the Behavior of Children With Autism Following Massage Therapy," Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 5 (2001): 513.
11. Ibid., 514.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid., 515.
15. Cullen, L. and Barlow, J., "'Kiss, cuddle, squeeze': The experiences and meaning of touch among parents of children with autism attending a Touch Therapy Programme," Journal of Child Health Care 6, 3 (Sept. 2002): 171-181.
Autism is on the rise, and with it comes more heartache for parents and higher costs for the school system. Statistics from a 1999 state report from California showed a nearly 300 percent increase in cases reported from 1987 to 1998.1 Researchers estimate as many as one in 200 children are affected by the disorder.2
Editor's note: Since this article was originally published, a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry (September 2006) revealed that babies born to men between the ages of 40 and 49 are nearly six times more likely to develop autism than children born to men under 30, regardless of the mother's age.
Researchers are scrambling to uncover causes and put a halt to this increase, along with addressing the symptoms of autism, including abnormal response to sensory stimuli, limited attention span, excessive off-task behavior and touch aversion.3
Autism is a brain disorder, usually diagnosed by age 2, in which the child fails to develop language and normal social interaction skills. Withdrawal from social contact and aberrant behavior are common. Within the classroom, educators have used behavior modification, structured settings and social skills conditioning with minimal effect. And in the home, some parents have tried the gamut of treatments, conventional and alternative, in an attempt to restore what many experts postulate may be a permanently damaged brain. Moderate success has been achieved with vitamin B6 supplements, sometimes resulting in improvement in speech, behavior and physiological measures.4
Clinical trials have also shown massage therapy as a viable complementary treatment positively impacting some of the characteristic behaviors of autism. Two important studies have emerged in this area within the past few years, both from the Touch Research Institute (TRI) in Miami, Fla.
Massage in the Classroom Setting
In 1997, a study team at TRI, led by Tiffany Field, Ph.D., published results of its first project involving autistic children. Building on the success of previous studies demonstrating anxiety reduction and increased attention span using massage therapy for children, the team surmised touch therapy may be beneficial in reducing the autistic behaviors of inattentiveness, touch aversion and withdrawal.5
The 22 autistic children included in this study were recruited from a special preschool they had been attending for two years. Averaging 4.5 years of age and from middle socioeconomic-level families, the 12 boys and 10 girls were randomly assigned to a touch therapy or touch control group. In a series of developmental assessments, it was determined the two groups were equivalent in intelligence, speech and language skills, and behavioral adaptation. Additionally, all of the students had been diagnosed as autistic by two independent clinicians.6
Several instruments were used on the first and last day of the study to determine effectiveness of the treatment. Classroom observation by psychology graduate students included notation of "touch aversion, off-task behavior, orienting to irrelevant sounds and stereotypic behaviors" over a 30-minute time period. Teachers, blinded to group assignment, documented their observations on the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), and the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS) were administered by graduate students, also blinded to group assignment.7
A specific massage protocol, administered by a volunteer student, was followed for each child in the touch therapy group and included moderate pressure and smooth stroking movements to the head and neck, arms and hands, torso, and legs and feet. These 15-minute sessions were conducted twice weekly for four weeks. Within the same time protocol, children in the touch control group sat on the lap of a volunteer student who had her arms around the child, and were engaged in a game selecting toys of different color, shape and form.8
Given that autistic children have been reported to be averse to physical contact, one of the most interesting findings of the study is observation of improvement in touch aversion for both groups. Researchers said this response may be related to the one-on-one attention and predictability of the contact in the study, as compared to a more generalized social touch. Similarly, these factors may account for the improvement in off-task behavior noted in both groups. Overall, both groups seemed to benefit, but the touch therapy group exhibited more significant beneficial effects for orienting to irrelevant sounds and stereotypic behaviors, and scores on the ABC and ESCS. Researchers surmised these increased effects may be credited to the "more active physical contact and relaxation involved in the touch therapy." Additionally, activity to the vagus nerve (key cranial nerves) enhanced by touch therapy could also account for increased attentiveness in the classroom.9
Massage at Home
Expanding on encouraging results from the 1997 study, researchers at TRI embarked on a second trial of massage therapy for autistic children, this time using parents to administer massage at home. This way children could receive daily treatments at no cost. The study team surmised greater improvements might be seen with more frequent massage administered by a familiar person. In addition to benefits previously documented, it was hoped nightly massage could improve sleep disturbances common to autistic children.10
Twenty children between the ages of 3 and 6 were recruited from a school for autistic children. All had been diagnosed within one to three years previously and were determined, through a series of assessments, to be homogeneous with regard to adaptive behavior and language skills. In addition, they came from the same developmental-level classrooms. The children were randomly assigned to either a massage group or attention control group, and parents were told that "reading stories and massaging might increase relaxation and sleep in children."11
Treatment in both groups was conducted over a one-month period, with the protocol being administered for 15 minutes just prior to bedtime. Parents in the massage group were trained by a massage therapist to use the same procedure outlined in the 1997 study. In the control group, parents were asked to read a Dr. Seuss story during the 15-minute evening period. It's important to note that on conclusion of the study, these parents were also offered instruction in massage therapy, affording their children an opportunity to experience the same benefits as the massage group.12
As with the 1997 study, assessments were made on the first and last days of treatment using much the same measures, but with the addition of sleep diaries completed by the parents. Parents and teachers recorded observations on five sub-scales of the revised Conners Scales which rated such factors as hyperactivity, attentiveness, restless-impulsive behaviors and emotional state. Teachers were blinded to group assignment, as were other behavioral observers in the classroom and on the playground. Sleep diaries included a record of fussing and restlessness, crying, self-stimulating behaviors and number of times the child attempted to leave the bed.13
The massage group showed a clear benefit in sleep as reported by parents, with the above behaviors diminishing during the treatment period. However, as noted by researchers, the parents were obviously not blinded to group assignment and their response to providing massage for their children was enthusiastic and positive. Despite this non-blinding, the ratings may hold true. In a previous study of depressed children, TRI researchers using videotape rather than parent ratings documented improvement in sleep following massage therapy. Whether or not improved sleep patterns also influenced a significant finding of improved classroom performance is unknown. But the team did find the massage group became more attentive at school, showed increased on-task behavior and were observed to have a decrease in stereotypical behaviors both in the classroom and on the playground.14
Touch and Autism
Researchers from the United Kingdom, in a study published in 2002, used a similar format to that of the TRI parent study. In this trial, a group of parents with autistic children was trained to administer touch therapy to their children. When interviewed prior to the program, the parents (primarily mothers) reported feeling "hurt in response to the aloof nature of autism" and also felt hindered in their spontaneous parenting instincts, such as cuddling. The Touch Therapy project, which included 12 children, was conducted for an eight-week period.
Not only did the children accept their parents' touch, parents also reported more cooperative behavior with daily tasks such as dressing and a higher level of relaxation in their children overall. At the conclusion, the study team noted, "Parents reported feeling closer to their children and felt that the touch therapy had opened a communication channel between themselves and their children."15
These are exciting results, given the tremendous challenge autism presents to both parents and teachers. Autism, as we now know it, is incurable and the behaviors associated with the disorder are pervasive throughout the individual's lifetime. One of the most heartbreaking aspects of this disorder is the block in communication between parent and child. The most basic of intimate human interactions -- hugs, words of love and facial responses of pleasure -- typically do not emanate from an autistic child. Recent research has debunked the long-held belief that autistic children are incapable of forming attachment. We now know they do attach to their parents and show a preference for interaction with their family. But they remain incapable of acting on that attachment or responding appropriately to the interaction. The results of these studies show promise that massage and other touch therapies will emerge as a building block in bridging that gap.
Shirley Vanderbilt is a staff writer for Massage & Bodywork magazine.
References
1. Ostrov, Barbara Feder. "Alarming rise in autism in state is genuine, researchers conclude," Mercury News. www.bayarea.com/mid/mercurynews/news/4312756.thm.
2. "Autism rise blamed on environment," BBC News, 29 August, 2002, http//:news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/
programmes/newsnight/2224126.stm.
3. Field, T., Lasko, D., Mundy, P., Henteleff, T., Kabat, S., Talpins, S. and Dowling, M., "Brief Report: Autistic Children's Attentiveness and Responsivity Improve After Touch Therapy," Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 27, 3 (1997): 333.
4. Rimland, Bernard and Baker, Sidney, "Brief Report: Alternative Approaches to the Development of Effective Treatments for Autism," Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 2 (1996): 237-238.
5. Field, 333.
6. Ibid., 334-336.
7. Ibid., 336.
8. Ibid., 334-335.
9. Ibid., 336-338.
10. Escalona, A., Field, T., Singer-Strunck, R., Cullen, C. and Hartshorn, K., "Brief Report: Improvements in the Behavior of Children With Autism Following Massage Therapy," Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 5 (2001): 513.
11. Ibid., 514.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid., 515.
15. Cullen, L. and Barlow, J., "'Kiss, cuddle, squeeze': The experiences and meaning of touch among parents of children with autism attending a Touch Therapy Programme," Journal of Child Health Care 6, 3 (Sept. 2002): 171-181.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Sports Massage and Recovery Time
Sports Massage & Recovery Time
Re-examining the Role of Lactic Acid
By Shirley Vanderbilt
Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, October/November 2001.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.
Sometimes a "truth" is not what it seems. Take lactic acid. For years, many massage therapists have been taught that lactic acid can and should be flushed from the muscles of athletes after intense activity. This truism has been passed on to clients who have also accepted it as fact. Both therapist and client thus have established and perpetuated a mutual belief system that purging of lactic acid is not only necessary, but also efficiently accomplished with the assistance of massage. Some beliefs die hard. This one and others related to lactic acid have been holding their own, not only in some massage schools and practices, but also in the community at large, despite emerging research to the contrary. Pass the word. There's no need to mess with Mother Nature.
Lactate accumulated from intense exercise actually fuels the body, according to Dr. Owen Anderson, exercise physiologist and editor of Running Research News. In a recent interview from his office in Michigan, Anderson explained the facts.
Lactic acid levels will return to homeostasis quickly post-exercise without any "hands-on" assistance. "Muscles don't need help from massage in removing lactate," said Anderson. "Massage will probably have the biggest effect on venous blood," and by the time massage is administered, lactate has already left the muscle. This is not to say massage isn't beneficial to the athlete. "Massage is good for relaxing," said Anderson, "and provides help increasing flexibility of muscles."
Whitney Lowe, owner and director of Orthopedic Massage Education and Research Institute and author of Functional Assessment in Massage Therapy concurs with Anderson's statements.
"Lactic acid is a natural by-product of any muscular activity. There are elevated levels of lactic acid in muscle tissues after exercise, but that is going to subside either with time or with any type of movement activity, even just walking around the room."
In addition, lactic acid does not cause muscle soreness, fatigue or the "burn" of intensive exercise, noted Anderson. His comments and those of Lowe are backed by valid scientific research. Several studies conducted in the 1980s by exercise physiologist Dr. George A. Brooks ushered in a new perspective on this supposed "demon." Brooks noted that lactic acid is a key substance for providing energy, disposing dietary carbohydrate, producing blood glucose and liver glycogen and promoting survival in stress situations.1
Nature's Magic Tricks
Just as the body's intelligence keeps our hearts pumping and our intestines digesting without any intervention on our part, in like manner it maintains the chemical process of glycolysis to provide energy on a 24-hour basis. In Anderson's book, Lactate Lift-off, he writes, "Glycolysis is actually a series of 10 different chemical reactions...that break down glucose, the simple six-carbon sugar which is your body's most important source of carbohydrate fuel, into something called pyruvic acid."2 From pyruvic acid, with the help of the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase, we get lactic acid. But it's not quite that simple.
The process of glycolysis converts each glucose molecule into two pyruvic acid molecules, releasing energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). From there, pyruvic acid enters the mitochondria, where more ATP is produced through the Krebs cycle.3 "In addition to 'handling' the pyruvic acid produced from glucose," states Anderson, "the Krebs cycle also metabolizes fats, over all, it furnishes more than 90 percent of the energy you need to exercise in a sustained manner."4
As exercise intensity increases, glycolysis speeds up and pyruvic acid is produced at an increasing rate. When it can no longer be processed through the Krebs cycle as quickly as it is generated, some of the pyruvic acid is converted to lactic acid, which rapidly dissociates into a lactate anion and a free hydrogen ion (H+). Lactate can then be quickly transported from the muscle into the blood, where it is circulated throughout the body. If an excessive amount of pyruvic acid were allowed to build up, glycolysis would come to a halt, thus blocking energy production. The conversion to lactic acid allows the body to continue its exertion of energy. Once the lactate enters other tissues, it can be converted to pyruvate, which is processed by the Krebs cycle into ATP for even more energy. Lactate can also be converted by the liver and other tissues into glucose, boosting depleted stores of glycogen needed for future activity.5,6,7
Although the focus here is to examine excessive lactic acid accumulation during intensive activity, it's important to clarify that lactic acid production is a normal and continuous part of the body's energy cycle. According to Anderson, lactate is produced even at rest and "...its concentrations can rise rather dramatically whenever you take in a carbohydrate-containing meal." Lactate plays an important role in processing carbohydrate and facilitating its availability to the liver and muscles.8
Lactic acid reaches excessive levels when the body can no longer clear it as quickly as it is being produced. "When you begin a moderate to difficult workout," states Anderson, "lactate levels in your blood initially rise, simply because glycolysis is working away to provide quite a bit of the energy you require." At this point, there is minimal blood and oxygen flow to the muscles. This limits the breakdown of pyruvate in the Krebs cycle and increases its conversion to lactate. With continued activity, heart rate increases and oxygen becomes more readily available to the muscle cells, allowing pyruvate and lactate to be oxidized for energy. The entry and exit rates of lactate then become stabilized and will remain so even with gradually intensified activity.9
"However," states Anderson, "once you get up to a point (actually a speed) at which glycolysis is tearing along so fast that your leg muscles have problems converting most of the pyruvate and lactate being formed to carbon dioxide and water, the lactate-spilling process may accelerate so much that lactate levels in the blood may really begin to lift off." This can be a result of oxygen debt inside the muscle cell, inadequate concentrations of enzymes necessary for oxidation at high rates or a lack of sufficient cell-mitochondria, where the Krebs cycle takes place. The point at which this occurs is referred to as the lactate threshold (LT). According to Anderson, the LT is simply an indicator of how effectively your tissues utilize lactate as an energy source. For athletes, a high LT means increased endurance - the longer the athlete can perform before reaching this point, the longer lactate production and extraction is kept in balance and energy is maintained.10
At the completion of exercise, lactate levels will return to normal within 30-60 minutes, being quickly converted back to pyruvate or glucose.11 Research supports the claim that active recovery (light exercise) is the most effective approach to speed up this process,12,13 and that massage is no more effective than passive rest.14 This does not discount other potential benefits of massage in sports recovery. A study by Monedero and Donne showed while active recovery proved best in removing lactic acid, a combined approach (active recovery and massage) did increase recovery rate during short intervals between maximal efforts and was most efficient for maintaining maximal performance time in subsequent performance. Recovery rate was determined by blood lactate levels and heart rate during recovery, and performance times in tests of maximal efforts.15
For post-exercise recovery, Anderson recommends a cool-down of about 10 minutes or running a few miles followed by stretching and strengthening exercises, nutrition (carbohydrates) to restock energy and a good night's sleep. Improving the body's ability to break down pyruvate, use oxygen and extract lactate from the muscle during activity will raise the LT and increase an athlete's endurance. This can be accomplished with proper training, such as methods recommended in Lactate Lift-off.16 An effective training approach can increase the supply of mitochondria, enzymes and capillaries needed to enhance the body's ability to rapidly use lactate as an energy source.17
Soreness, Fatigue and the 'Burn'
Is lactic acid to blame? "There has been a strong suggestion," said Lowe, "that delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) occurring 12-24 hours after exercise is caused by excess levels of lactic acid, but the onset of soreness does not at all coincide with the levels of lactic acid. This is still a very rampant misconception."
Anderson indicates there are two likely causes of muscle soreness: tears in the muscle associated with the stress of exercise and free radical attack on the muscle membranes. According to physician Dr. Gabe Mirkin,"Next-day muscle soreness is caused by damage to the muscle fibers themselves. Muscle biopsies taken on the day after exercising show bleeding and disruption of the z-band filaments that hold the fibers together as they slide over each other during a contraction." Mirkin suggests ceasing exercise when muscles start to burn and hurt as this is likely an indication that DOMS will occur.18
The free hydrogen ions produced in dissociation of lactic acid can present a problem. Biscarbonate buffers H+ to maintain homeostasis in pH, but an increase of H+ during intensive exercise can overwhelm the buffering system, resulting in acidity (low pH) of muscle and blood. If the pH goes below 7.00, the athlete may experience nausea, headache, dizziness and pain in the muscles. But with cessation of exercise the pH, like lactate, returns to normal.19 "The muscle will slow down if there is a great enough lowering of pH," said Anderson, "and this may cause fatigue." He noted there can be a lowering of pH in muscles even while sedentary. "We don't know if it can cause burn," he added, "but burn is the nervous system's way of telling you you're exercising at too high intensity and you need to cut back. There is nothing wrong. It's just a message."
Heavy legs or fatigue can occur in an all-out sprint, said Anderson, but if it occurs at the 20-mile point in a marathon, it's a sign the muscles are running out of energy. To combat these problems, Anderson emphasizes the importance of training. "If you are really strong," he said, "you have less stress and damage."
So What About Massage?
Although the effectiveness of massage to flush out lactic acid after exercise has been disproven, there are benefits to validate its use in sports. "In my own experience," said Keith Grant, head of Sports and Deep Tissue Massage Department at McKinnon Institute, "I've seen that massage is effective. How our body reacts to things depends on both the state our body is in (state of memory), as well as the input." Grant combines his knowledge as a scientist with personal experience as a massage instructor and runner to support his conclusions.
Pointing to a study by Tiitus and Shoemaker (1995) in which effleurage did not increase local blood flow, Grant said, "This is a mechanistic way of looking at what's going on." The difficulty, he noted, in interpreting research results comes from looking for direct, mechanical effects. "Clinically, we see a different story," he said. "Through our techniques we work with the nervous system to relax muscles, but that's not a direct mechanical effect. "I believe the effects of massage also involve the neurological and emotional. My reason for that is the neurological side controls the current (base) state of the muscle activation. The emotional controls the chemical messengers that affect the immune system. What seems likely is massage acts as a new input to a system with a memory. Massage stimulates the mechanoreceptors and can gate off pain receptors. It floods the body with new sensory input. We are using the nervous system to reset the muscle to greater relaxation.
"In my observation, fatigued muscles tend to remain hypertonic and shortened. When we cajole specific muscles to relax and lengthen via mechanical and neurological input, we reduce their metabolic activity. When the muscle relaxes, it's not using energy as much, not metabolizing as fast, not producing waste products and because it's more relaxed, it's not compressed and not exerting pressure on surrounding tissues. This means circulation is better. It's not because we're pushing fluid around. It's because we've put the body in a more optimum state, so the body naturally increases circulation on it's own. By massaging muscles and adding input to the nervous system, we are facilitating the body in recovering faster from exercise. It's not the massage that's doing the healing, it's the person's body."
In a British study of boxers, massage was reported to have a significantly positive effect on perception of recovery, giving scientific credence of its benefits as a recovery strategy. According to the authors, their results support arguments by some researchers that "the benefits of massage (in sports recovery) are more psychological than physiological."20 Grant takes that a step farther. "As a trained scientist, I use what I observe and what I know about physiology to come with a hypothesis. From my own experience in running, when you exert to the point of substantial fatigue, you come back feeling more fragile, in an emotionally vulnerable spot. To have the sense that someone is nurturing, in a sense taking care of you, is a very psychologically emotional thing. In supporting the person, we improve their immune function and their ability to heal, by influencing the chemical environment of their body. It has to do with psychoneuroimmunology, the whole chemical homeostasis of their body -- neurochemicals and the relationship between mood, or feelings, and the immune system.
"There is some evidence that following heavy exercise, both L-glutamine (an amino acid manufactured by the body) and the immune system take a dip. I look at the healing effect of massage as, in some way, counteracting that dip. When you provide support it has a positive effect on immune function. If the person doesn't feel supported and nurtured, it will have a negative effect on the chemical environment, opening them more to catching colds, not healing as fast and decreasing their ability to train. It ties into the whole emotional state of a person. The athlete has to stay healthy in order to continue training. With massage, they can train harder because they are able to recover faster."
Facts vs. Myths
Remember the old theory about the earth being flat? The more we learn, the more we realize how much we don't know. That's why research in massage is so important. "These concepts and ideas are firmly entrenched in our early training, and in the medical profession, said Lowe. "Things that have been disproved continue to persist. It takes a long time to trickle down. If we say there is no research that supports massage works for inflammation, there may not be research - or it may not be true. We don't really know yet and we need to investigate that further. This lactic acid concept illustrates the perpetuation of misinformation that can happen if we don't have the research base. When we are looking for credibility with others in health care, they want to know on what we base our opinions. A lot is passed along on hearsay, not on scientific information. What we need to keep our eyes on is how to reduce that as much as possible so we do have accurate information."
Shirley Vanderbilt is a staff writer for Massage & Bodywork magazine.
References
1. Vannatta, Dan. "Lactic Acid: Friend or Foe?" http://sportsmedicine.about.com/library/weekly/aa053101a.htm.
2. Anderson, Owen, Lactate Lift-off (Lansing, Mich.: SSS Publishing, 1998),16.
3. Vannatta.
4. Anderson, 16.
5. Vannatta.
6. Anderson, 16-24.
7. Grant, Keith. "Lactating Mythers." www.mckinnonmassage.com/articles/lactating_mythers.html.
8. Anderson, 20-21.
9. Ibid., 25-26.
10. Ibid., 26-30.
11. Grant.
12. Ibid.
13. Vannatta.
14. Hemmings, B., Smith, M., Graydon, G. and Dyson, R., "Effects of massage on physiological restoration, perceived recovery, and repeated sports performance," British Journal of Sports Medicine 34 (2000): 113.
15. Monedero, J. and Donne, B., "Effect of recovery interventions on lactate removal and subsequent performance," International J. of Sports Medicine 21, 8 (Nov. 2000): 593-597.
16. Anderson, 30-35.
17. Grant.
18. Mirkin, Gabe. "What causes muscle soreness?" Report #6386. www.drmirkin.com/archive/6386.html.
19. Grant.
20. Hemmings, 113.
Re-examining the Role of Lactic Acid
By Shirley Vanderbilt
Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, October/November 2001.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.
Sometimes a "truth" is not what it seems. Take lactic acid. For years, many massage therapists have been taught that lactic acid can and should be flushed from the muscles of athletes after intense activity. This truism has been passed on to clients who have also accepted it as fact. Both therapist and client thus have established and perpetuated a mutual belief system that purging of lactic acid is not only necessary, but also efficiently accomplished with the assistance of massage. Some beliefs die hard. This one and others related to lactic acid have been holding their own, not only in some massage schools and practices, but also in the community at large, despite emerging research to the contrary. Pass the word. There's no need to mess with Mother Nature.
Lactate accumulated from intense exercise actually fuels the body, according to Dr. Owen Anderson, exercise physiologist and editor of Running Research News. In a recent interview from his office in Michigan, Anderson explained the facts.
Lactic acid levels will return to homeostasis quickly post-exercise without any "hands-on" assistance. "Muscles don't need help from massage in removing lactate," said Anderson. "Massage will probably have the biggest effect on venous blood," and by the time massage is administered, lactate has already left the muscle. This is not to say massage isn't beneficial to the athlete. "Massage is good for relaxing," said Anderson, "and provides help increasing flexibility of muscles."
Whitney Lowe, owner and director of Orthopedic Massage Education and Research Institute and author of Functional Assessment in Massage Therapy concurs with Anderson's statements.
"Lactic acid is a natural by-product of any muscular activity. There are elevated levels of lactic acid in muscle tissues after exercise, but that is going to subside either with time or with any type of movement activity, even just walking around the room."
In addition, lactic acid does not cause muscle soreness, fatigue or the "burn" of intensive exercise, noted Anderson. His comments and those of Lowe are backed by valid scientific research. Several studies conducted in the 1980s by exercise physiologist Dr. George A. Brooks ushered in a new perspective on this supposed "demon." Brooks noted that lactic acid is a key substance for providing energy, disposing dietary carbohydrate, producing blood glucose and liver glycogen and promoting survival in stress situations.1
Nature's Magic Tricks
Just as the body's intelligence keeps our hearts pumping and our intestines digesting without any intervention on our part, in like manner it maintains the chemical process of glycolysis to provide energy on a 24-hour basis. In Anderson's book, Lactate Lift-off, he writes, "Glycolysis is actually a series of 10 different chemical reactions...that break down glucose, the simple six-carbon sugar which is your body's most important source of carbohydrate fuel, into something called pyruvic acid."2 From pyruvic acid, with the help of the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase, we get lactic acid. But it's not quite that simple.
The process of glycolysis converts each glucose molecule into two pyruvic acid molecules, releasing energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). From there, pyruvic acid enters the mitochondria, where more ATP is produced through the Krebs cycle.3 "In addition to 'handling' the pyruvic acid produced from glucose," states Anderson, "the Krebs cycle also metabolizes fats, over all, it furnishes more than 90 percent of the energy you need to exercise in a sustained manner."4
As exercise intensity increases, glycolysis speeds up and pyruvic acid is produced at an increasing rate. When it can no longer be processed through the Krebs cycle as quickly as it is generated, some of the pyruvic acid is converted to lactic acid, which rapidly dissociates into a lactate anion and a free hydrogen ion (H+). Lactate can then be quickly transported from the muscle into the blood, where it is circulated throughout the body. If an excessive amount of pyruvic acid were allowed to build up, glycolysis would come to a halt, thus blocking energy production. The conversion to lactic acid allows the body to continue its exertion of energy. Once the lactate enters other tissues, it can be converted to pyruvate, which is processed by the Krebs cycle into ATP for even more energy. Lactate can also be converted by the liver and other tissues into glucose, boosting depleted stores of glycogen needed for future activity.5,6,7
Although the focus here is to examine excessive lactic acid accumulation during intensive activity, it's important to clarify that lactic acid production is a normal and continuous part of the body's energy cycle. According to Anderson, lactate is produced even at rest and "...its concentrations can rise rather dramatically whenever you take in a carbohydrate-containing meal." Lactate plays an important role in processing carbohydrate and facilitating its availability to the liver and muscles.8
Lactic acid reaches excessive levels when the body can no longer clear it as quickly as it is being produced. "When you begin a moderate to difficult workout," states Anderson, "lactate levels in your blood initially rise, simply because glycolysis is working away to provide quite a bit of the energy you require." At this point, there is minimal blood and oxygen flow to the muscles. This limits the breakdown of pyruvate in the Krebs cycle and increases its conversion to lactate. With continued activity, heart rate increases and oxygen becomes more readily available to the muscle cells, allowing pyruvate and lactate to be oxidized for energy. The entry and exit rates of lactate then become stabilized and will remain so even with gradually intensified activity.9
"However," states Anderson, "once you get up to a point (actually a speed) at which glycolysis is tearing along so fast that your leg muscles have problems converting most of the pyruvate and lactate being formed to carbon dioxide and water, the lactate-spilling process may accelerate so much that lactate levels in the blood may really begin to lift off." This can be a result of oxygen debt inside the muscle cell, inadequate concentrations of enzymes necessary for oxidation at high rates or a lack of sufficient cell-mitochondria, where the Krebs cycle takes place. The point at which this occurs is referred to as the lactate threshold (LT). According to Anderson, the LT is simply an indicator of how effectively your tissues utilize lactate as an energy source. For athletes, a high LT means increased endurance - the longer the athlete can perform before reaching this point, the longer lactate production and extraction is kept in balance and energy is maintained.10
At the completion of exercise, lactate levels will return to normal within 30-60 minutes, being quickly converted back to pyruvate or glucose.11 Research supports the claim that active recovery (light exercise) is the most effective approach to speed up this process,12,13 and that massage is no more effective than passive rest.14 This does not discount other potential benefits of massage in sports recovery. A study by Monedero and Donne showed while active recovery proved best in removing lactic acid, a combined approach (active recovery and massage) did increase recovery rate during short intervals between maximal efforts and was most efficient for maintaining maximal performance time in subsequent performance. Recovery rate was determined by blood lactate levels and heart rate during recovery, and performance times in tests of maximal efforts.15
For post-exercise recovery, Anderson recommends a cool-down of about 10 minutes or running a few miles followed by stretching and strengthening exercises, nutrition (carbohydrates) to restock energy and a good night's sleep. Improving the body's ability to break down pyruvate, use oxygen and extract lactate from the muscle during activity will raise the LT and increase an athlete's endurance. This can be accomplished with proper training, such as methods recommended in Lactate Lift-off.16 An effective training approach can increase the supply of mitochondria, enzymes and capillaries needed to enhance the body's ability to rapidly use lactate as an energy source.17
Soreness, Fatigue and the 'Burn'
Is lactic acid to blame? "There has been a strong suggestion," said Lowe, "that delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) occurring 12-24 hours after exercise is caused by excess levels of lactic acid, but the onset of soreness does not at all coincide with the levels of lactic acid. This is still a very rampant misconception."
Anderson indicates there are two likely causes of muscle soreness: tears in the muscle associated with the stress of exercise and free radical attack on the muscle membranes. According to physician Dr. Gabe Mirkin,"Next-day muscle soreness is caused by damage to the muscle fibers themselves. Muscle biopsies taken on the day after exercising show bleeding and disruption of the z-band filaments that hold the fibers together as they slide over each other during a contraction." Mirkin suggests ceasing exercise when muscles start to burn and hurt as this is likely an indication that DOMS will occur.18
The free hydrogen ions produced in dissociation of lactic acid can present a problem. Biscarbonate buffers H+ to maintain homeostasis in pH, but an increase of H+ during intensive exercise can overwhelm the buffering system, resulting in acidity (low pH) of muscle and blood. If the pH goes below 7.00, the athlete may experience nausea, headache, dizziness and pain in the muscles. But with cessation of exercise the pH, like lactate, returns to normal.19 "The muscle will slow down if there is a great enough lowering of pH," said Anderson, "and this may cause fatigue." He noted there can be a lowering of pH in muscles even while sedentary. "We don't know if it can cause burn," he added, "but burn is the nervous system's way of telling you you're exercising at too high intensity and you need to cut back. There is nothing wrong. It's just a message."
Heavy legs or fatigue can occur in an all-out sprint, said Anderson, but if it occurs at the 20-mile point in a marathon, it's a sign the muscles are running out of energy. To combat these problems, Anderson emphasizes the importance of training. "If you are really strong," he said, "you have less stress and damage."
So What About Massage?
Although the effectiveness of massage to flush out lactic acid after exercise has been disproven, there are benefits to validate its use in sports. "In my own experience," said Keith Grant, head of Sports and Deep Tissue Massage Department at McKinnon Institute, "I've seen that massage is effective. How our body reacts to things depends on both the state our body is in (state of memory), as well as the input." Grant combines his knowledge as a scientist with personal experience as a massage instructor and runner to support his conclusions.
Pointing to a study by Tiitus and Shoemaker (1995) in which effleurage did not increase local blood flow, Grant said, "This is a mechanistic way of looking at what's going on." The difficulty, he noted, in interpreting research results comes from looking for direct, mechanical effects. "Clinically, we see a different story," he said. "Through our techniques we work with the nervous system to relax muscles, but that's not a direct mechanical effect. "I believe the effects of massage also involve the neurological and emotional. My reason for that is the neurological side controls the current (base) state of the muscle activation. The emotional controls the chemical messengers that affect the immune system. What seems likely is massage acts as a new input to a system with a memory. Massage stimulates the mechanoreceptors and can gate off pain receptors. It floods the body with new sensory input. We are using the nervous system to reset the muscle to greater relaxation.
"In my observation, fatigued muscles tend to remain hypertonic and shortened. When we cajole specific muscles to relax and lengthen via mechanical and neurological input, we reduce their metabolic activity. When the muscle relaxes, it's not using energy as much, not metabolizing as fast, not producing waste products and because it's more relaxed, it's not compressed and not exerting pressure on surrounding tissues. This means circulation is better. It's not because we're pushing fluid around. It's because we've put the body in a more optimum state, so the body naturally increases circulation on it's own. By massaging muscles and adding input to the nervous system, we are facilitating the body in recovering faster from exercise. It's not the massage that's doing the healing, it's the person's body."
In a British study of boxers, massage was reported to have a significantly positive effect on perception of recovery, giving scientific credence of its benefits as a recovery strategy. According to the authors, their results support arguments by some researchers that "the benefits of massage (in sports recovery) are more psychological than physiological."20 Grant takes that a step farther. "As a trained scientist, I use what I observe and what I know about physiology to come with a hypothesis. From my own experience in running, when you exert to the point of substantial fatigue, you come back feeling more fragile, in an emotionally vulnerable spot. To have the sense that someone is nurturing, in a sense taking care of you, is a very psychologically emotional thing. In supporting the person, we improve their immune function and their ability to heal, by influencing the chemical environment of their body. It has to do with psychoneuroimmunology, the whole chemical homeostasis of their body -- neurochemicals and the relationship between mood, or feelings, and the immune system.
"There is some evidence that following heavy exercise, both L-glutamine (an amino acid manufactured by the body) and the immune system take a dip. I look at the healing effect of massage as, in some way, counteracting that dip. When you provide support it has a positive effect on immune function. If the person doesn't feel supported and nurtured, it will have a negative effect on the chemical environment, opening them more to catching colds, not healing as fast and decreasing their ability to train. It ties into the whole emotional state of a person. The athlete has to stay healthy in order to continue training. With massage, they can train harder because they are able to recover faster."
Facts vs. Myths
Remember the old theory about the earth being flat? The more we learn, the more we realize how much we don't know. That's why research in massage is so important. "These concepts and ideas are firmly entrenched in our early training, and in the medical profession, said Lowe. "Things that have been disproved continue to persist. It takes a long time to trickle down. If we say there is no research that supports massage works for inflammation, there may not be research - or it may not be true. We don't really know yet and we need to investigate that further. This lactic acid concept illustrates the perpetuation of misinformation that can happen if we don't have the research base. When we are looking for credibility with others in health care, they want to know on what we base our opinions. A lot is passed along on hearsay, not on scientific information. What we need to keep our eyes on is how to reduce that as much as possible so we do have accurate information."
Shirley Vanderbilt is a staff writer for Massage & Bodywork magazine.
References
1. Vannatta, Dan. "Lactic Acid: Friend or Foe?" http://sportsmedicine.about.com/library/weekly/aa053101a.htm.
2. Anderson, Owen, Lactate Lift-off (Lansing, Mich.: SSS Publishing, 1998),16.
3. Vannatta.
4. Anderson, 16.
5. Vannatta.
6. Anderson, 16-24.
7. Grant, Keith. "Lactating Mythers." www.mckinnonmassage.com/articles/lactating_mythers.html.
8. Anderson, 20-21.
9. Ibid., 25-26.
10. Ibid., 26-30.
11. Grant.
12. Ibid.
13. Vannatta.
14. Hemmings, B., Smith, M., Graydon, G. and Dyson, R., "Effects of massage on physiological restoration, perceived recovery, and repeated sports performance," British Journal of Sports Medicine 34 (2000): 113.
15. Monedero, J. and Donne, B., "Effect of recovery interventions on lactate removal and subsequent performance," International J. of Sports Medicine 21, 8 (Nov. 2000): 593-597.
16. Anderson, 30-35.
17. Grant.
18. Mirkin, Gabe. "What causes muscle soreness?" Report #6386. www.drmirkin.com/archive/6386.html.
19. Grant.
20. Hemmings, 113.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Experiencing Siatica Pain? Massage Therapy Might Be The Right Path For You..
We found an article from February '11 on that discusses the benefits of receiving a regular massage to help alleviate pain due to sciatic nerve problems...enjoy!
Can Massage Therapy Deliver Lasting Relief from Sciatica?
February 13, 2011 | Author: Leroy Lombard | Posted in Massage
Massages sure feel amazing, don’t they? After a massage session, you feel so relaxed and light. But just how effective is massage as a way to treat sciatica?
Massages can in fact be quite helpful if you suffer from back pain or sciatica. If you can manage to find a massage therapist with knowledge of muscle imbalances, you’ll do much better.
There are quite a few upsides to massage for sciatica. You’ll notice that a lot of massage therapists these days employ a variety of different techniques and styles. Anything from traditional massage to energy work or even correcting muscle imbalances. Many studies have even shown that massage can improve flexibility, decrease back pain, encourage sound sleep, and decrease feelings of depression.
When you’re looking for a therapist to give you a good massage for sciatica, try to find one that has an understanding of muscle imbalances. These types of massage therapists are unbelievably rare, but if you can find one, you’ll be quite happy. Since most causes of sciatica actually come from muscle imbalances, finding someone who knows a lot about it can help tremendously.
What are the benefits of massage therapy for sciatica? Massage can increase blood circulation and help reduce any sort of inflammation. Massage helps to move lymph through your system, which can actually impede circulation and and promote inflammation if it isn’t managed. Not only that, but you’ll be more flexible, be more relaxed, have a better night’s rest, and you have an overall sense of well-being.
Massage can help relax tense muscles that may be putting pressure on your sciatic nerve, as may be the case with conditions such as Piriformis Syndrome. But can it help be an effective treatment in all cases of sciatica?
Well, although you might feel good after a massage, you should not rely solely on massage to treat sciatica. Simply put, massage does not deal with many of the important underlying factors that are responsible for back pain and sciatica such as muscle imbalances, poor posture, or other personal habits we might have about how we hold our body throughout the day.
You will probably see some amazing results if you combine it with other types of treatment out there. But alone, it just doesn’t cut it. Perhaps it would be more effective to use massage together with other forms of treatment like stretching exercises that can restore equilibrium to how you hold your body.
So, go and get a massage. I’m sure it will help you feel better and relax you. But be sure to not stop there. Keep working and untangling the root cause and you’ll find lasting relief.
If you found these tips helpful and you’d like to discover the best sciatic nerve pain exercises and the ones you definitely want to avoid, check out my Bulletproof Back review. This program, combined with massage therapy is quite helpful for relieving sciatica and back pain.
Can Massage Therapy Deliver Lasting Relief from Sciatica?
February 13, 2011 | Author: Leroy Lombard | Posted in Massage
Massages sure feel amazing, don’t they? After a massage session, you feel so relaxed and light. But just how effective is massage as a way to treat sciatica?
Massages can in fact be quite helpful if you suffer from back pain or sciatica. If you can manage to find a massage therapist with knowledge of muscle imbalances, you’ll do much better.
There are quite a few upsides to massage for sciatica. You’ll notice that a lot of massage therapists these days employ a variety of different techniques and styles. Anything from traditional massage to energy work or even correcting muscle imbalances. Many studies have even shown that massage can improve flexibility, decrease back pain, encourage sound sleep, and decrease feelings of depression.
When you’re looking for a therapist to give you a good massage for sciatica, try to find one that has an understanding of muscle imbalances. These types of massage therapists are unbelievably rare, but if you can find one, you’ll be quite happy. Since most causes of sciatica actually come from muscle imbalances, finding someone who knows a lot about it can help tremendously.
What are the benefits of massage therapy for sciatica? Massage can increase blood circulation and help reduce any sort of inflammation. Massage helps to move lymph through your system, which can actually impede circulation and and promote inflammation if it isn’t managed. Not only that, but you’ll be more flexible, be more relaxed, have a better night’s rest, and you have an overall sense of well-being.
Massage can help relax tense muscles that may be putting pressure on your sciatic nerve, as may be the case with conditions such as Piriformis Syndrome. But can it help be an effective treatment in all cases of sciatica?
Well, although you might feel good after a massage, you should not rely solely on massage to treat sciatica. Simply put, massage does not deal with many of the important underlying factors that are responsible for back pain and sciatica such as muscle imbalances, poor posture, or other personal habits we might have about how we hold our body throughout the day.
You will probably see some amazing results if you combine it with other types of treatment out there. But alone, it just doesn’t cut it. Perhaps it would be more effective to use massage together with other forms of treatment like stretching exercises that can restore equilibrium to how you hold your body.
So, go and get a massage. I’m sure it will help you feel better and relax you. But be sure to not stop there. Keep working and untangling the root cause and you’ll find lasting relief.
If you found these tips helpful and you’d like to discover the best sciatic nerve pain exercises and the ones you definitely want to avoid, check out my Bulletproof Back review. This program, combined with massage therapy is quite helpful for relieving sciatica and back pain.
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