Andy Murray shivers his way to the top

According to an article in the Evening Standard - 01 July 2009:

" Andy Murray's run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where he takes on Juan Carlos Ferrero today, has been assisted by regular dips in the cubes normally used to cool your gin and tonic".

Full article here

Ever since I heard about Paula Radcliffe having ice baths to aid recovery, I've given them a go. After all what's good enough for Paul is good enough for me!

OK, I don't actually have bags of ice cubes to hand, instead I sit in a bath of cold water [which in winter is icy] and it also does the trick. The water is so cold it literally takes my breathe away.

The reason behind this torture is:

"During exercise muscles suffer small fibre tears that cause small amounts of internal bleeding. When you get into an ice bath (for between five and 10 minutes), the cold causes the vessels to constrict and the blood to flow out of your limbs.

When you step out of the bath, and your body warms up, blood flows back and this invigorates the muscles with oxygen, helping the cells to repair themselves better"

It really does work! Whenever I do a run that is over about 90 mins I spend the last 10 minutes of the run actually looking forward to my ice bath. Why? Because that means it's over, I've done it and I can now relax for the rest of the day. My legs also don't feel so heavy afterwards.

I think I'm going to try a few ice cubes next time ........

In Depth Back Massage

Many clients express an interest as to what is going on during a massage. Such as which muscle is tight, why is it tight and how will massage help?

I've found this great video on YouTube showing a back massage, with the superficial back muscles overlaid.

Now you can really see why massage works!

Stretch and Relax Pt. 1

Many of my clients complain of an achey lower back at the end of the day. So I've devised this lovely, relaxing stretching routine which is great to do in the evening. You can even watch TV while doing it - so no excuses!

Pelvic Rotations

Lie flat on the floor and stretch your feet and arms away from you – making yourself as long a possible.

Hug your knees into your chest and very slowly make small clockwise circles with your knees – as you start to warm up you can make the movements larger and larger, thereby massaging more of the pelvis and lower back.

Repeat anti-clockwise.

Repeat 10-20 rotations each side

Stretch and Relax Pt. 2

Lying down twist

Lie flat on the floor and stretch your feet and arms away from you – making yourself as long a possible.

Draw your knees up to your chest.

Moves knees over to one side – working towards having the lower knee touching the floor.

NB: both shoulders to remain on the floor at all times.

If lower leg doesn’t touch the floor encourage it to do so by placing your hand on the upper knee .

BREATHE DEEPLY AND ON THE OUT BREATHE ENCOURAGE THE KNEE TO THE FLOOR.

IF THE KNEE REACHES THE FLOOR EASILY THEN TRY PULLING THE LEGS FURTHER UP TOWARDS THE CHEST.

Once you have reached your maximum position hold and breath for 20-30 seconds.

Repeat at least twice each side. On the second repitition you will go much further.

Stretch & Relax Pt. 3

Relax your spine using a chair

This stretch works wonder for the lower back and at the same time relaxes the muscles either side of the spine.

Best of all, you don't actually have to do anything.

Make sure the chair is snugly in the crook of your knees and that your lower legs form a 90° angle.

Even better than a pillow, is to get a telephone book and lie with your head on that. Make sure your chin is tucked into the chest, thereby de-compressing the vertebrae in your neck.

Lie in this position for at least 10 minutes – ideally 20 minutes

Regular exercise proven to significantly reduce back pain

If you're already a client of mine you'll know that no session goes by without me encouraging you be more active. I like to think I know what I'm talking about from my own personal experience. In fact, seeking treatment for a bad back is what lead me down the path to become a massage therapist.

I was seeking the help of a chiropractor in my early 20's for acute backpain brought on by work stress, a desk job and a sedentary lifestyle. This continued on and off, depending on how balanced my lifestyle was and how much exercise I was doing at the time, until I hit 40.

Then I discovered the wonder that is BODY PUMP. I'm now pleased to say my back problems have all but ceased to exist. I don't only do Body Pump [I also do yoga, spinning and running ] so I'm not putting it all down to that class. However, it makes perfect sense to me that strengthening the back muscles and getting them to work properly can only be a good thing.

The best thing is that ANYONE can participate. There are ladies of over 60 in my class. You work at your own level and pace. Click here to see the moves.

One other excellent side-effect is that you build lean muscle. Not only do inches disappear within months but weight decreases because more muscle means a higher resting metabolic rate. So, assuming your diet remains the same, weight will gradually decrease. So it's goodbye to thunder thighs and bingo wings and hello to more muscle tone. Like all things that really work, it does takes time and dedication. Most gyms and leisure centres offer either Bodypump or something similar called Pump FX.

Upper body strength is an often overlooked component of overall fitness. For instance, some people will say that they walk for fitness. However, that's only using the lower half of your body - what about from the waist up? I used to think I was fit but I couldn't do a single press up or hold the plank position for more than a few seconds.

I'm pleased to say my personal anecdotal evidence is now being borne out more and more by medical reasearch. To quote from an article in Marie Claire magazine about an American study:

"The researchers studied 240 men and women with long-term lower-back problems and found those that exercised four days a week suffered 28% less pain and 36% less disability. Those who exercised only two or three days a week did not show the same level of pain reduction"

To read the full article click HERE

More people turn to massage to manage stress

There's a saying which goes "where the U.S goes, the world will follow".

Since the global financial crisis got into full swing, management at the U.S website "Spafinder" noticed that weekly traffic to it's "stress management" category has doubled. When the economy was good, booking a massage was largely about pampering yourself, however, it's now seen as an investment of sorts, in well-being.

To quote from The New York Times online: "People are giving up on gold and caviar facials and honing in on core stress busters like therapeutic massage, especially if the price is right"

So just what makes massage such a great stress buster:

• Our skin is full of many millions of nerve receptors that are linked to our nervous system.
  


• When the skin is massaged it causes stimulation and release of chemicals in the brain
  it increases dopamine and serotonin [feel good chemicals] and reduces the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.
  


• It increases the relaxation alpha brain waves and also increases pain relieving levels of endorphins.
  


• on the massage table there's no mobile phone/blackberry beckoning for your attention.
  

What's particularly fantastic about a treatment at home, is that you don't have to get up and make your way home. Your toughest decision is whether to take a bubble bath, curl up on the sofa or take a nap. Oooh life can be tough sometimes ...........

How Massage Can Help Common Cricket Injuries

Driving past village greens on a sunny day and seeing local cricket teams is so quintessentially British.

Many cricket players are quite sedentary over the winter months and then get their kit out of mothballs and hit the pitch with a vengeance. Inevitably, using muscles which haven't seen action for months, can lead to aching and stiffness and in some cases painful overuse injuries.

In cricket you're throwing, lunging, twisting, running - really getting a good all over workout. This somewhat gentile sport can be very taxing on the body. If bowling or batting is your speciality you could very well pick up an injury within a couple of weeks.

It is possible to reduce your chances of injury by:

• warming up, cooling down and stretching


• proper conditioning


• regular sports massage


• good nutrition


• having the right equipment


• sufficient rest between matches

Common cricket injuries include:

• throwers elbow - which is very similar to golfers elbow and is caused by additional stress placed on the muscles of the forearm through repetitive wrist flexion


• back pain - bowling can cause soft tissue injury and potential disc problems


• leg injuries - bruising and fractures from ball impact due to inadequate protection for the hands and face

Getting a regular sports massage can release tight knots in muscles, that if left can cause strains, tears and inflammation. Should you already suspect you may have picked up an injury, then massage can help get you back on the pitch a lot quicker.

REMEMBER - PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE!

Arthritis of the Knee, Massage May Help

People who suffer from arthritis of the knee appear to gain lasting relief from a traditional course of Swedish massage, researchers report.

The findings suggest that doctors may want to advise arthritis patients to add massage to the treatments they are already using, like anti-inflammatory drugs. Massage may even be able to take the place of drugs for people who have mild arthritis or whose health does not allow them to take the medications.

Part of the benefit may come from attracting more blood to the knee, Dr. Katz said. Massage may also reduce pain in the same way rubbing injured areas often does, by sending out sensory stimuli that compete with the pain stimuli.

Click here for full article from the New York Times

Nintenditis

Being of a "certain age" I'mrather sceptical of the Wii phenomonon. I like to think there's nothing like the real thing when it comes to exercise.

So it was with a little schadenfreude that I read this interesting article in the New York Times website about the increase in Wii injuries.

I even came across this site called Wii Have A Problem which shows the damage this equipment can do to both body and home.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has incurred an injury by playing a Wii game?