Runners- Take advantage of massage advantages

The Importance of Sports Massage to Runners

Recently I signed up for my first 5K race, sonI had running on the mind. I know for me personally, if I run regularily, after a week my lower legs especially become quite sore. They feel very sore to have massage but if i dont I start to develop tendonitis on the inside of my ankle. After a few short treatments of muscle stripping my lower leg, I can run longer with less pain.

What is Sports Massage?

Sports Massage is a special form of massage that is typically used before, during, and after athletic events.

The purpose of sports massage is to prepare the athlete for peak performance, to drain away fatigue, to relieve swelling, to reduce muscle tension, to promote flexibility and to prevent injuries.

The main difference between sports massage and other massage techniques is that it directly targets and reduces tension in muscles and joints that are affected by athletic use and injury.

 Why Sports Massage is Important To Runners

 Sports Massage is especially important for runners who run more than 35 miles a week. The more miles you run, the more strain your muscles are under and the more beneficial sports massage is. Incorporating sports massage into your training schedule will help you train optimally.

 Sports Massage is important to runners for many reasons:

Reduces muscle inflammation

• Reduces muscle soreness
• Sports massage helps reduce soreness by flushing out the lactic acid that is produced while running. Lactic acid can build up in muscles and cause soreness over time.
• Reduces muscle tension
• Promotes muscle flexibility
• Sports massage promotes muscle flexibility by removing lactic acid.
• Increases muscle recovery time
• Removing lactic acid through massage increases recovery time.
• Increases mental alertness and reduces muscle fatigue
• Decreases your chance of developing a muscle injury

Massage immediately before and after an event will also help reduce the muscle spasms that occurs with vigorous exercise.

Anxiety Disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder (or GAD) is characterized by excessive, exaggerated anxiety and worry about everyday life events with no obvious reasons for worry. People with symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder tend to always expect disaster and can't stop worrying about health, money, family, work, or school. In people with GAD, the worry often is unrealistic or out of proportion for the situation. Daily life becomes a constant state of worry, fear, and dread. Eventually, the anxiety so dominates the person's thinking that it interferes with daily functioning, including work, school, social activities, and relationships.


The results of a systematic review of 22 articles examining the effect of massage on relaxation, comfort, and sleep. The most consistent effect of massage was reduction in anxiety. Eight of 10 original research studies reported that massage significantly decreased anxiety or perception of tension. Seven of 10 studies found that massage produced physiologic relaxation, as indicated by significant changes in the expected direction in one or more physiologic indicators. In the three studies in which the effect of massage on discomfort was investigated, it was found to be effective in reducing pain.

Facts about Back Pain

• Back pain is one of humanity's most frequent complaints.
• In the U.S., acute back pain is the fifth most common reason for physician visits
• 85% of people can't remember the specific moment that they hurt their back.
• Four days of bed rest is no better than two days or no rest at all
• If you have experienced back pain in the past then you are more at risk to experience it agian
• Massage therapy, especially from an experienced therapist, can provide short term relief. Acupressure or pressure point massage may be more beneficial than classic (Swedish) massage.
• See a health care practictioner that you trust
• Routine X-rays of the spine are unnessessary and usually of little value
• About nine out of ten adults experience back pain at some point in their life, and five out of ten working adults have back pain every year.
• The spine is a complex interconnecting network of nerves, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments, and all are capable of producing pain
• Approximately 98% of back pain patients are diagnosed with nonspecific acute back pain which has no serious underlying pathology.
• Also, herniated disc is the most common neurologic impairment which is associated with this condition, from which 95% of disc herniations occur at the lowest two lumbar intervertebral level.
• Most back pain syndromes are due to inflammation, especially in the acute phase, which typically lasts for two weeks to three months.
• A few observational studies suggest that two conditions to which back pain is often attributed, lumbar disc herniation and degenerative disc disease may not be more prevalent among those in pain than among the general population
• Bed rest is rarely recommended as it can exacerbate symptoms, and when necessary is usually limited to one or two days. Prolonged bed rest or inactivity is actually counterproductive, as the resulting stiffness leads to more pain.
• One study found that exercise is also effective for chronic back pain, but not for acute pain.
• Deep Moist Heat therapy is useful for back spasms or other conditions for short term effects
• Depending on the particular cause of the condition, posture training courses and physical exercises might help with relieving the pain. These exercises can be given to you by your massage therapist.

What should I do when I’ve hurt my lower back?

The best position for relief when your back hurts is to lie on your back on the floor with pillows under your knees, with your hips and knees bent and your feet on a chair or just with your hips and knees bent. This takes the pressure and weight off your back. If you’re resting a hurt back, you may need a day or two of this sort of rest. Resting longer than this can cause your muscles to weaken, which can slow down your recovery. Even if it hurts, walk around for a few minutes every few hours.

Most people feel better whether they have actue or chronic back pain after they receive massage therapy. Depending on the type of problem the client has, different techniques are used to eliminate pain in different ways. Techniques such as pin-and-stretch to a muscle with an active trigger point are highly effective and have long lasting results.

Massage.. not just for muscle??

What soft tissue structures does massage therapy affect?

Anyone who answered "muscle" is correct. Anyone who said "Muscle and dense connective tissue such as tendons and ligaments, and irregular or loose tissue such as fascia, articular capsules and aponeuroses" is also correct plus they score bonus points.

 How many other soft tissue structures are there other than muscles? 

The primary connective tissue structures treated are regular or dense tissues such as tendons and ligaments, and irregular tissue such as fascia, intrinsic elements of muscle, articular capsules, and aponeuroses.

Now take these structures and add in an injury which results in adherent and inextensible scar tissue which resulted from abnormal remodeling stimuli eg. inactivity. This 'tight' scar tissue can result in chronic inflammation and my interfere with nerve conduction and fluid movement. With abnormal fluid movement you get a build up of waste products in the area.

How do you remodel this scare tissue and get the fluid moving and increase the health of the nervous tissue you ask? Soft Tissue work my friends, also known as massage! More specifically, fascial techniques. It's truly amazing.

Six Reasons Why Massage Manages Your Pain

Massage Therapy works by addressing the following SIX physiological factors which can intensify pain patterns.

Myofascial Trigger Points
Highly irritable points in the soft tissue system. Travell, a doctor who specialized in myofascial trigger points, defined a TrP as "a hyperirritable spot in skeletal muscle that is associated with a hypersensitive palpable nodule in a taut band. The spot is tender when pressed and can give rise to characteristic referred pain, motor dysfunction, and autonomic phenomena. The taut band of muscle is best characterized as a palpable, ropy structure."

Nerve Entrapment/Compression
When a nerve gets pressed constantly or occasionly by surrounding tight and adhesed tissue, it can lead to pain, weakness, numbness and/or tingling in the path of the nerve.

Postural Distortions
Postural distortions result in underdevelopment of the supporting muscles causing misalignment. This results in the whole kinetic chain of the human body to be unbalanced. This leads to the body wanting to compensate which ultimately leads to more stress on the supporting structures.

Nutrition
Lack of adequate nutrition to the cells leads to an over all weakening of the health and integrity of the cell. Great cellular nutrition is needed for great health. Healthy, well nourished cells supply an abundance of natural energy, resistance to stress and degenerative diseases and an overall experience of vitality.  Muscle cramps from insufficient oxygen not being able to oxidize lactic acid, which would otherwise get rid of it from muscle.

Ischemia
Ischemia is a lack of blood supply to the tissue cells. This results in the cells becoming under-nourished. Partial ischemia can result in a depression of cellular transmembrane potential difference. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4075507
Membrane potentials are nessessary for muscle contraction.

Stress
Stress plays havoc with the functioning of the nervous and musculoskeletal system.

Sprains vs. Strains

Injuries of muscle, tendon, and ligaments are among the most common complaints clients may carry, and they are among the most satisfying things massage therapists can work with. First let's distinguish between a strain and a sprain..

Strain (Tendon or Muscle)
A strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon in which the muscle fibers are damaged as a result of overstretching. Strains are also known as pulled muscles. The equivalent injury to a ligament is a sprain. The patient is usually very aware of the strain as soon as it happens. There are different levels of strains ranging from mild to severe.

They can happen while doing everyday tasks and are not restricted to athletes. Nevertheless, people who play sports are more at risk of developing a strain due to increased muscle use.

The first-line treatment for a muscular strain in the acute phase include four steps commonly known as
R.I.C.E.


Rest: Stop all unnecessary activities, especially those that cause pain, to prevent the strain from progressing.

Ice: Apply ice to reduce swelling by restricting blood flow to the injury site. Never ice for more than 10–15   minutes at a time. Place a layer of fabric or paper between the ice and the injury to avoid freezing the skin.

Compression: Wrap the strained area to reduce swelling.

Elevation: Keep the strained area as close to the level of the heart as is conveniently possible to keep blood from pooling in the injured area.
 

Sprain

A sprain  is an injury to ligaments that is caused by being stretched beyond their normal capacity and possibly torn.

 

Ligaments are tough, fibrous tissues that connect bone to bone across the joints. Sprains can occur in any joint but are most common in the ankle.

 

Massage

 

Massage is great for sprains and strains. It can reduce adhesion and influence the direction of new collagen fibers in the healing process. it can address edema and toxic accumulations from secondary muscle spasm. Massage will also help with stiffness from the temporary loss of joint function. But most massage must be done after the acute stage has subsided. Make sure you see an experienced registered massage therapist because this is a highly technical field and not for casual experimentation.

 

 

 

Werner, Ruth. A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology. Third Edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Baltimore. 2005.

 

 

What to expect from a massage therapy treatment

Where have you had massage in the past? Was it in a doctors office, alternative health care clinic or gym facility? Or was it in a therapists house or in a spa? Massage therapy has for years, been thought of as a relaxation treat utilized mostly by women. In recent history however, it has taken off in popularity as a form of alternative health care for pain management because of the many benefits and very few negative side-effects.

When you go to see a massage therapist you have to fill out a health history form on your initial visit. They may ask you to up-date your old form if you haven't been in a while. The therapist should then great you and the two of you will go to their treatment room.

The therapist will ask you why you're coming in and go over your health history form. Once they understand your complaint they will begin their assessment. You will be asked to stand for a postural assessment and move for a range of motion of your neck, back and limbs. Special orthopedic tests may follow. Once the therapist gains a good understanding of the structures involved and your condition, they will then explain to you how to get on the table and leave the room. There is a very strict protocol that every therapist learns about how these assessments and informed consent takes place. Everything must be very professional.

The treatment should be within your pain tolerance. Sometimes when you have an area that is very "tight", the pressure can seem like a bit much. Keep in mind that this pressure is necessary for changing the tissue and eradicating pain. However, communicate with the therapist your pain tolerance because there is such thing as too much pressure. I try my best to gauge how much pressure a client can take based on more than just what they tell me. I don't want them to clench their muscles in response to the pain because that would be counter-productive.

As a therapist it is very important to be focused on your client from the time they come in the door to the time they leave. As the treatment finished up, expect the therapist to clearly state what to expect in the next couple hours to the next few days in accordance with the massage.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask away!